"Hua Xi Tian Manor Café," run by Hsieh Tsung-Lin, is located in Tsaoling, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County. This farm, facing East, is situated between 600 meters and 1,100 meters above sea level. The average sunshine duration in the farm is around 6 hours. In the afternoon, the sunlight becomes much weaker. Currently, the farm mainly cultivates Arabica varieties, such as Yellow Bourbon and Geisha. Recently, they also started growing SL-34.
HSIEH, whose main business is as a hydraulic excavator operator, began coffee production because of his interest. He started growing Geisha around 2015. With technical support from the Council of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service of Executive Yuan and The Tea Research and Extension Station, he has accumulated knowledge and techniques regarding field management and coffee processing by participating in lectures held by these organizations. Of course, the journey of coffee is a process of constant trials and experience accumulation. At present, the coffee of Hua Xi Tian Manor Café has an unique characteristic, which is the aroma of flowers and fruits. For example, Geisha grown here has a clear floral scent; while SL-34 has rich plum scent and bright acidity.
Hsieh reckons that coffee processing is significantly affected by climate change. For example, it has been raining a lot this year; consequently, it is difficult to dry coffee beans naturally. Therefore, he uses a coffee dryer to control the fermentation. This means that machine-dring is the key to the expression of cleanliness of his coffee. Since the green beans are not over-fermented, unpleasant taste or unpleasant odor will not appear.
As a coffee grower, Hsieh said that his sense of accomplishment comes from participating in the competitions and obtaining good results. In addition, from the moment of receiving customer’s positive review after cupping. All these become driving forces for his persistent efforts to pursue good taste. This year he takes part in the PCA competition with his natural SL-34. He said with confidence that the flavor is so unique, and he hopes to unveil such wonderful coffee from Tsaoling of Gukeng Township in Yunlin County to the world through this international auction.
