Taiwan Gukeng Coffee beans

Taiwan Ancient Pit Coffee

Taiwan Gukeng coffee originated in Huashan area of Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan. It is located on the Tropic of Cancer. The sunshine and rainfall are very abundant. The native coffee produced in Taiwan is sweet and fragrant, but not bitter. It has its own local flavor of Taiwan, belonging to the world's best coffee. Because it was discovered unexpectedly that Kukeng was quite suitable for growing coffee regardless of climate, soil or drainage, Kukeng Township became one of the few places in Taiwan that could produce high-quality coffee. Gukeng coffee belongs to Arabica species, because the roasting, extraction method and time are different from other coffee-producing areas, Gukeng coffee has a special flavor, known as "the hometown of Taiwanese coffee."

According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, British merchants came to Taiwan and unexpectedly discovered that Taiwan's climate and soil were very suitable for growing coffee. In particular, Kukeng Township in Yunlin County, located near the Tropic of Cancer, had a similar growing environment to Brazil's top coffee. The coffee produced there was particularly sweet and fragrant, not bitter or astringent, smooth in taste, and sweet in aftertaste, with a unique Taiwanese flavor.

According to "Yunlin County Zhigao" records, ancient pit coffee for the Japanese rule period when introduced. After importing coffee beans from Brazil, the Governor-General's Office of Taiwan selected Taitung, Hualien, Mizuho, Kaohsiung, Yunlin Gukeng and Nantou Huisun Forest Farm as experimental farmland. Finally, it was discovered that Yunlin Gukeng had the best quality, and it became a tribute to the Japanese emperor during the Japanese occupation period. From then on, Gukeng coffee has the nickname "imperial coffee." He also participated in the "Arabica Coffee" competition and won the second place in the world. He was famous at that time. The coffee fragrance of glycol has been handed down for hundreds of years.

History of coffee in Taiwan

In 1624, coffee was introduced to the Dutch in the early days, but it was limited to internal drinking by the Dutch and could not be widely promoted.

In 1931, Mr. Kimura planted in the northern part of Tainan Prefecture, now Chiayi and Yunlin Gukeng, and cultivated in large quantities.

In 1941 (16th year of Japanese Showa), most of the original beans were shipped back to Japan. The coffee planting area of Hebao Mountain in Huashan District of Gukeng Township is as large as 75 hectares. In its heyday, it was called "the largest coffee factory in the Far East".

In 1945 (20th year of Japanese Showa), after the war, the coffee planting area in Huashan area expanded to 113 hectares. However, as the price of the cash crop fell, coffee fields were abandoned or diverted to other uses.

In 2000 (Republic of China 89), it was not until the promotion of Taiwan government that local farmers resumed planting and marketing.

In 2003 (1992), Yunlin County Government held the first Taiwan Coffee Festival in Jianhu Mountain Recreation Area and invited Mr. Huang Gengzi to attend.

In 2006 (1995), the coffee planting area in Gukeng Huashan area was about 100 hectares, with a yield of more than 10,000 kg.

Due to the low output and good reputation, a considerable number of other brands of coffee outside Taiwan pass off as Gukeng coffee. Therefore, the Gukeng origin industry intends to use the brand name "23.5" as the symbol of the origin of Gukeng coffee. The 23.5 is taken from the relevant position of 23.5 degrees north latitude of the ancient pit.

Coffee Growth in Ancient Keng, Taiwan

Gukeng is located at a latitude of 23.5 degrees, 600 to 1,500 meters above sea level, annual rainfall of 1,500 to 2,000, a fixed rain "coming quickly and leaving quickly" every afternoon, so that coffee trees can absorb enough water, plus the soil is a good drainage gravel soil, not to absorb too much water, Huashan trend is east to west, the sun is half sunlight, plus shade to shade, all these conditions allow coffee trees to grow in peace here. Since about 1890, Gukeng has been found to have unique conditions and began to plant coffee, concentrated in Huashan, South China, Guilin, Hebao and other areas. He won second place in the World Coffee Competition. Later, due to the transformation of agriculture and the lack of coffee drinking, the "coffee hometown" was converted to other crops. It was only in recent years that this proud secret was discovered again, and the coffee culture that was once interrupted was revived. The coffee tree in the ancient pit is Arabica, the same as the famous coffee beans such as Blue Mountain and Mantenin. It grows at a higher altitude, and the coffee berries have a longer incubation time. The texture is harder, the aroma is also rich, and the taste is mellow. Coffee trees are man-pruned to a height of about two meters and can be harvested in the fourth year after planting until they are "retired" at 25 years. Flowers begin to bloom around April each year, then bear fruit one after another, and can be harvested when the fruit turns cherry red in October. Coffee fruit is a stone fruit with a berry-like pulp between the peel and the coffee bean, which is surprisingly sweet when ripe. The coffee fruit should be sun-dried, dehydrated, peeled, soaked in water, fermented and dried (called washed beans), and then removed from the inner shell and baked. The ancient method of frying beans is to use charcoal fire to increase the pan, and someone has to keep stirring with a big shovel. Because the temperature is not high enough, it takes four hours to complete. Now coffee garden with machine roasting, consider the taste of Chinese people, pick light roast, high temperature 200 degrees about 20 minutes can be. However, during the process, we still have to be nearby, sampling from time to time, and we also have to hear the condition of beans from the sound of "cracking". After the beans have cooled, they must be allowed to mix with moisture and air for another three days before the flavor reaches its best state.

Taiwan Gukeng coffee beans are scarce and not enough for Taiwan market demand.