Our coffee from Taiwan, Yangui, still surprises many people. For most European customers, Taiwan is known for Oolong tea – not coffee. But the floral, tea-like Geisha from Yangui has quietly become a favorite for many in our lineup.
After Fabian and Seraina visited the farm in 2024, Taiwan started to feel much closer to home. Two years later, Dennys travelled back to the island – this time with his wife – to see how things have developed and to explore further farms in the Alishan region. It was Dennys’ third time in Taiwan, but his first visit to Yangui Coffee Manor. For his wife, it was a first encounter with both Taiwan and Taiwanese coffee production – and seeing everything with fresh eyes added a valuable outside perspective.
Alongside Yangui, Dennys also visited Zhuang Xuan Yoifo Coffee, a young producer we haven’t worked with or visited before.
Here’s his report:
From Taichung to the Alishan Mountains
Coffee in Taiwan is grown high up in the mountains – often on land that used to be dedicated to tea. The further we climbed, the narrower and more winding the roads became. An absolute joy to drive!
Timing worked in our favor: we arrived just after nightfall, meaning only a few minutes of mountain driving in the dark. Our accommodation was a beautiful, wood-interior lodge run by locals from the Tsou tribe. Luckily, my wife’s basic Chinese skills helped us to communicate with the owners.
Reunion with Neil from Taiwan Coffee Laboratory
The next morning, we met Neil from Taiwan Coffee Laboratory (TCL). Neil had first crossed paths with our team during Fabian and Seraina’s trip to Taiwanese coffee farms and we’ve since met again at World of Coffee Busan in 2024. In Alishan, he works closely with local producers and plays an active role in the region’s specialty coffee community.
Having local partners like Neil along makes a huge difference. Not only did he help with logistics, he also explained why certain varieties are planted, why trees are pruned in a specific way, how tea history shapes coffee farming today countless other details that help make sense of coffee production in the region.
Yangui Coffee Manor
Our visit to Yangui felt like re-discovering a familiar coffee. We started with a cupping of three early harvest samples. Harvest was supposed to be underway, but the season is unusually late this year – another reminder of how climate instability affects even small, high-elevation farms in Taiwan.
We walked through the farm, looking at different varieties and the relatively short-cut coffee trees. Much of the land used to grow Oolong tea, and that agricultural history is still visible everywhere. This connection between tea and coffee is something you feel everywhere in Alishan and can even taste.
Lunch was prepared in Tsou style: tofu, jade jelly, various vegetables and meat dishes – all distinctly local. Yangui’s owner, Fa'ei Poitsonü (Han-Wen Pu), has become an important figure in Taiwan’s specialty scene. Yet, he stays his humble and humorous self.
Zhuang Xuan Yoifo Coffee
Our second farm visit took us to Zhuang Xuan Yoifo Coffee. Coffee was brewed, bananas grown on the farm were served – and then, as usual, a cupping followed.
Zhuang Xuan Yoifo is run by a younger producer gradually taking over from his family. The family belongs to the Tsou tribe, and Shamanistic traditions are still part of daily life. The fields looked completely different from Yangui: tall coffee trees, large and dense, their branches touching each other.
To reach the upper part of the farm, we hopped onto the back of a pickup truck. My wife was understandably a bit hesitant, but after a short (and very bumpy) five-minute ride uphill, she was all smiles.
Zhuang Xuan Yoifo hasn’t exported coffee for long yet and the farm is still relatively unknown internationally, but they’re clearly on the rise. They’ve already sold coffee to Blue Bottle – a strong signal for where they’re heading.
While we usually prioritize strengthening existing partnerships rather than constantly searching for something new, meeting young producers like Zhuang Xuan Yoifo felt important in order to better understand Taiwanese coffee production as a whole.
Agriculture in Context
During our time together, Neil shared a huge amount of knowledge about Taiwanese coffee, farming decisions, and the broader agricultural context. What stood out most was how interconnected everything is. Alishan and its coffee culture are shaped by:
- Oolong tea as the traditional backbone of agriculture
- Coffee varieties like Geisha, Typica and SL34 known to produce high-quality cups
- Betel nut cultivation, which can increase erosion during heavy rains
Understanding these layers not only tells us more about how the local coffee production works, it also changes how we taste the coffee later. We always hope to share at least part of that perspective with our community back home.
Back to Taipei
After two nights in the mountains, we drove back toward Taipei and immediately dove into city life: night markets, temples, endless street food and oyster omelettes that deserve their own fan club. A sharp contrast – and a fitting end to a short but meaningful trip.
Final Thoughts
Visiting coffee farms first hand and connecting with our producers is always an incredibly rewarding and motivating experience for us as coffee roasters.
As always, we came back to Bern with more understanding, more respect, and a deeper connection to the coffees we roast every day – and we’re looking forward to producers’ visits to our roastery as well!
