Savoring Taiwan | Exploring Hidden Coffee Treasures

Besides tea, coffee is also a daily beverage for many Taiwanese. A 2022 online survey showed that approximately 40% of Taiwanese drink at least one cup of coffee per day. In 2023, the total amount of coffee beans consumed in Taiwan could brew approximately 4.24 billion cups of coffee, equivalent to 184 cups per person per year, ranking roughly in the top fifteen globally.



Booming Coffee Consumption
Looking at consumer habits, two events around 2000 significantly brought Taiwanese closer to coffee. First, Starbucks, the leading American coffee chain, entered Taiwan in 1998. Whether it was their concept of creating a "third place" for consumers, making "carrying coffee to the streets and offices" a fashion trend, raising the price range consumers would accept for coffee through high-quality experiences, or attracting more people who previously didn't drink coffee to start drinking it - all were important steps in changing Taiwan's coffee consumption culture.

Second, 7-ELEVEN convenience stores launched City Cafe in 2004, instantly opening what felt like thousands of takeaway coffee shops in every corner of Taiwan. The convenience, speed, and more affordable coffee prices made consumers' "attachment" to coffee even stronger.

Looking back at coffee consumption, in 1998 when Starbucks first arrived in Taiwan, Taiwanese consumed an average of 32 cups of coffee per person per year, roughly one-sixth of today's amount. One can imagine the tremendous changes in the coffee market.

Coffee Beans from Taiwan
Coffee beans are mainly produced in South America, Central America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, with major producing countries including Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, and Ethiopia.

Taiwan actually has conditions suitable for growing coffee trees. Although domestic production is only about one-fiftieth of imports, the quality of coffee beans from several Taiwanese coffee estates is quite good, even achieving the distinction of being the world's most expensive coffee beans at auction.

The earliest history of coffee cultivation in Taiwan can be traced back to 1884 when the British trading company Tait & Co. introduced coffee trees from Manila. Most coffee plantations were abandoned during the Pacific War, but post-war demand created by American aid drove a wave of development. In the late 1950s, when international coffee prices rose, Taiwan's cultivation also reached an annual production of 100 metric tons of coffee beans. However, during the period of US-Taiwan diplomatic severance and economic growth, production became stagnant for a while due to factors such as reduced markets and high production costs.

The 921 Earthquake in 1999, although the most serious natural disaster in modern times, also became a major opportunity for domestic coffee development. At that time, many hillsides in central Taiwan suffered severe slope disasters, causing heavy losses to farmers' lives and economies. After the disaster, the government encouraged farmers to switch to cash crops with better soil and water conservation effects, creating an opportunity for the revival of domestic coffee plantations.

Today, Taiwan's main domestic coffee producing areas include Gukeng Township in Yunlin County, areas surrounding the Alishan Mountain Range in Chiayi County, Guoxing Township in Nantou County, and Pingtung and Hualien. Among them, the Alishan area has unique environmental conditions. Besides producing high mountain tea famous both domestically and internationally, its large day-night temperature differences and frequent fog also help produce coffee beans with distinctive flavors. Specialty coffee beans carefully roasted by coffee artisans have repeatedly achieved excellent results in competitions.

Besides imported coffee beans from overseas, the quality of Taiwan-grown coffee beans is also recognized

Visiting Award-Winning Domestic Specialty Coffee Estates
In 2020, at the "Taiwan Domestic Specialty Coffee Bean Evaluation" held by the Agriculture and Food Agency of the Council of Agriculture, four estates from Chiayi County swept up the Special Prize and four First Prizes, achieving brilliant results. These included "Zouchuyuan Tourism and Leisure Farm," which won both the Special Prize and First Prize in one sweep, as well as "YUYUPAS Mafei Coffee Estate" and "Dingfeng Coffee Estate," which won First Prizes - all located in the Alishan area.

Zouchuyuan is located in Leye Village, Alishan Township, at an elevation of 1,200 to 1,400 meters, utilizing environmental advantages to grow excellent coffee trees. Furthermore, their coffee beans impressed the judges by successfully presenting different flavors across various processing methods including sun-dried, washed, and honey-processed, as well as different roasting levels from light to medium to dark roast. Visitors can tour the coffee plantation at Zouchuyuan or enjoy high mountain quality coffee at their own cafe.

