The Closest Coffee Plantation to Japan Is in Taiwan: The Story of a Dream-Seeking Young Man and Alishan Coffee

Last updated 2026-09-24 — Back in Zhongpu, Chiayi, Itou had his first taste of lightly roasted coffee. “Is this what coffee is like? It’s like lemon black tea, very sweet.” However, his first love affair with Alishan coffee couldn’t withstand the harshness of the market and eventually went out of business. But in 2009, Taiwan’s once-obscure coffee made an unprecedented leap on the international coffee scene, soaring into the 11th spot in the annual rankings by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), making it the top in Asia. These beans came from the “Tropical Rhapsody Coffee Plantation” in Alishan.