Recommended by coffee experts
林哲豪(Krude Lin)
●Current position
Taiwan Coffee Laboratory Project Director
C³offee coffee magazine publisher
●Experience
SCAJ Certified Master Barista(only 2 in the world outside)
SCAA Coffee Taster Level 1, Level 2 Pathway Certificate
SCAA Roaster Level 1 Pathway Certificate
CQI Q Arabica Grader Certificate
CQI Q Robusta Grader Certificate
CQI Q Processing Professional Certificate
If there is a place in the world where the pursuit of excellent flavor and quality of specialty coffee can be realized, it is the beautiful island of Taiwan, which is the most suitable field for this purpose. In Taiwan, diligent and outstanding coffee farmers use their professional skills and enthusiasm, driven by curiosity about the market, to put in great effort and countless experiments in every step of cultivation, from variety selection, cutting and grafting, pruning, harvesting and selection, to processing and fermentation.
As the place with the highest coffee culture density in the world, Taiwan's mature and developed consumer culture has shortened the distance between plantations and urban areas, with coffee professionals, roasters and cuppers voluntarily entering the farms. In the past, urban coffee people and coffee-producing farmers were two parallel lines, but now they are inseparable and perfectly blended, driving farmers' endless pursuit of quality in the cup.
What we are proud of is not just being able to taste the flavors that the world has once tasted on a hilltop, but also being able to taste completely new terroirs that have never been discovered before in the mountains. We look forward to your tasting as well.
近藤啓(Kei Kondo)
●Current position
Principal and roaster of Ichika Coffee Shop.
●Experience
Winner of 2016 JCRC (Japan Coffee Roasting Championship)
7th place in 2017 WCRC (World Coffee Roasting Championship)
Semi-finalist in 2017 JBrC (Japan Beer Cup)
One of the great charms of Taiwanese coffee is its diversity in taste. Due to different farms and extraction methods, the flavor ranges from a smooth tea-like taste to those with floral and juicy fresh citrus notes. Two years ago, Itsuka Coffee Shop sold coffee from the Hua Yin Coffee Estate in Nantou County, which was greatly loved for its strong fruity aroma and taste. Even after sales ended, there was a continuous demand for resale. In recent years, I have had the pleasure of tasting Taiwanese coffee and have been impressed by the remarkable improvement in quality. This has filled me with high expectations for the future of Taiwanese coffee. Despite being in close proximity to Japan's coffee-producing region, many people are still unaware of how such tantalizing coffee was made. Therefore, I hope more people can experience the rich flavor of Taiwanese coffee.
仲村良行(Yoshiyuki Nakamura)
●Current position
Principal of Dou Pore Pore.
●Experience
Certified Q-grader by SCAA/CQI
Winner of 2017 JCRC (Japan Coffee Roasting Championship)
4th place in 2018 JCRC (Japan Coffee Roasting Championship)
2nd place in 2018 WCRC (World Coffee Roasting Championship)
In Taiwan, which is located near Okinawa, the climate and food are similar to those of Okinawa, creating a sense of familiarity with Taiwanese coffee. I was honored to have the opportunity to taste coffee from 13 different estates in Taiwan. Each coffee, whether in terms of its variety or post-production performance has its own uniqueness, which surprised me. Through the coffee trees planted by the natural environment of Taiwan and the careful cultivation and post-processing of the producers, I can feel the messages conveyed by the different flavors while tasting the coffee. As a new coffee-producing region near Japan, I am looking forward to visiting Taiwan and experiencing Taiwanese coffee firsthand one day.
中村元治(Motoharu Nakamura)
●Current position
Principal of COFFEE ROASTERY NAKAJI
●Experience
Certified SCAA/CQI Q Grader
Serves as a consultant for home coffee roasting
In 2021, Motoharu tasted 13 different varieties of Taiwanese coffee for the first time and was impressed by their high quality. He wanted to spread the word that Taiwan, like Japan, can produce such delicious coffee, so he purchased coffee beans from TGC and sold them at his own shop. The response was even more enthusiastic than he had imagined, with some customers moved to tears by the coffee's flavor when paired with food. He suggested that we could develop a new product by incorporating the flavor of Taiwanese coffee into Japanese sake.
We hope to share the rich and fascinating flavors of coffee grown in Taiwan with more people.
三神亮(Ryo Mikami)
●Current position
Principal of Roast Design Coffee
●Experience
WCRC Japanese Certification Instructor (2014-present) (6 times)
Cup of Excellence Judge
Best of Panama Judge
Taiwan has nearly 4,000 meters of high mountains, which provide the rare cultivation elements necessary to produce delicious coffee that the world can appreciate. The opportunity to taste Taiwanese coffee increased last year, and at first sip, it evokes thoughts of tropical fruits such as pineapple or mango. The taste has become increasingly rich over the years. From Kenya to Hawaii, and now to Taiwan, SL34 is a variety that represents Taiwan, known for its sweetness and strong richness. And the recently introduced Geisha is also not to be missed, with an elegant floral aroma combined with the tropical fruit flavors of Taiwan. It is expected that Taiwanese coffee will become increasingly popular in the future.
山田哲史(Tetsufumi Yamada)
●Current position
Principal of COFFEE potohoto
●Experience
SCAA/CQI Q Grader
5th place in the 2014 Japan Coffee Roasting Championship
Since 2012, I have been visiting coffee producers in Taiwan about twice a year. I have a strong interest in the coffee produced by this country, which is located near Okinawa. During my first visit, I was impressed by the high quality of Taiwanese oolong tea, besides, perhaps it is the high altitude of the farms and the warmth of the locals that have contributed to the creation of such delicious coffee.
Taiwanese coffee quality has improved so fast that far beyond what I could have imagined, and it is hard to believe that this small island nation is located just next to Okinawa.
Taiwan is a coffee-producing island that you absolutely must experience at least once in your lifetime.
岩崎建一(Kenichi Iwasaki)
●Current position
Roaster at coffee Benini, a specialty coffee shop with in-house roasting.
●Experience
SCAA/CQI Q grader
Since 2021, there have been opportunities to taste Taiwanese coffee, and the impressions left were completely subverting the perception of "Asian production". It surprised me that the unique flavors and various charms of local farms, along with the unexpectedly high quality. The coffee beans from Qingye Estate and Fumo Estate that we sell at our cafe have also been highly praised by customers.
Furthermore, we had the opportunity to explain the history of Taiwanese coffee at a Taiwanese coffee event. As we learned about the history of Taiwanese coffee, we also discovered the inseparable connection between the cultivation of Taiwanese coffee and Japan, which gave us a sense of familiarity. The cafes that participated this year were diverse, and we hope that more people can understand the history of Taiwan and experience the charming Taiwanese coffee together.
