Taiwan - Place, People, Coffee
Having been to Taiwan many times before, first time in 1998 I have been very lucky see the transformation that is very slowly happening in this vibrant island, the Taiwanese are not known as a coffee loving/drinking society, yes they love their food and tea lots of tea, but coffee "hmmm"'
Arriving in Taipei when the doors of the airport open and the blast of warm humid air hits your face, its an unmistakable feeling that you have arrived in a tropical environment.
I have always been interested in Taiwanese coffee, but I could not find any information on it, nor any beans in shops, markets, but I knew that coffee was growing in this Island, it must be some where, I just have to search...right?
During the long trips to the mountains I would keep a constant look out when valleys or any type of suitable environment came into view of the car windows, it was my quest to find coffee in Taiwan, the problem was that no one I spoke to know where to look, ''we have some great tea" (was the typical answer I got) "try some tea you will love it"
''Yes I know about the tea here'' I stated many times, its some of the best in the world, amazing flavours, aroma, going to a tea house in Taiwan, high in the mountains is an unforgeable experience, barrels loaded with exquisite tea, the fragrance, the passion, the taste buds in your mouth will love you, the caffeine will keep you shopping all day long.
But I wanted a coffee plant, I wanted one so badly I could take it back to the UK, as my price possession. I wanted to see the cherries, red cherries,white flowers with their sweet smell and most of all, I wanted to drink some of this coffee, with all that rich soil and high mountains it had to be good.
Many trips passed, different times of the year which made trips to the mountains near impossible at times, the last place you wanted to be caught in a heavy rain storm, so I had during those times settle for the local cafe serving Lavazza super crema or some other blend and dream about finding the plants.
Actually coffee shops were so rare, and the coffee so poor back in those days, I was lucky I purchased a pour over kit when I was in Tokyo prior to Taiwan, it saved my life and ruined the life of my in-laws as they all became somewhat addicted to coffee, yep! I would wake up mice and early and brew a good batch using some UCC Japanese blend I purchased at one of their local Tokyo supermarkets.
I had a Carafe,but I found in the kitchen a container that looked like a Thermos that had the top half missing, I placed the dripper on top and it was a perfect fit.
Days after when I would wake up, everyone would emerge from their rooms knowing that a delicious cup of coffee was not far away, I purchased a old fashion coffee grinder and made everyone work for they daily cup, that grinder was passed round and its handle would turn and turn until the desired amount was ready to be brewed, I knew they would work for their coffee, back then they were hooked, right now they are coffee connoisseurs.
But times have moved on and the coffee revolution has reached Taiwan, I was still searching for that one plant and my wish did come true one afternoon near Hsinchu.
While having ''what else but a cup of coffee'' during a stop over while on a road trip, at a cafe which is located within a small park, I had been there before as the coffee was very well prepared, but never investigated the near by grounds, after my fill, I went ahead and investigated the surrounding area.
It did not take long to spot, the red colour stood out from the darkish green, those big leaf with their characteristic pattern, I had found one, then 2 and 3 there were lots of them and all bearing fruit.
I had found coffee growing in Taiwan, Arabica was its type, bushes were at least 7-8 feet tall and very healthy. I did pick one of the cherries, tasted its sweetness, held it in my hand like a gold nugget precious and valuable.
Photos taken, memory embedded in my mind to recall at a later time and pass on my personal experience, I ordered another cup of coffee to celebrate the moment.
Little did I know what the next few days had to offer.
During a day trip to Sun- Moon lake located within the Yuchi Nantou area and at over 700m above sea level, and home to the traditional Thao people was formed by natural earth movements over hundreds of years.
Unforgettable encounter.
Parking the car in a local parking station, a short walk to the hotel and lake, this parking station was being renovated, there were trucks entering and leaving loaded with broken pieces of concrete and soil, there were holes with exposed pipes, in general a lot of work was being done.
