"terroir"

"No matter how good the baking technology is, you can't beautify mediocre or defective beans into fine products. Only carefully planted manor coffee or producing areas can induce charming "terroir*" under the aroma of the roaster's good hands. Choosing good beans and getting rid of rotten beans is the first choice of fine coffee. "

Alfred Peet, the late founder of Bitz Coffee.

* what does "terroir" mean in French? Whenever you talk about wine or fine coffee, you have to mention the word terroir.

Generally, "terroir" is translated into "local soil" in Chinese, which refers to the local characteristics of grape or coffee growing environment, and its connotation includes soil, climate (microclimate), grape or coffee varieties suitable for growing, these conditions constitute the growing environment of grape or coffee, and also affect the characteristics and flavor of wine making and coffee roasting. Therefore, there are different local conditions in each different region, so the wines and roasted coffee have different local characteristics.

Boutique coffee emphasizes and attaches importance to the so-called "terroir", the real "terroir", in addition to soil, climate and coffee varieties, there are also "people"! "people" have a profound influence on coffee, because people show the key to "terroir" in the way coffee is planted and roasted, and the conditions of "people" are often ignored by ordinary consumers.

In short, terroir is defined as:

Terroir= soil X climate X people

Variety

It contains the meaning of nature, humanities and tradition, includes all customs and customs, has the charm of the harmony of heaven, earth and man, has the philosophy of "unity of man and nature" since ancient times and respect for all things nurtured by nature. Every piece of land, everything, contains the potential to become a "terroir".

In the Jiadong and Linbian areas on the coast of the South China Sea in Pingtung, Taiwan, farmed fish ponds pump a lot of water, and the strata are sunken, which is lower than the sea level, and there are often disasters of seawater backflow and stagnant water. However, such coastal wasteland is in the hands of Taiwanese fruit growers who are good at manipulating the growth of fruit trees and are as flexible and energetic as Taiwanese businessmen, making it the most elite producing area of lotus fog in the world. In particular, the Linbian River near the mouth of the sea has low-lying terrain, but the soil is clayey, it is not easy to drain, and it is often suffering from stagnant water. coupled with the accumulation of salt in sea water, it is almost completely unsuitable for farming.

But it happens to be able to grow amazing lotus fog. The highly viscous soil here inhibits the growth of the root system, making the lotus tree extremely weak, but it produces more delicious fruit. The salt in the soil makes the lotus tree grow a darker peel, become a black pearl, taste more delicate and taste sweeter. With only a few decades of history, it used to be worthless land, but now it can produce the most expensive fresh fruit in Taiwan, making it one of the most unique and precious "Terroir" on the island.

No matter what, the most wonderful and rare food produced in a special "Terroir" environment is often preserved after decades, centuries, or even millennia of efforts and inheritance, and the source of its delicacy is established in the close relationship between man and the land. In addition to delicious, but also because at the same time with the spirit of the land of origin and the depth of history, often appears to be particularly precious.

In our time, industrial food that pays attention to standardization and standardization has already spread to all the details of food consumption. Traditional foods that do not meet this standard will not be able to enter modern food channels. And globalization has pushed the trend of more and more simple tastes to the whole world, and few people can escape it. But the most interesting thing is that when the environment for eating and drinking is becoming more and more global, the "Terroir" products, which are completely localized with customs and human feelings, but cannot be mass-produced or standardized, are even more desirable. And re-establish new delicious values, and sometimes even life values, on our dinner tables.

If the food contains not calculated advertisements and promotions, but purely from the land and traditional taste, with a charming flavor that belongs to the land of origin. Just a bottle of wine, a cup of coffee, a bowl of rice, a piece of fruit or even a drop of vinegar can make us jump out of our daily routine and listen to moving "Terroir" stories with our sense of taste and smell.