This year, Taiwan Coffee Laboratory, on behalf of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan R.O.C. (Taiwan) and Taiwan Coffee Association, is enlisting the help of Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) to host the first ever Private Collection Auction (PCA) of Taiwanese specialty coffee.

“With a diversity of coffee varieties, and the many thoughtfully detailed processing steps found in these different farms, we found a wide range of flavor profiles and experiences when cupping the samples,” said Scott Conary, head judge at ACE. According to Scott, such flavors included everything from tropical fruits & Dark brown sugar to savory umami and spice notes.

Taiwanese farmers have been growing coffee for more than a hundred years. Since Taiwan Coffee Laboratory started working with the central and local governments to organize national coffee evaluations and regional competitions, they have witnessed a significant increase in the cup qualities of locally grown specialty coffee. This auction will honor the incredible work of the local Taiwanese coffee farmers and share their prize coffees with the rest of the world.

“Taiwan is probably the most saturated place in the world in terms of specialty coffee culture. The booming consumer market and the close proximity of coffee farms and urban centers motivate local baristas, roasters, and coffee traders to visit and connect with the producers. In the past, we used to think that consumers or retailers in big cities and the coffee farmers who produce the coffee exist in two non-overlapping spheres. That is no longer true in Taiwan; the ever more regular interactions and philosophical exchanges between the consumer market and the farms now allow both to more clearly explore cup qualities for all.” – Krude Lin, president and founder of Taiwan Coffee Laboratory

By pinpointing exceptional producers with the Private Collection program, ACE will curate auctions with organizations and farmers who best exemplify ACE’s standards & its Cup of Excellence programming, and hopes to expand its reach with these curated auctions.