"Sen Yue High Pk," located in Ren'ai Township of Nantou County, is 1,450m above sea level. With cool weather and ample sunlight, this is a paradise suitable for coffee cultivation. The reason for naming the farm " Sen Yue High Pk " is that the owner Wu Chen-Hung wants to express his enthusiasm for this land and his dream of specialty coffee. On top of that, he wants to embody the image of the forest full of high-quality coffee trees.
The major coffee variety cultivated in this farm is SL-34. At first, Wu Chen-Hung had no idea about the origin of this variety. However, the production was not bad. The variety was adapted to the climate of the farm. Besides, it was easy to harvest. As a result, Wu just thought this coffee had great cost-performance ratio. This description may seem simple and straightforward; however, specialty coffee of Wu is by no means simple. He worked in construction-related industry before, which was very stressful. He enjoyed staying in the natural forest because that was an excellent way to relieve stress. He started thinking about growing coffee after retirement since then. Introduced by his friend, he found this farm in the mountains. This was his first step towards the dream of coffee.
While building "Sen Yue High Pk," he went through lots of labor-intensive work and frustration. Nevertheless, he believed that if the original intention does not change, he would be able to solve any difficulties he encountered. One of the challenges was that it is difficult to acquire water because of the high altitude. His solution was to use drip irrigation. He also devised fertilization plans for different growth stages of the coffee trees. In other words, from cultivation to processing, Wu put all his heart and efforts into each stage of coffee production.
Wu Chen-Hung reckons that the first PCA in 2021 created a positive impact on Taiwanese coffee growers. Growers are more empowered and want to pursue higher quality coffee. Through PCA, Taiwanese coffee growers can be seen by more people, step onto the international stage, and connect with international buyers. He believes that this international competition poses the greatest challenge to Taiwanese coffee growers. Because after connecting with the international market, the production volume must be further improved to meet the demand of international buyers. Undoubtedly, Taiwan PCA is a milestone for Taiwanese specialty coffee, which symbolizes a new era of specialty coffee in Taiwan.
From realizing the dream of specialty coffee, to facing the opportunities and challenges when standing on the international stage, all things are beyond the imagination of Wu. However, Wu Chen-Hung believes that as long as we still hold the original intention of cultivating specialty coffee, treat the land friendly, and do our best, then people will surely fall in love with the coffee of " Sen Yue High Pk."
