The Taitung County Government was originally scheduled to hold its countywide coffee review in the middle of March. Due to unexpected and recurrent cold waves, however, the harvest has been pushed back around a month, and the event has been moved to April 19 and 20. Registration has been extended to March 14.
There are around 16 coffee production and marketing classes offered in Taitung County, with approximately 200 students. Farmland in the county devoted to coffee production covers around 250 hectares, including Taitung City and Daren, Taimali, Beinan, Chishang, Chenggong and Changbin townships. The Taitung County Agriculture Department convened a meeting with farmers and production and marketing class representatives on Feb. 12 to discuss the schedule for the annual coffee review.
Agriculture Department Director Wu Ching-jung says that Taitung County’s coastline runs approximately 176km from north to south. Each area’s climate and soil is different, he says, adding that hopefully the most suitable area for growing coffee can be found by holding the countywide competition.
Photo: Chang Tsun-wei, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者張存薇
Wu also says that most of the county’s coffee farmers only know how to grow coffee, not how to roast it or market it. Prior to holding the review, in order to help participants better understand how coffee is made and to improve overall quality, the county government requires everyone to take a three-hour class and select unroasted coffee berries during the event. The government hopes to develop a “Taitung coffee brand” that can eventually become Taiwan’s most famous coffee.
The local government had originally planned to collect coffee beans from the farmers and judge them in the middle of March. Each farmer has to hand over 20kg of beans with hulls intact. Taitung Coffee Industry Development Association president Liao Tien-cheng and local coffee farmer Chung Chang-hua say that this year’s cold weather has postponed the harvest by nearly a month. Coffee berries growing at middle to high altitudes have not been harvested yet, so they suggested deferring the event to a later date. Wu Hsiu-lan, the class president of a coffee production and marketing class in Changbin Township, says that Changbin only started growing coffee two years ago, and so she suggested allowing students to compete in the competition as groups representing their respective classes since the crop yield is so small.
After the discussion, Wu Ching-jung said that the judging schedule would be put off until April. Beans will be accepted April 14-15 and evaluated by judges April 19-20. Scores of 80 or higher on a 100-point scale will be awarded gold medals and then given standardized packaging and sold by the county government.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者黃明堂
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
台東縣政原本預計三月中舉辦全縣咖啡分級評鑑，不料因寒流一波波，產期延後約一個月，確定評鑑將延至四月十九、廿日，報名則延至三月十四日。
台東縣目前約有十六個咖啡相關產銷班、班員約兩百人，種植面積達兩百五十公頃，分布在台東市、達仁鄉、太麻里鄉、卑南鄉、池上鄉、成功鎮、長濱鄉等鄉鎮市。縣府農業處二月十二日召集農友、產銷班長討論年度咖啡評鑑期程。
農業處長吳慶榮指出，台東縣南北海岸線長達一七六公里，各區氣候、土壤不同，透過全縣賽事，希望可以找出最適合種植的咖啡帶。
他另表示，多數農友只會種、不會烘焙與行銷，縣府舉辦評鑑前，還會要求參賽者參加三小時的教學課程、並現場親自挑選生豆，以進一步了解咖啡製程、提升品質，發展出「台東咖啡品牌」，成為全台灣最有名的咖啡。
原本縣府規劃期程在三月中繳豆、評鑑，每位農友必須繳交廿公斤帶殼豆，台東縣咖啡產業發展協會理事長廖添成及農友鍾長華表示，因為今年天氣太冷，產期延後近一個月，中高海拔豆子還未採收，建議延後舉辦。長濱鄉咖啡產銷班班長吳秀蘭也反映，長濱鄉前年才開始種咖啡，產量不多，建議開放以產銷班為名義組聯合參賽。
經討論後，吳慶榮表示，評鑑期程延至四月，十四、十五日繳豆，十九、廿日評鑑，成績超過八十分獲金質獎，縣府將統一包裝行銷。
（自由時報記者張存薇）
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