Taiwan Alishan Dabang Chi Tsai Liu Li Mountain Fresh Café Geisha Honey - COE No.1 Auction lot
The honey-processed Geisha from Chi Tsai Liu Li Mountain Fresh Café triumphed at the 2025 Taiwan Cup of Excellence (COE) international auction, earning an outstanding score of 91.08 points and setting a new record for the highest auction price in Taiwan COE history. This limited-edition champion lot is crafted for those who truly appreciate exceptional coffee.
Coffee Flavor
The flavors of coffee are derived from the breakdown of various nutrients in the green coffee beans during roasting. Heat causes these compounds to degrade into a variety of aromatic molecular structures, resulting in a wide spectrum of flavors. High-quality coffee beans naturally possess a rich aroma that evolves at different temperatures—high, medium, and low—offering a delightful and nuanced experience worth savoring.
Taiwan Alishan Dabang Chi Tsai Liu Li Mountain Fresh Café Geisha Honey - COE No.1 Auction lot
Jasmine, white peach, bergamot, apricot, black tea, citrus, honey, Juicy, lively, and bright mouthfeel with a refreshing citrus acidity.
Chi Tsai Liu Li Mountain Fresh Café claimed the championship title at the 2025 Taiwan Cup of Excellence (COE) international auction, earning an impressive score of 91.08 points and setting a new record for the highest auction price in Taiwan COE history.
Owned by Mr. Chuang Chia-Jung, the estate is located in the Dabang Tribe of Alishan Township, at an elevation of around 1,200 to 1,300 meters. This land enjoys a unique climate — enveloped in mountain mist throughout the year with abundant humidity — providing ideal conditions for cultivating exceptional coffee.
Here, coffee trees grow under the shade of natural forest canopies and experience distinct temperature differences between day and night, nurturing beans with extraordinary flavor complexity. The coffees produced are renowned for their fragrant aroma, silky smooth body, and long, sweet finish. To ensure the highest quality, every stage — from cultivation and harvesting to roasting — is meticulously completed within the estate. Chi Tsai Liu Li Mountain Fresh Café is dedicated to presenting top-quality coffees that embody both distinct terroir and a commitment to excellence.
Geisha/Gesha Variety
Previously listed by Forbes as one of the "Top Ten Most Expensive Coffees in the World," Geisha is no longer just "one of the most expensive" but has become the most expensive coffee in the world! In July 2017, Panama Esmeralda Estate's Geisha green beans set a record price of $601 per pound. However, just a few months later, on September 13, Ninety Plus (90+) Geisha coffee shattered the record with an auction price of $5,001.50 per kilogram—equivalent to approximately NT$150,000 per kilogram of green beans!
The Geisha variety that has thrived in Panama for over 60 years is the T2722 variety. It was originally collected in the 1930s from the coffee forests of Ethiopia. The seeds were sent to the Lyamungu Research Station in Tanzania and later transported to Central America in 1953, where they were documented at the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Costa Rica under the designation T2722. During the 1960s, it was recognized for its tolerance to coffee leaf rust and was distributed by CATIE across Panama. However, due to its fragile branches, it was not favored by farmers and thus was not widely planted. It wasn’t until 2005, when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered this coffee into the Best of Panama competition and auction, that the variety gained fame. It received exceptional praise and set a record for green coffee auction prices at the time.
Regarding the name "Geisha," the spellings "Geisha" and "Gesha" are often used interchangeably. This is related to phonetic transliteration, as there is no fixed translation from Ethiopian dialects to English. The variety was originally recorded as "Geisha" in planting records. Over the decades, coffee researchers and cultivation databases maintained this spelling, leading to its widespread promotion and use within the coffee industry. The variety was first collected from a mountain in Ethiopia, the name of which is typically translated into English as either "Gesha" or "Geisha."
In recent years, the cultivation of the Geisha variety has gained popularity worldwide, achieving remarkable success in major coffee competitions. This includes regions in Central and South America such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia, and Peru, where the variety has often been transplanted from Panama's T2722. Additionally, Taiwan has also begun cultivating Geisha in many high-altitude regions. Typically, the higher the elevation, the more enchanting the coffee’s flavor becomes.
Coffee Processes
Refers to the process of transforming ripe red coffee cherries into dried green beans. Each processing method has its pros and cons, influenced by the natural environment and specific demands of the producing region. As a result, each region adopts the method most suitable for its conditions. For this batch, both Natural and Washed processing methods were used, briefly described below:
【Honey process/ Pulped Natural / Semi-dry Process】
The honey process is a method that combines elements of both the natural process and the washed process. This technique was initially developed in Costa Rica. Similar to the washed process, the skin and pulp of the coffee cherries are removed, but the fermentation step is skipped. Instead, the mucilage layer (a sticky, sugary layer around the bean) is left intact and dried under sunlight.
The term "honey" does not refer to the addition of actual honey. Rather, it derives from the sticky texture of the mucilage, which resembles honey. The retention of this layer, rich in sugars and acids, is the key to the honey process. The amount of mucilage left on the beans determines the sweetness and flavor complexity. The flavor profile produced by the honey processing method lies between that of the natural (sun-dried) and washed processes, resulting in a very unique cup of coffee. The taste is cleaner than the natural process, and due to the residual mucilage, it also has a richer syrupy sweetness. The acidity is more pronounced than in washed coffees, but the body is richer and more full-bodied than that of washed coffees.
JUSTIN INTERNATIONAL FOOD ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.
Tel: +886-3-358-6611
1st Floor, No. 30, Lane 120, Daxing Road, Taoyuan District, Taoyuan City
▶ This product is covered by a NT$10 million product liability insurance.
▶ Food Industry Registration Number: F-165601955-00000-0
▶ Our company’s cupper is certified as a CQI International Coffee Quality Appraiser.
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