The history of coffee in Taiwan: most of it is inherited from the Japanese era

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Most of Taiwan's coffee history is inherited from the Japanese era. although the early Dutch and British once occupied Taiwan, they did not leave much historical traces about coffee. Coffee trees were also planted during the Japanese occupation era. The Japanese Advocacy Bureau introduced coffee seedlings from Hawaii for the development of cash crops on a trial basis in Taiwan, but because of Taiwan's topography and climate, the planting scale of coffee could not compete with foreign countries. In the end, it was replaced by other crops.

The coffee shop in Taiwan sprang up in the 1930s. In the area of Ximenting and Hengyang Road, it was first run by the Japanese, mainly for journalists, literati and writers to discuss and exchange ideas. Many painters and writers went in and out of them. From time to time, Dadaocheng held a small solo exhibition to think about it. Daocheng is another place where people gather, and coffee listeners that continue to eat Japanese tea have also appeared at this time. Victor and Polilu are all famous coffee shops. The Witt Coffee Shop, located in the second section of Yanping North Road, is one of the landmarks of Taiwan's new literature. at that time, young people drank coffee and wrote all kinds of thoughts of the times. Polilu on Minsheng West Road was a very luxurious restaurant in the 1930s and 1940s, where many men and women went on blind dates and dates, and it was also a meeting place for the older generation of literati.

Ximenting was the busiest place in Taiwan from the post-war to the 1960s. The prosperity of Ximenting has a lot to do with its location in the back street of the presidential palace. After the central government moved to Taiwan, it took the Japanese presidential palace (now the presidential palace) as its office, and all kinds of government agencies were also scattered nearby. In addition to the nearby area of Hengyang Road, it was originally a gathering place of Yinlou and Buzhuang, and the commercial function became more and more prosperous.

Later, in order to settle down the honors of illegal buildings near the railway, a long line of "Zhonghua Shopping" was built, which became a famous landmark of Taipei. People from the middle and south of Taipei must make a pilgrimage to Ximenting. From the second section of Zhonghua Road, Chengdu Road and Wuchang Street to Wuchang Street is the quintessence of Taipei. In addition to supplying a variety of modern goods, it is also a gathering place for famous dishes from all over the mainland. Of course, it is also an area with a concentration of cafes.

The area around Zhongshan Hall and Ximen Ring is a crowded area. In the early days, cafes still maintained the flavor of art, and often attracted many scholars, writers, painters and musicians to gather here. However, after the government moved to Taiwan, Taiwan's economic situation entered a period of reorganization. The government implemented various economic plans and so-called measures to maintain good customs. Going to cafes became a luxury, and cafes made a living. It gradually turned into a place for lovers to date, and then the transparent glass became dark, and slowly porn invaded the cafe, which became an ambiguous place. As far as the influence is concerned, there are still people of the older generation who forbid their children and grandchildren to work in cafes!

Mingxing Cafe is a shop that has to be mentioned in the modern history of Taiwan cafes. Although in the later stage of operation, coffee is really difficult to import and its service attitude is unflattering, it has an indelible position in the history of Taiwan literature. Because it spans more than 40 years before and after the war, it is a typical writer's cafe. Almost all the artists in the current period will go to stars, famous to talk about poetry and painting, and nameless to admire their predecessors' elegant demeanor. early painters Li Meishu, Yang Sanlang, Liao Jichun, Yan Shuilong, writers Bai Xianyong, Chen Yingzhen, Huang Chunming, Shi Shuchun and so on are all regulars of stars. Some of my friends often nest with stars to absorb some literary and artistic flavor when they are young girls. However, in the 1970s, the stars became the place to remember the sages of the past, and they could no longer attract people who drank coffee, so they had to close the coffee department.

During this period, there are also many well-known pure cafes (as opposed to pornographic cafes), such as savages, literature and art salons, writers, etc., but they all tend to spread among minority people in literary and art circles, coupled with the fact that most of them have not been in business for a long time. The general public, who are generally hard-working and busy making a living, do not go to cafes. I am afraid they may not even have drunk coffee. At best, you can only smell it when you have a chance to have a drink after a western meal.

In the early 1960s, the rise of specialty coffee shops gradually freed cafes from the porn industry. South American Coffee opened on Chengdu Road was the origin of professional coffee in Taiwan, and it was the first specialized store to sell coffee beans, coffee equipment, coffee and other beverages. Then Lidai Coffee, established in 64, was the first coffee chain store. At the same time, there are also popular Shangdao Coffee, Bee Coffee and UCC.

