Taiwan’s coffee industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past two decades, and annual average coffee consumption in Taiwan last year reached 1.8kg per person, exceeding the 1.4kg average per person for tea.
It is possible that this could be an indication that coffee could soon replace tea as Taiwan’s go-to drink.
From the 4.73 hectares of coffee planted in 2001 to the 1,153.21 hectares planted last year, it is apparent that a large number of people are investing in the coffee industry, Taiwan Coffee Laboratory researcher Lin Jen-an (林仁安) said on Tuesday last week, citing statistics provided by the Council of Agriculture.
Photo courtesy of Lion Travel
Most coffee farms that have earned themselves a good reputation are located on mountains 700m above sea level, and many have been repurposed from tea farms, he said.
The frequent interaction between coffee farmers, baristas and roasters gives Taiwan’s coffee industry its competitive edge, as it aims to attract more attention at the Private Collection Auction today.
Lin said that Taiwan is the only place in the world, with the exception of Hawaii, in which there is nearly no distance between production and consumption.
Like the Hawaiian Kona beans, Taiwan’s beans cost more but have excellent taste, which would give Taiwan an edge in making a name for itself in the international gourmet coffee market, he added.
Comparing the quality of Taiwan’s coffee to the Geisha bean produced in Panama’s Hacienda La Esmeralda region, which sells for US$156 per kilogram, Lin said that Taiwan is looking to obtain a good price on its first appearance on the international coffee bidding scene.
At the event, a panel of 26 judges from five countries are scheduled to select nine of the best brews out of 19 entries of Taiwan-grown coffee beans for auctioning, the Alliance of Coffee Excellence said.
The beans selected are then to be auctioned online, with buyers from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the US, New Zealand, Australia and Saudi Arabia doing the bidding, the alliance said.
Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute director Fang Yi-chou (方怡舟) said that the institute has obtained a patent for the first locally cultivated type of coffee, which can be planted in plains and can yeild 1.2 times more beans than current coffee plants.
Fang said that the institute hopes to promote the new bean among local growers soon.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said. Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he