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Coming to Huashan without having a cup of Taiwanese coffee is a pity! The particularly strong and good flavor is unforgettable.
During the Japanese Occupation Period, Japanese grew Arabica coffee trees in Gukeng Yulin to produce quality coffee beans as a tribute to mikado, and the coffee industry boomed for a while. As time changed, coffee gardens in Gukeng were abandoned or adjusted to grow other crops. But the natural conditions to grow quality coffee beans remained. Farmers still have good feelings towards growing coffee so that the farmers worked together with the government to revive the coffee gardens. In 2007, Huanshan in Gukeng became the leisure farm area and utilized its rich resources to develop leisure tourism and now it is a renowned production center of coffee at home and internationally. Coming to Huashan, visitors can get familiar with the coffee industry through guided tours and experiential activities. Accompanied by the beautiful mountainous scenery and natural ecology, visitors can drink coffee, embrace the nature and have fun here.
With Love and Craftsmanship to Make a Cup of Good Coffee
Located at the beginning of Coffee Avenue, Huanshan Produce Gift Shop run by Huashan Recreation Farm showcases local produce, provides tourist information and offers a variety of tours. Among them, roasting coffee beans and making coffee can best represent the essence of the home to coffee. Under a specialist’s guidance, visitors dump the raw coffee beans into the clay pot and swung in a circle over the heat so to make each bean roll in the pot and evenly heated; this way the water of the beans evaporates gradually. In the beginning, smell of grass emits from the pot, after the first crack, there comes caramel aroma, then it’s time to observe the color of the beans and decide the level of caffeine.
DIY leaf rubbing is an activity popular among adults and children. Collecting personal favorite leaves and rubbing them on the plaster and coloring it, visitors can bring themselves a unique souvenir home. There is also DIY natural dye clothing available that visitors can unleash their creativity and dye different patterns.
Coffee for the State Banquet
The boss of “Key Cafe”, Qingsong LIU picked the coffee fruit as snacks when he was a child. He can’t forget that sweet taste. He had a unique emotion towards coffee and turned his tea garden into a coffee garden. Mocked by his neighbors, he has made some achievement and his coffee deserves the name “Taiwan Coffee”. LIU used plenty of egg shells to nurture the land, irrigate the garden with spring water from the mountains and grow the coffee trees with organic fertilizers. From cultivation, harvest, roasting to brewing, he keeps a strict quality control. As a result, Taiwan Coffee, not bitter or astringent but mellow and smooth attracts many domestic and foreign tourists coming to have a cup of it. In 2016, his coffee was the designated beverage in the state banquet of the presidential inauguration. Visitors coming to the garden can learn the ecology of coffee, tell the varieties and features through the guided tour led by LIU. When the fruits ripen, visitors can join to harvest coffee fruits and learn to remove coffee husks, roasting coffee beans, brewing coffee and bring memories full of coffee aroma home.
Coffee as an Ingredient in Tasty Dishes
Coffee can be a beverage and also a food ingredient. Situated by the river, “Tianxiu Villa” greets its guests with the heavenly music of rivers and blends coffee into cuisines to be its unique feature. In the scorching hot summer, our first course served was “Boneless Chicken with Coffee”. Drumsticks are processed in ways of preparing drunk chicken, and the chef creatively seasons them with coffee so to create a wonderful mouth feel, together with the slight coffee aroma makes it very addictive. Then try the “Coffee Mountain Fern”, coffee powder sprinkled on top of cold vegetable ferns. The refreshing taste turned the corners of my mouth up. “Coffee Chicken Soup” is best in autumn or winter when it is cool. The soup has a savory flavor that warms up our stomach and heart; “Gourd and Rice Noodles” is local grown chestnuts and pumpkins sautéed with rice noodles, and it has the satisfying sweet flavor. These dishes look as good as they taste, and they complete the bountiful mother nature.
The Garden Cafe Relieving Worries
“Sun and Moon Shine Cafe” has a large space and green plants surround the main building and create a relaxing landscape. Entering the cafe, I was like in a glass house, green views greeted by the natural light are seen through the French windows. Having a cup of Taiwan coffee or a hot pot inside is an enjoyment that I could temporarily kept the mundane worries at bay. The boss said smilingly, “ Shanmuyanxia sounds like Sun and Moon, meaning from day to night, coffee is our best companion.” Since 1984, LAI’s parents have run the coffee bean roasting business, and after hard work of these years, it has developed into the largest specialty coffee roaster in Huanshan area. LAI is passionate about coffee and willing to share everything about coffee. They offer DIY coffee brewing and roasting activities so that visitors can bath in the aroma of coffee in this fulfilling trip.
The Handmade Noodles Stealing Your Heart
“Bridge Head Coffee” is locals, hikers and mountaineers’ favorite, and it is renowned for its handmade noodles. Bridge Head Coffee uses mushrooms, king trumpet mushrooms, fungi, bamboo shoots and carrots to make the broth which tastes fresh and mellow; the noodles are made in fresh, paired with the homemade minced pork for flavoring and a variety of side dishes such as a stewed egg and the freshly picked vegetables of the day. This bowl of noodles steals many’s heart and stomach. Of course in Huashan, visitors can savor the scrumptious handmade noodles as well as a cup of Taiwan coffee roasted by Bridge Head Coffee. The lovely fruity taste of coffee is a great enjoyment!
