ACE and Taiwan Coffee Leaders Launching Private Collection Auction Aug. 31

The 2021 Taiwan Private Collection Auction logo. Courtesy image.

The Taiwan Coffee Laboratory and Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) have announced the launch of the first Taiwanese specialty coffee Private Collection auction.

Through the program, which is being supported by the Taiwan council of agriculture, the central government’s executive branch and the Taiwan Coffee Association, nine 86+ Taiwan-grown arabica coffees will head to a public auction (with $25 registration fee) on Tuesday, Aug. 31.

1st and 3rd place winner Ting-Yeh Hsu. Courtesy photo.

This is the latest of partnership-driven auctions conducted by ACE under the Private Collection Auction banner. Previous auctions — including with partners Fincas Mierisch in Nicaragua, Qima Coffee in Yemen,  Nongorogoro in Tanzania, and Isla in Hawaii — have fetched ultra-premium prices on the global market.

According to ACE, which also facilitates the globally renowned Cup of Excellence green coffee competitions, a team of 26 panelists representing five countries analyzed 19 screened Taiwanese coffee samples, with nine heading to the main auction.

In addition, six coffees that scored between 85-85.99 points will be included in auction sample sets and will be available for sale through Taiwan Coffee Labs.

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The auction program’s top-scoring coffee and the third-highest coffees, both Gesha varieties, were both grown by Zhuo Wu Mountain Coffee Farm and produced by Ting-Yeh Hsu, according to ACE. The farm, which originally only grew tea, began cultivating coffee around 2001 at altitudes of 1,200 meters.

“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,” ACE Head Judge Scott Conary said in an announcement of the results. “Flavors ranged from unique and juicy tropical fruits, dark sugar sweetness and intense floral notes, to interesting umami and spice experiences that made these coffees really stand out.”

Photo courtesy of ACE.

Details on each of the Taiwan Private Collection auction coffees can be found here.