Making my way through the signs and pedestrian path, I saw out the corner of my eye something familiar to me now, well I did a double take, rubbed my eyes, splashed some cold water on my face to make sure I was awake and not in some sort of multi dimensional dream because there by my side was a coffee plant growing in a commercial car park under construction.
It was very well looked after, like a monument, nothing was harming it, it looked very happy among the concrete, trucks and tourists - far away from its natural habitat in a hill somewhere within the near by mountains.
If this plant had grown to such size in such a hostile environment, the locals must understand and protect this prized commodity, I was going to find out why later on.
After spending 2 days at the lake's town, enjoying the local food and sight seeing, which included a boat trip to the other side of the lake,were a shop by the pier sells tea boiled eggs by the hundreds, and local rice wine is to be found not far away.
We parted back home, and while driving the 200 kilometres trip back to Zhongli , planned our next trips. Visit a local Hakka restaurant were we enjoy the goodies on offer, then a train day trip to Taipei and visit the new 101 building.
Entering our beloved restaurant, we quickly sat down and ordered the local fare, well its great to have a member of the team understand the local cuisine and order on your behalf. :-)
The food is always so fresh, sourcing local produce is key plus skill in combining all the herbs and spices to deliver a remembering experience.
The next day we headed to the rail station and boarded a fast train to Taipei, I like Taipei with its tall buildings, department stores and old/new feel.
One minute you are walking along a modern street, turn a corner and you find yourself surrounded by shops selling all sorts of industrial spare parts, do it your self and electronic shops.
We caught a taxi to the Taipei 101 and set of to the viewing platform, your ears pop as the elevator takes you up at over 15 metres per second and reaches the 89th floor in just over 30 seconds...amazing.
Another amazing thing is the huge damper (660 tonnes) located there, keeping the building level and ready to act in case of a typhoon or earthquake.
Then you have to deal with the views...wow!
It was a hazy day, but still could see for miles, you feel like a giant standing at the near top of this building, tiny people get on with their daily business down below looking so small.
You can spend a considerable amount of time visiting Taipei, there is so much to see, and eat.
Food is everywhere, but I was saving my stomach for the night market and its unmistakable and spicy smelly tofu.
You know its near, you have to cross that invisible line and woosh your senses receive a dose of ...well hard to describe the smell, I would describe it as fermented cabbage..no..fermented mushrooms..No! its just fermented smell.
This is serious food that has its own championship events, I think of the judges, their palate must be well tuned. There are two types of smelly tofu I have tried, in a soup base and deep fried
They are both very interesting.
I did squeeze a few more dishes that night followed by guava and bitter melon juice, which turned out to be super refreshing.
The night markets are a great way to taste and discover new foods, its like a great big outdoors Tapas festival, below are just but a few of the dishes on offer
The following day we decided to just take it slow and shop for some goodies to take home, it was great to walk the streets of Zhongli picking up some snacks along the way, For some reason I always get nervous when crossing the roads in Zhongli, its like that chicken game, you are the chicken and try dodge cars and scooters to make it to the other side, with all your limbs intact! its quite an experience. I am beginning to ..enjoy?
The next morning we left early to the main train station and boarded the Super fast train to Kaohsiung city located on the southern part of Taiwan, it was very pleasant trip , as the train travels at over 120 miles per hour cutting through fields and hollowed out mountains, a very fast comfortable trip.
Arriving 2 hours later at Zuoying high speed rail station, we headed to Qijin by taking a underground train to Kaohsiung train station and changing to Sizihwan were you will find the local water taxi ''which is jammed packed with scooters on the blow deck'' the boat trip last around 10 min.
Qijin is a very small part of town were you can walk the streets and discover delights like the below which is great after a long walk.
In the afternoon we headed to the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas which is located at the Lotus Pond( a large body of water, this area is very tourist orientated with many shops selling souvenirs, great place for a long stroll, there was a small market when we visited.
You are suppose to enter the Dragons mouth and exit by the Tiger, this is suppose to bring good fortune.
