Natural, additive-free instant coffee is now available at convenience stores at a low price, thanks to the perseverance of a Taipei businessman who believes that good coffee should be affordable.
Wu Chien-wen (吳儉文), a vegetarian who hardly ever drank coffee before 2000, was moved by a cup of freshly made, aromatic coffee offered him by a college friend at the latter's coffee shop.
He was instantly won over and decided to cash in on the ready-to-drink coffee business.
Part of a new breed of people who embrace lifestyles of health and sustainability, the forty-something Wu wanted to sell natural, aromatic instant coffee containing no emulsifiers, thickening agents or other additives at a price much lower than Starbucks -- NT$30 for a cup of instant arabica.
Wu's Formosa Coffee (福爾摩莎咖啡), which has won the hearts and souls of customers with quality and price, is now the top seller at two upscale supermarkets in Taipei.
By joining hands with the Family convenience store chain, Wu has put his Formosa Coffee on the shelves of more than 2,000 Family stores nationwide since the beginning of this year and other convenience stores -- with the exception of 7-Eleven -- are expected to begin offering his coffee shortly.
Wu's reputation and business acumen, however, extend beyond the Taiwanese market.
In April 2005, he presented an Italian-style coffee maker -- which can make a typical 100 percent crema Espresso in minutes -- at a Specialty Coffee Association of America exhibition in Seattle, Washington, and attracted the attention of Erna Knutsen, the matriarch of gourmet coffee in the US.
Knutsen was so impressed that she agreed to let Wu use her name on his machines to make inroads into international markets.
Further confirming his international reputation, Wu was invited to be a judge at a global Cup of Excellence baked beans competition in Honduras last May.
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