It is much more common to drink high-quality coffee in Taiwan than to produce it. While the Taiwanese specialty coffee scene is thriving, it is certainly not a country that comes to mind when you think about coffee production. The small island is probably best-known as a producer of tea, especially oolong, as the world's leader in the semiconductor industry, or for the ongoing conflict with China. Yet, coffee production plays an ever-growing role in a a few areas of Taiwan.
Alishan is one of Taiwan's coffee growing regions, renowned for its stunning mountainous landscapes and high-altitude tea plantations. In recent years, however, it has also gained recognition for its specialty coffee farms. We like to think of it as the Yirgacheffe of Taiwan.
Compared to most coffee producing countries, wages as well as the standard of living are much higher in Taiwan. This fact, along with a very limited availability of land suitable for coffee growing, as well as a growing demand for the special island coffee inevitably makes the coffee very expensive. Given that they can't even come close to competing with prices in most other countries that grow coffee, it makes sense that many producers have shifted towards more exclusive coffees, working with cultivars such as Geisha, Pacamara or Mara-Geisha.
If you're interested in Taiwan as a coffee origin: We've visited Alishan twice so far – and documented both trips in blog posts for anyone who wants to look behind the scenes.
