ACE announces the Taiwan Private Collection Auction
Image: ACE
On behalf of the Taiwanese Council of Agriculture and the Taiwanese Agriculture and Food Agency, Taiwan Coffee Laboratory and Alliance for Coffee Excellence announce the 2022 Taiwan Private Collection Auction.
This auction will be the first in a series of three Private Collection Auctions over three consecutive years. This year’s auction will place a heavy emphasis on the Taiwanese producers’ ability to improve and adapt. Those producers who submitted samples for last year’s PCA have worked tirelessly over the course of the year to improve the qualities of their coffees with the intention of demonstrating to the world the calibre of Taiwanese specialty coffee. There will also be new participants in the competition this year, encouraged to enter after last year’s successful auction. With the increase in participants this year, and focus on careful cultivation and processing, quality is expected to increase.
Quantity is also expected to increase. Though regional or national coffee competitions are common in Taiwan, most of them require only small amounts of competition samples. As a result, farmers often experiment with nano lots since they can submit small, experimental lots.
“The success of PCA in 2021 convinced Taiwanese coffee producers that larger lot sizes can be economically profitable as long as they maintain excellence in quality and flavour. This year, nearly all coffee producers who have performed well in competitions past have submitted their most unique coffees to the Taiwan Private Collection Auction,” stated Krude Lin, Chairperson of Coffee Industrial Alliance of Taiwan.
Last year’s auction – marking the first Taiwanese origin-focused auction for ACE – saw an average price of $94.50/lb for the nine winning lots spread among 20 companies and seven countries signalling strong international demand for Taiwanese coffee. Domestic demand was also prominent with the winning lot purchased for $500.50/lb by a Taiwanese bidding group.
“In Taiwan, you can find the best coffees from around the world. Taiwanese importers are some of the biggest buyers at international coffee auctions, and Taiwanese roasters and baristas’ pursuit of quality has repeatedly been proven at World Coffee Events and various international championships. Yet, few local coffee professionals were aware of Taiwan’s long history of coffee cultivation. The many interruptions due to the global Covid-19 pandemic ironically became opportunities for many to rediscover locally produced coffee. Many roasters have since established partnerships with local producers. The 2022 PCA will be the perfect opportunity to showcase the results of their collaborations,” continued Krude Lin.
Taiwanese farmers have been growing coffee for more than a hundred years. The island of Taiwan, with its high elevation mountain ranges and diverse microclimates, supports a range of coffee varieties and processes. Much of the coffee, produced by experts in refining the details of world-renowned tea, is ready to show the world its quality and unique flavour profiles.
The 2022 Taiwan Private Collection Auction’s national jury stage starts this month with 25 experienced cuppers from the island evaluating the submissions to choose 20 preliminary winners. Then, ACE’s Global Coffee Centres representing 35 jurists, 15 companies, and 9 countries, will select the winning coffees to be auctioned on 30 June.
Sample sets are now available for pre-sale on ACE’s site: https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/taiwan-private-collection-auction-2022/