There is not much in the way of interesting food or coffee shops here, so we settled to visit the local night market later that day, which is always guaranteed to delight your palate
We arrived and were not disappointed, the food choices were quite overwhelming, below are some of the food on offer.
Arriving in Taipei when the doors of the airport open and the blast of warm humid air hits your face, its an unmistakable feeling that you have arrived in a tropical environment.
I have always been interested in Taiwanese coffee, but I could not find any information on it, nor any beans in shops, markets, but I knew that coffee was growing in this Island, it must be some where, I just have to search...right?
During the long trips to the mountains I would keep a constant look out when valleys or any type of suitable environment came into view of the car windows, it was my quest to find coffee in Taiwan, the problem was that no one I spoke to know where to look, ''we have some great tea" (was the typical answer I got) "try some tea you will love it"
''Yes I know about the tea here'' I stated many times, its some of the best in the world, amazing flavours, aroma, going to a tea house in Taiwan, high in the mountains is an unforgeable experience, barrels loaded with exquisite tea, the fragrance, the passion, the taste buds in your mouth will love you, the caffeine will keep you shopping all day long.
But I wanted a coffee plant, I wanted one so badly I could take it back to the UK, as my price possession. I wanted to see the cherries, red cherries,white flowers with their sweet smell and most of all, I wanted to drink some of this coffee, with all that rich soil and high mountains it had to be good.
Many trips passed, different times of the year which made trips to the mountains near impossible at times, the last place you wanted to be caught in a heavy rain storm, so I had during those times settle for the local cafe serving Lavazza super crema or some other blend and dream about finding the plants.
Actually coffee shops were so rare, and the coffee so poor back in those days, I was lucky I purchased a pour over kit when I was in Tokyo prior to Taiwan, it saved my life and ruined the life of my in-laws as they all became somewhat addicted to coffee, yep! I would wake up mice and early and brew a good batch using some UCC Japanese blend I purchased at one of their local Tokyo supermarkets.
I had a Carafe,but I found in the kitchen a container that looked like a Thermos that had the top half missing, I placed the dripper on top and it was a perfect fit.
Days after when I would wake up, everyone would emerge from their rooms knowing that a delicious cup of coffee was not far away, I purchased a old fashion coffee grinder and made everyone work for they daily cup, that grinder was passed round and its handle would turn and turn until the desired amount was ready to be brewed, I knew they would work for their coffee, back then they were hooked, right now they are coffee connoisseurs.
But times have moved on and the coffee revolution has reached Taiwan, I was still searching for that one plant and my wish did come true one afternoon near Hsinchu.
While having ''what else but a cup of coffee'' during a stop over while on a road trip, at a cafe which is located within a small park, I had been there before as the coffee was very well prepared, but never investigated the near by grounds, after my fill, I went ahead and investigated the surrounding area.
It did not take long to spot, the red colour stood out from the darkish green, those big leaf with their characteristic pattern, I had found one, then 2 and 3 there were lots of them and all bearing fruit.
I had found coffee growing in Taiwan, Arabica was its type, bushes were at least 7-8 feet tall and very healthy. I did pick one of the cherries, tasted its sweetness, held it in my hand like a gold nugget precious and valuable.
Photos taken, memory embedded in my mind to recall at a later time and pass on my personal experience, I ordered another cup of coffee to celebrate the moment.
 |
| The standard of coffee has progressed over the last 12 years. |
 |
| Found my coffee |
Little did I know what the next few days had to offer.
During a day trip to Sun- Moon lake located within the Yuchi Nantou area and at over 700m above sea level, and home to the traditional Thao people was formed by natural earth movements over hundreds of years.
 |
| Sun Moon lake at sun rise |
 |
| Local boat |
Unforgettable encounter.
Parking the car in a local parking station, a short walk to the hotel and lake, this parking station was being renovated, there were trucks entering and leaving loaded with broken pieces of concrete and soil, there were holes with exposed pipes, in general a lot of work was being done.
