Taiwan Nita Cafe

Producer Tseng Chiaju & Abone Feng-Chiu
Farm Nita Cafe
Village Chinan Village
Township Shoufeng
County Hualien

Sun Exposure Morning sun and mixed shade
Farm Size 10ha
Altitude 200-600masl
Latitude 23.8995750
Longitude 121.4807635

Variety Typica
Process Natural
Fermentation Sequential dry 72hr; Anaerobic and low temperature (13~16 Celsius)
Drying Mechanically dried for 4-6 days

Harvest Year 2024

Flavor Milk Chocolate, Hazelnut, Strawberry Cream, Yellow Fruit and underlying Florals and Brown Spice that lingers in finish.
Descriptors Lingering finish, smooth and sweet

About this coffee Dr. Tai Feng-Chiu, founder of Nita Coffee Farm, was born into the Taroko tribe of Xiulin Township, Hualien County. A respected local doctor, he established the farm to give back to his community by creating job opportunities and revitalizing the tribal economy through coffee cultivation on Xiulin's fertile land.

The farm's daily operations are overseen by Tseng Chiaju; who also goes by Janna. She and Dr. Tai employ a small team of workers from the nearby village, who also tend their own small farms. To advance her skills, Janna often attends CQI courses in Taipei, focusing on coffee production, processing, cupping, and roasting. Janna shares and teaches all of this, along with inviting folks from Taiwan Coffee Lab, to a small school run by Nita Coffee in the village, teaching coffee-related skills to local villagers who run coffee producing businesses.

Nita Coffee Farm primarily grows Typica on the farm amongst a small handful of other varieties. The coffee is harvested, floated, and sorted before starting it’s fermentation on raised beds to develop higher Brix levels. It is then moved to a cool room, sealed in airlocked barrels, and continues fermentation, where Janna mixes in “mossto” from previous batches. The barrels are rolled daily to help with consistency and to avoid heat spots over three days. High humidity and afternoon downpours can make drying a particular challenge for many producers in Taiwan, and can cause somewhat of a bottleneck. Janna uses mechanical drying for approximately five days before storing in her small warehouse and lab and milling only when the coffee has sold.

Idle Hands and Janna, of Nita Cafe, met while Ricky was participating in the preliminary stages of Taiwans inaugural Cup of Excellence program in 2024. Janna was one of the participants in the Jury Selection phase, and the only coffee producer in the room. Our friends at Taiwan Coffee Lab; Krude, Neil and Leo, made the introduction and enquired about me joining her for a day to visit her farm. Graciously, Janna agreed and she introduced me to one of her neighbors who is also a coffee producer, Teacher Kang, and a tea grower in the area, Xie Wei Xiang and his store Ba Han Han Non, where Ricky was able to learn more about both agriculture in the area and coffee production in Taiwan.

Janna and Abone share that "Nita," means "ours" in the Taroko language, reflects the collaborative spirit of coffee farming. Sustainable practices ensure that the coffee trees are nurtured for future generations, providing ongoing employment and growing "our coffee." And that this vision is the foundation of Nita Coffee Farm.