Also located in Leye, "YUYUPAS Mafei Coffee Estate" is a leader in the coffee industry and one of the featured tea houses. At Mafei Coffee Estate, visitors can enjoy views of both tea and coffee plantations, and participate in bean roasting experiences - first separating the coffee skin from the fruit, then sifting out the fruit, and finally carefully roasting the beans, witnessing the process of green beans slowly turning brown. YUYUPAS Mafei Coffee Estate also offers DIY courses in hand-drip coffee brewing. Interested visitors can refer to tours recommended on Farm Travel Supermarket.

Additionally, Chiayi's "Zhuowushan Coffee Farm" and Yunlin's "Songyue Coffee Estate," which won Gold Awards in that evaluation, later set records of over NT$30,000 (US$1,000) per kilogram at auctions in 2021 and 2023 respectively, earning the title of the world's most expensive coffee beans at the time, with quality receiving high recognition.

To taste Zhuowushan Coffee Farm's high-quality coffee, visitors can go to their "Zhuowu Coffee" store in downtown Chiayi City. Songyue Coffee Estate can be enjoyed on-site in Shibi Village, Gukeng Township. Visitors may also want to visit the healing Shibi Bamboo Creative Forest Park and Yunling Peak for panoramic views of the surrounding scenery.


Zhuowushan Coffee Farm is located in the Alishan area, with a natural environment and non-toxic management for growing coffee trees. The red fruits on the trees are ripe coffee beans


Songyue Coffee Estate's frequently misty environment produces high-quality coffee beans

Further north, Guoxing Township in Nantou County began planting coffee after the 921 Earthquake, gradually developing into one of Taiwan's main coffee producing areas. Here, they actively promote origin certification systems for coffee beans to ensure no pesticide residue in the production process. Visitors can visit "92 Xiangyang High Mountain Coffee" and "Baisheng Village Leisure Farm," or the "92 Coffee Story House" established by the Guoxing Township Farmers' Association, or participate in the "Guoxing Coffee Festival" held for over ten years during summer vacation, to better understand the charm of high-quality domestic coffee. There are several more articles on the Agri Travel Website to help visitors become more familiar with coffee.
World Coffee Culture History 
Coffee in Daily Life (Part 1): Introduction to common coffee items
Coffee in Daily Life (Part 2): Introduction to coffee bean varieties and processing methods
Beginner's Guide to Hand-Drip Coffee - Finding Your Own Coffee : A beginner's guide to brewing coffee at home
Getting Close to Local Agriculture: Coffee Expert Hsu Pao-lin Tells "The Story of Coffee" : Touring coffee estates from a judge's perspective




Zouchuyuan Tourism and Leisure Farm
Address: No. 71, Neighborhood 2, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County
Hours: 08:00-17:00
Phone: 05-2561118
Website: Link


YUYUPAS Mafei Coffee Estate
Address: No. 127-2, Neighborhood 4, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County
Hours: 09:00-17:00
Phone: 05-2562788
Website: Link


Zhuowushan Coffee Farm
Address: No. 12, Neighborhood 2, Gongtian Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County
Hours: By appointment
Phone: 0937-657064
Website: Link


Songyue Coffee Estate
Address: No. 13, Neighborhood 2, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County
Hours: 9:00-17:00 (advance contact recommended)
Phone: 0905-298379
Website: Link


Zhuowu Coffee
Address: No. 194, Minsheng North Road, West District, Chiayi City
Hours: 08:30-17:00
Phone: 05-2225896
Website: Link


92 Xiangyang High Mountain Coffee
Address: No. 206-5, Section 1, Zhongzheng Road, Guoxing Township, Nantou County
Hours: 09:00-18:00
Phone: 049-2721430
Website: Link


Baisheng Village Leisure Farm
Address: No. 87-9, Guoxing Road, Guoxing Township, Nantou County
Hours: 09:00-12:00, 13:30-17:00
Phone: 049-2461001
Website: Link
Admission: NT$200 on weekdays; NT$250 on weekends


92 Coffee Story House
Address: No. 356-11, Section 2, Zhongzheng Road, Guoxing Township, Nantou County
Hours: 10:00-18:00
Phone: 049-2720781

This content was translated by AI. Please refer to the original text if you have any concerns.