Our final presentation for Cultural Ethnic Structure of Taiwan, National Chengchi University, Fall 2009

1. The Origins and Cultural Development of
Coffee in Taiwan:
Coffee Cultivation, the “Coffeehouse,” and the Development of a
Coffee Culture
By: Virginia Shaffer
and Danielle Sleeper

2. Coffee Beginnings
in Taiwan
 Gukeng Province: Dutch
Colonization 1624
 Later revived by the Japanese in
1895
 Coffee Era ended in 1949 by
Koumintang
 Replaced with Betel Nut and
Fruit Tree Crops
 Emergence of Oolong in 1970’s
 Coffee revitalization in the
1990’s
 Both Coffeehouse and
Cultivation

3. Coffee Origins and
Development
Japanese Coffeehouses カフエー (kissaten)
 Opulent lounges with well-to-do clientele
and staffed by jyokyuu
Taiwanese Coffeehouses
 Emerged in the 1920s
 A place for wealthy Taiwanese college grads,
literati--dramatists, singers, musicians and artists
 Safe houses for those opposed to Japanese rule
Coffee Shops for the Laobaixing
 “Serve delicious coffee at a reasonable price”
 Individual shops dominated 1970s
 Arrival of coffee chains in 1990s

4. Coffee is a way of life.
 Shifted food habits and changed the Taiwanese breakfast
meal

5. Taiwan’s Unique Coffee
Bean and Innovative
Techniques
-Quality vs. Quantity: Taiwan ranks among
the first class coffee qualities of the world
-Climate Advantages
-Yunlin, Gukeng and the Formosan Rock Monkey
Sweeter Coffee with bold vanilla scent @ USD$56.00 per pound
http://www.reuters.com/article/video/idUSSP22138820071114?videoId=70786
-Cultural Innovation:
85C’s Sea Salt Coffee: 2009’s Best Seller
Future Forecasts: Adding Cheese and Crushed Fruit
Using alternative energy to brew coffee – a REAL Cup of Joe!
-Specialty Comes with a Price:
NT$120 (US$3.70) a cup to NT$200 (US$6.15)

6. Coffee vs. Tea
in the Modern World
 Is Coffee Intrusive to the
Taiwan Tea Market?
 The market prices of tea
leaves have been dropping
under the impact of cheaper
imports, following Taiwan's
entry into the World Trade
Organization in January 2002.
 Oolong Tea farmers are
switching to coffee bean
cultivation
 Coffee beans can potentially
earn triple the revenues
yielded from tea
 Agro-tourism in coffee
cultivating towns boosts the
revenues for the community

7. Coffee’s Role
in the
Agro-tourism
Industry
Positives:
•Taiwan Coffee Festival,
launched October 2008
•Gukeng listed in “Top
Rural Villages to See” in
Taiwan
•The Taiwan Experience in
the Coffee Homeland
•Negatives:
•Marketing Problems
•High Price:
•Price gap in part to Taiwan’s
high labor costs
•Taiwanese Taste Preference

8. International Competition
of both the Coffee House and Coffee Bean
 The Coffee House:
 Currently there are over 12,000
Coffeehouses in Taiwan: (Chains,
Franchises, Privately Owned)
 Starbucks entered Taiwan in 1998 :
168 Locations
 85C still remains as Taiwan’s biggest
Coffeehouse chain
 However, coffee is imported
from Guatemala
 The Coffee Bean:
 Taiwan's diplomatic allies:
 Honduras, El Salvador, Panama,
Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize
 Importing coffee beans from
South America is still cheaper
than domestic coffee beans.

9. Present-Day
Coffee Culture
-The “Western” Coffee Shop
Trend fully began in the
1990’s
-“New” & “Fashionable”: A
Social Change
Who Drives Demand:
Businessmen and women,
students, the young
generation
-Coffee Market Competition
Attractiveness to
Entrepreneurs
-Wireless Internet

10. Discussion Topics:
 Is a coffee culture new to a
Taiwanese Society or is it
being revived?
 Is it possible that this is a
hybrid of both old and new
tradition?
 Do you foresee the addition
of coffee tourism in rural
villages as a positive way to
help communities? Do you
foresee any negative aspects
to this social movement?