Making my way through the signs and pedestrian path, I saw out the corner of my eye something familiar to me now, well I did a double take, rubbed my eyes, splashed some cold water on my face to make sure I was awake and not in some sort of multi dimensional dream because there by my side was a coffee plant growing in a commercial car park under construction.
It was very well looked after, like a monument, nothing was harming it, it looked very happy among the concrete, trucks and tourists - far away from its natural habitat in a hill somewhere within the near by mountains.
If this plant had grown to such size in such a hostile environment, the locals must understand and protect this prized commodity, I was going to find out why later on.
After spending 2 days at the lake's town, enjoying the local food and sight seeing, which included a boat trip to the other side of the lake,were a shop by the pier sells tea boiled eggs by the hundreds, and local rice wine is to be found not far away.
 |
| Tea boiled egg |
 |
| Local wine |
 |
| The view from across the lake |
 |
| Local food |
 |
| Fresh Bamboo root. |
We parted back home, and while driving the 200 kilometres trip back to Zhongli , planned our next trips. Visit a local Hakka restaurant were we enjoy the goodies on offer, then a train day trip to Taipei and visit the new 101 building.
Entering our beloved restaurant, we quickly sat down and ordered the local fare, well its great to have a member of the team understand the local cuisine and order on your behalf. :-)
The food is always so fresh, sourcing local produce is key plus skill in combining all the herbs and spices to deliver a remembering experience.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The next day we headed to the rail station and boarded a fast train to Taipei, I like Taipei with its tall buildings, department stores and old/new feel.
One minute you are walking along a modern street, turn a corner and you find yourself surrounded by shops selling all sorts of industrial spare parts, do it your self and electronic shops.
We caught a taxi to the Taipei 101 and set of to the viewing platform, your ears pop as the elevator takes you up at over 15 metres per second and reaches the 89th floor in just over 30 seconds...amazing.
Another amazing thing is the huge damper (660 tonnes) located there, keeping the building level and ready to act in case of a typhoon or earthquake.
Then you have to deal with the views...wow!
It was a hazy day, but still could see for miles, you feel like a giant standing at the near top of this building, tiny people get on with their daily business down below looking so small.
You can spend a considerable amount of time visiting Taipei, there is so much to see, and eat.
Food is everywhere, but I was saving my stomach for the night market and its unmistakable and spicy smelly tofu.
You know its near, you have to cross that invisible line and woosh your senses receive a dose of ...well hard to describe the smell, I would describe it as fermented cabbage..no..fermented mushrooms..No! its just fermented smell.
Smelly tofu, (fermented tofu cooked in a large clay pot with lots of spices, vegetables and some other secret ingredients) is for people with an acquired taste, are adventurous with their food, or like me try everything.
Once you get past the smell when the spool loaded with goodness :-) reaches your mouth, the spiciness and herbs take over, to deliver a very intense and unforgeable experience, that if you get passed this level.. you will dig that bowl for more.  |
| Soup Based super spicy but yummy |
This is serious food that has its own championship events, I think of the judges, their palate must be well tuned. There are two types of smelly tofu I have tried, in a soup base and deep fried
They are both very interesting.
I did squeeze a few more dishes that night followed by guava and bitter melon juice, which turned out to be super refreshing.
The night markets are a great way to taste and discover new foods, its like a great big outdoors Tapas festival, below are just but a few of the dishes on offer
 |
| Snake soup |
 |
| Ba Wan |
 |
| Dumplings being made, (skill) |
 |
| Dumplings ready to eat |
 |
| Warm tofu with peanuts & ginger syrup |
 |
| Must have- spicy smelly tofu. |
The following day we decided to just take it slow and shop for some goodies to take home, it was great to walk the streets of Zhongli picking up some snacks along the way, For some reason I always get nervous when crossing the roads in Zhongli, its like that chicken game, you are the chicken and try dodge cars and scooters to make it to the other side, with all your limbs intact! its quite an experience. I am beginning to ..enjoy?
