Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed.
Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said.
Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said.
It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption growing with a rate of more than 20 percent per year over the past five years, the ministry said.
Some Taiwanese beans have won top prizes at international competitions recently and domestic beans are often auctioned at high prices, it said.
“Taiwanese coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as it is believed to be self-pollinating and more productive, but our studies showed that arabica beans have a higher rate of cross-pollination,” research station director Su Tsung-chen (蘇宗振) said on Thursday.
“In this case, coffee beans have more genetic variations,” Su said. “It changes the original plant and makes it difficult to ensure consistency in quality and flavor.”
The station uses an asexual reproduction technique to maintain consistency in coffee beans, he said, adding that it can help preserve the purity of plants, and maintain quality and flavor.
Applied together with cuttings, the technique helps rapid growth and reproduction needed to boost acreage of coffee plants, he said.
“We also have developed a suitable medium for reproducing coffee plants through cuttings and other key techniques to determine the degree of maturity for the beans,” he said.
“These have enabled seedling producers and farmers to rapidly grow beans imbued with specialty flavors,” he said. “Therefore, we expect an increase in the quality and competitiveness of Taiwanese coffee beans in coming years, as we have passed on these methods to producers.”
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS