How to read a Taiwanese coffee label
Farm, altitude, process, roast date: four fields that matter, and two that do not.
Four fields
The farm name tells you whether it is a single lot or a blend of unknown origin. Altitude tells you roughly what to expect in acidity. Process tells you the texture. Roast date tells you whether to buy it.
If any of the four is missing, the bag is probably being sold on the story rather than the coffee.
A label with no roast date is a label with no opinion.
Two fields that do not
Cupping scores and award stickers are marketing. A score is only meaningful against the table it was cupped on.
Altitude alone is also weak: a 1,400-metre farm with poor sorting will lose to a 900-metre farm that floats every cherry.
Disclosure: this article contains no affiliate links. Prices and dates checked in October 2026. Our methodology.