The hallmark of Taiwan’s agriculture is its high quality. And that trait is much in evidence when it comes to Taiwan coffee, especially the pesticide- and herbicide-free beans produced by Taiwanese Aborigines.
Taiwan barely registers in the global market. Nonetheless, coffee consumption has been growing in step with general growth in consumer spending, rising 70% from 47 cups per capita in 2004 to 78 in 2010.
There are no accurate statistics about coffee production in Taiwan. Rough estimates put the area under coffee cultivation at 1000 hectares. But Li Songyuan, author of Coffee Cultivation in Taiwan, guesses that perhaps only 350 hectares are actually being harvested. The gap stems from the unfortunate fact that coffee hasn’t been able to shake off its reputation of being a crop of low economic value.
Around the world, the major coffee producing regions are clustered around latitudes of 25 degrees. Taiwan completely suits the conditions necessary for growing coffee. In 1884 an English tea firm introduced coffee seedlings in Taipei, thus opening the book on Taiwan’s coffee history. During the Japanese era, Japanese firms cleared land to create coffee plantations in Hualien, Taitung, and Pingtung. Those coffee trees were the foundation of a true coffee industry here.
Most of the Japanese coffee plantations were established in mountainous areas mainly inhabited by Aborigines. The coffee they produced was sufficiently prized to be offered to the Japanese emperor at one point. But after the return of Chinese rule, the trees were abandoned and their beans left unharvested.
Starting around 1990 Taiwan entered an era of cheap coffee and of coffee-shop chains that brewed imported beans. They made drinking coffee commonplace, but the coffee culture continued to evolve. Along with “new agriculture” trends and changing social attitudes that put more emphasis on slowing down and savoring life, pickier Taiwanese consumers have begun to shun the imported brews on offer at coffee-shop chains and convenience stores and have turned toward specialty retailers featuring locally grown beans.
The transformation has sparked an Aboriginal coffee revolution. Aboriginal farmers have discovered that the trees that had been abandoned by earlier generations are producing beans that—after roasting and brewing—offer a brew that fetches a high price, despite being slightly sour and bitter. With that knowledge came a great realization: those hundreds and thousands of Arabica coffee trees that their ancestors had planted could be put to good use. With that they have an advantage over lowland farmers.
A “black gold” economy is thus rising.
In this issue of Taiwan Panorama we visit the Rukai village of Kungadavane, the Paiwan and Rukai village of Rulakes, and the Amis village of Kalala, to introduce readers to those villagers’ quest for a rich and fragrant cup of native joe.
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