The next morning we left early to the main train station and boarded the Super fast train to Kaohsiung city located on the southern part of Taiwan, it was very pleasant trip , as the train travels at over 120 miles per hour cutting through fields and hollowed out mountains, a very fast comfortable trip.
Arriving 2 hours later at Zuoying high speed rail station, we headed to Qijin by taking a underground train to Kaohsiung train station and changing to Sizihwan were you will find the local water taxi ''which is jammed packed with scooters on the blow deck'' the boat trip last around 10 min.
Qijin is a very small part of town were you can walk the streets and discover delights like the below which is great after a long walk.
 |
| Water ferry |
 |
In the afternoon we headed to the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas which is located at the Lotus Pond( a large body of water, this area is very tourist orientated with many shops selling souvenirs, great place for a long stroll, there was a small market when we visited.
You are suppose to enter the Dragons mouth and exit by the Tiger, this is suppose to bring good fortune.
There is not much in the way of interesting food or coffee shops here, so we settled to visit the local night market later that day, which is always guaranteed to delight your palate
We arrived and were not disappointed, the food choices were quite overwhelming, below are some of the food on offer.
 |
| Juice Bar |
 |
| Dumpling stand |
 |
| Chicken butts on a stick. |
 |
| More yummy Dumplings |
|
I love the food and the passion for food in this Island, you purchase a bowl of noodles for .50 GBP at a local noodle joint, and when you finish the noodles & beef and have spare soup in the bowl, you take the bowl to the waiter who will address the chef to fill it up with fresh noodles again. Wow!!
During one of my local outing to a department store I found a small pop up shop selling coffee, and coffee beans.
Upon further investigation, I found that the coffee on offer was 100% Taiwanese grown (Tainan) and roasted, I purchased some of the beans on offer to take back to London and test within the comfort of my own environment.
This coffee upon brewing in my V60 was quite truly delightful!
Strong, bold punchy with chocolate and slight molasses notes, left a pleasant after taste that lasted for considerable time giving great satisfaction, milk was held very well, when milk was warmed it intensified the the chocolate notes, which makes this coffee ideal for breakfast time and help tackle the masses on the way to work.
During this trip, I found what I was looking for, a coffee plant bearing fruit, I found and tasted Taiwanese coffee and I also found that in this small island, the coffee is awesome, the people friendly and the food is great!
With their rich soil, micro climates & temperatures plus the dedication and passion has delivered a coffee bean that rank among the top of my list, rich body, chocolate earthy notes and a bold after taste that delivers a punch, milk is well handled by this coffee but to really enjoy it you must take it black, your Hario V60 dripper will love it.
There is much more to write about Taiwan, having visited this island many times, I look forward to writing more about my experiences (many) in the future.
Enjoy
During one of my local outing to a department store I found a small pop up shop selling coffee, and coffee beans.
Upon further investigation, I found that the coffee on offer was 100% Taiwanese grown (Tainan) and roasted, I purchased some of the beans on offer to take back to London and test within the comfort of my own environment.
This coffee upon brewing in my V60 was quite truly delightful!
Strong, bold punchy with chocolate and slight molasses notes, left a pleasant after taste that lasted for considerable time giving great satisfaction, milk was held very well, when milk was warmed it intensified the the chocolate notes, which makes this coffee ideal for breakfast time and help tackle the masses on the way to work.
During this trip, I found what I was looking for, a coffee plant bearing fruit, I found and tasted Taiwanese coffee and I also found that in this small island, the coffee is awesome, the people friendly and the food is great!
With their rich soil, micro climates & temperatures plus the dedication and passion has delivered a coffee bean that rank among the top of my list, rich body, chocolate earthy notes and a bold after taste that delivers a punch, milk is well handled by this coffee but to really enjoy it you must take it black, your Hario V60 dripper will love it.
There is much more to write about Taiwan, having visited this island many times, I look forward to writing more about my experiences (many) in the future.
Enjoy
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