Sprudge
Date: February 26 2018
By: Asser Boggild Christensen

Taiwan and coffee haven’t always been closely linked in people’s minds. After all, this is the country that invented bubble tea. Yes, exactly. That gooey, mysterious tea-beverage with small tapioca balls orbiting around. But today, Taiwan, and especially the capital Taipei, is a veritable coffee lover’s paradise.

I went there in November last year to participate in the Taiwan International Coffee Show, where I was more than impressed. The show boasted 1,828 booths from all over the world, and almost 200,000 visitors made their way out to the massive Nangang Exhibition Hall during the four days the show was on. Everywhere you turned, there were free samples of rare Geishas, brewed by international barista champions such as Tetsu Kasuya as well as local luminaries Berg Wu and Chad Wang.

My experience at the show would be indicative of the rest of my time on the island. There is coffee everywhere you look in Taipei, and for the most part, it’s top shelf stuff.

Coffee culture in Taiwan is quite old compared to that of many other Asian countries. The Japanese occupied the island from 1895 to 1945 and brought with them an appreciation of fine coffees.    [FULL  STORY]