Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed.
Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said.
Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said.
It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption growing with a rate of more than 20 percent per year over the past five years, the ministry said.
Some Taiwanese beans have won top prizes at international competitions recently and domestic beans are often auctioned at high prices, it said.
“Taiwanese coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as it is believed to be self-pollinating and more productive, but our studies showed that arabica beans have a higher rate of cross-pollination,” research station director Su Tsung-chen (蘇宗振) said on Thursday.
“In this case, coffee beans have more genetic variations,” Su said. “It changes the original plant and makes it difficult to ensure consistency in quality and flavor.”
The station uses an asexual reproduction technique to maintain consistency in coffee beans, he said, adding that it can help preserve the purity of plants, and maintain quality and flavor.
Applied together with cuttings, the technique helps rapid growth and reproduction needed to boost acreage of coffee plants, he said.
“We also have developed a suitable medium for reproducing coffee plants through cuttings and other key techniques to determine the degree of maturity for the beans,” he said.
“These have enabled seedling producers and farmers to rapidly grow beans imbued with specialty flavors,” he said. “Therefore, we expect an increase in the quality and competitiveness of Taiwanese coffee beans in coming years, as we have passed on these methods to producers.”
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