台灣職人咖啡的歷史––Part IV
Taiwan’s Artisan Coffee History––Part IV

Part IV––Coffee for the Masses

Instant Caffeination 

The first popularization of coffee in Taiwan began in 1950, when Nescafe began selling instant coffee in to American soldiers stationed there. More than 30 years later, in 1982 Maxwell House added its own brand to the mix. While these products were certainly not “artisan” in any, they helped popularize coffee to the masses, who had been largely left out during the Japanese Colonial era.

Coffee in a Can

In 1982 King Car Group began selling a line of canned coffee products called “Mr. Brown Coffee”. It came in a steel can and offered a choice of original and “Blue Mountain Style”.

Mr Browns quickly became the most successful canned coffee product in Taiwan in the early 1980s. 15 years later, Mr. Brown would later open numerous cafes throughout Taiwan, featuring fresh ground coffee.

In 1985, one of Asia’s oldest coffee firms, a Japanese company named UCC established a joint venture to process and package coffee beans in Taiwan, featuring its Blue Mountain blend and other specialty coffee flavors. UCC quickly began to compete with Mr Brown for market share. These two brands dominated canned coffee in Taiwan for decades.

American Coffee Lands in Taiwan

While various forms of coffee were now available at food stores, few Taiwanese ventured out to the small number of expensive coffee shops in Taiwan in the early1980s. Fresh brewed coffee was expensive and the atmosphere at these cafes appealed more to businessmen, artists, students, and intellectuals.

Two American chains changed all that.McDonalds had grown up in the 1950s as America’s great fast food success story. While mainly known for its burgers, it also served coffee. The beans, a blend of Arabica and Robusta, were machine-brewed in large batches and kept hot in large containers. The first McDonalds in Taiwan opened in 1984, selling a cup of coffee for NT$35.

While US-based 7-Eleven had opened its first store in Taiwan, in 1979, it sold no brewed until 1985, when it became the first grocery chain store to offer it, using an American drip-brew coffee machine and pre-ground beans.

Conclusion

By the end of the 1980s the conditions needed to fuel an artisan revolution in Taiwan were coming together. It had cafes that served great hand brewed-coffee, was mass- marketing a variety of coffee in canned formats, and American chain stores were serving brewed coffee to average Taiwanese.

Still, few Taiwanese visited cafes—it simply wasn’t part of mass culture. Moreover, the instant, canned, and chain store brewed coffee most Taiwanese consumed was far inferior to what was being served in high end cafes. As in the United States, coffee was mainly consumed for the caffeine boost in provided. That was about to change for good over the next decade.