This wave of coffee popularity has something to do with Taiwan's economic growth. Taiwan residents are getting richer and are beginning to have money and leisure to enjoy. Eating big meals, drinking coffee and watching restaurant shows were the trend at that time, but since the late 1960s, rich Taiwan, because its humanistic quality did not keep up with the times, the whole country was involved in the whirlpool of money games. Gambling, video games, fun, stocks and real estate, and so on, in cafes, the original coffee is quite well-known bee coffee, no longer pay attention to the quality of coffee. Become a real bee coffee shop-a room full of little bees video games, and finally the way to decline under the vigorous investigation!

Cafes, which have experienced various stages of art, pornography, gambling, and so on, began to be a little different in the 1970s.

This is different from after the lifting of martial law. After the lifting of martial law, the sky suddenly became infinitely broad. In addition to the prevalence of all kinds of speculative activities, overseas sightseeing has also become a trend. The reputation of "Taiwan procurement team" is also becoming more and more popular in the international community. However, after the Chinese people have broadened their horizons due to going abroad, it is also of great help to the improvement of the quality of life, and the upsurge of paying attention to leisure is also in the ascendant. At this time, in addition to the introduction of a variety of brand-name consumer goods at home and abroad like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, restaurants from various countries representing leisure also gradually spread to the streets of Taipei, and Italian cafes, which are quite popular abroad, were also introduced into China at this time.

During this period, there was an advertisement that played an important role in the promotion of coffee, that is, Brown Coffee shot a coffee advertisement in the mountain city of Chiufen. In the advertisement, the enigmatic and distant artistic conception let "coffee" be deeply imprinted in everyone's heart. Coffee is so suitable for the empty hearts of the present generation! This advertisement, coupled with a series of Qiongyao series, drove away the stillness and desolation of the mountain city, Chiufen. Not only was there a sea of people during the holidays, but there was also an endless stream of people at ordinary times, making Chiufen's prosperity from Wen's early years. And the seeds of coffee have sprouted in the hearts of Taiwanese at the right time!

The emergence of Italian cafes has a considerable relationship with overseas sightseeing. When Chinese people linger in the scenery and urban scenery of Europe and the United States, they also melt the images of cafes standing in the streets in their minds. They are even accustomed to the standard culture of having a cup of coffee after dinner. Compared with Taiwan, which is still in the coffee desert, in addition to enjoying delicious food, the business opportunities are also attractive. Among them, the strong leisure artistic conception is also in line with Taiwan, where the concept of leisure is getting stronger and stronger, not to mention that many Chinese who were originally living abroad have been gradually attracted by Taiwan's highly growing economic miracle. all these factors have enabled coffee culture to take root in Taiwan.

Another meaning introduced by Italian cafes represents a structural change in Taiwan's coffee population, and its meaning is very different from that of coffee in previous years. no matter whether the previous cafes or literature, or art, or gardens, or exquisite or even pornographic gambling, they are always in the category of niche markets or foil, and they are not the main sales target, and the so-called drunkenness does not mean wine! For most people, the consumption of coffee is only an occasional casual move. The reason for the deterioration of the coffee shop is that there are not many people who really drink coffee, so they have no choice but to sell other items in the name of coffee.

The espresso machines used in Italian cafes are characterized by "work efficiency" and "stable coffee quality", which need to be supported by sufficient consumers, so the emergence of Italian cafes indicates that the population of coffee is officially standing at the starting point of high growth. Coffee has changed from minority, personality, taste and other images to a daily drink of the general public. The growing coffee population has given coffee shops a foothold.

When coffee is positioned as entertainment and leisure products, the operation of the coffee shop depends on the quality of the external packaging and the display of personal style, and does not care about the quality of the coffee, but the business situation will rise and fall with the fashion. There is often a scene of people leaving the building for several years, but almost all the shops operating in the form of professional coffee rarely change jobs under the influence of the fashion. This shows the stability of the coffee population, and the increase in the coffee population has made Italian coffee popular in order to improve work efficiency and stabilize the taste of coffee. Coupled with the influence of the operation of cafes in Europe and the United States, Italian cafes in Taiwan in the late 1980s will gradually become the mainstream of cafes!