Taiwan's Coffee Godfather Huang Chongqing: Changsha Has Huge Market Potential for Specialty Coffee Development

Coffee King Huang Chongqing brewing the world's most expensive Colombian Gesha specialty coffee using a siphon pot.

Coffee King Huang Chongqing [right] sharing specialty coffee culture promotion concepts with Changsha coffee enthusiasts.

Red Network Reporter Chen Siyi, Changsha Report

World Barista Competition Changsha Region Opens

On December 6, 2014, the World Barista Competition Changsha Region kicked off at Jiangshen Temple Front Street on Orange Isle. While the world-class exciting competition itself drew much attention, the focus was particularly on a nearly 70-year-old judge—Huang Chongqing, Chairman of Taiwan Billy Coffee Industrial Co., Ltd. At the invitation of Yang Jing, President of the Changsha Coffee Industry Association, Huang Chongqing arrived in Changsha with freshly baked Colombian Gesha, currently the world's most expensive coffee (200g costs over 1000 RMB, 6000 Taiwan dollars). During the conversation, Huang Chongqing stated, "Changsha has enormous market potential for developing specialty coffee."

A Coffee Veteran's Journey

Huang Chongqing maintains a low-key and cautious demeanor, rarely appearing in the media. However, among coffee business operators in Taiwan with over thirty years of experience, none are unfamiliar with this coffee veteran. Indonesian Mandheling was first introduced to Taiwan by him, becoming today's well-known premium coffee. Huang Chongqing led Taiwan's coffee industry market from scratch, developing it from a small-scale industry to the popularization of specialty coffee. This nearly 70-year-old man still has no plans to retire. He is full of energy as he shares stories of his coffee kingdom, which already has 38 years of history.

Changsha's Specialty Coffee Potential

Upon his first visit to Changsha, the cold weather did not diminish the coffee godfather's enthusiasm for Changsha's coffee industry market. The day after arriving, he and his eldest son Huang Weilun held an intimate specialty coffee cupping, tasting, and knowledge sharing session with over twenty Changsha coffee enthusiasts at Moungar423 Café. The numerous professional coffee enthusiasts made Huang Chongqing give a thumbs-up to the development of specialty coffee in Changsha. He expressed that while the development of specialty coffee in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai is gradually maturing, due to excessive competition and gradually increasing labor costs, development difficulties will also escalate. However, cities like Changsha and Xiamen have enormous potential with the promotion of coffee culture and professional coffee knowledge. "I believe that within ten years, specialty coffee will be fully promoted in Changsha. People's concept of coffee will not just停留在花式咖啡加了很多牛奶和糖精的基础上. Changsha has enormous market potential for developing specialty coffee."

The World's Most Expensive Gesha Coffee

Huang Chongqing took out the specialty Geisha coffee (also known as "Gesha") he brought from Taiwan, brewed it using a siphon coffee pot, and shared it with everyone. Gesha coffee originates from "Gesha Mountain" in Ethiopia, hence its name. In 2005, Gesha coffee defeated competitors from around the world in the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) competition, winning the title of world champion. It won again in 2006 and 2007. Its fruit-like sweetness and fragrance, reminiscent of lemon and strawberry, along with its expensive price, have made it popular worldwide in recent years. Huang Chongqing introduced that the specialty Gesha being tasted this time is currently the world's most expensive coffee, with a market price reaching 1182 yuan/200g. In this fragrant aroma of expensive coffee, a coffee world we had never seen before slowly unfolded its scroll before us.

Origins and Coffee Destiny

Born in Kinmen County in 1950, Huang Chongqing has deep connections with Indonesia. His father, Huang Sichuan, immigrated to Indonesia from Kinmen in his early years, cultivated land for coffee planting, and achieved success in his business. Relatives and friends flocked to invest in Indonesia's coffee industry. To see his father again, who had gone to Indonesia in his youth and never returned, Huang Chongqing set foot in Indonesia in 1977. It was from that moment that he formed an indissoluble bond with coffee. After returning from Indonesia to Taiwan, Huang Chongqing founded Billy Coffee Industrial Co., Ltd., becoming Taiwan's oldest coffee import and export company. The earliest Indonesian Mandheling coffee was also first introduced to Taiwan by Huang Chongqing at that time, becoming today's well-known premium coffee.

The Soul Coffee Philosophy

"Everyone has different 'soul coffees' belonging to them at different stages. Each stage pursues better coffee taste, and each cup's taste and flavor will have different tastes and souls depending on the barista's dedication. For me, that first cup of 'soul coffee' that led me into the coffee world is Indonesian Mandheling." A Mandheling coffee bean emitting a rich, intense aroma led Huang Chongqing into his coffee world, from which he has been unable to escape. When many people's impression of coffee still停留在各种品牌的速溶咖啡上，或者认为泛着油光的深烘焙咖啡才是好咖啡的错误理念中时，黄重庆已在台湾打开了一片不一样的咖啡市场。

Building a Coffee Kingdom

Starting from his initial involvement in coffee roasting, the entire Taiwan region lacked understanding of coffee, and 15-18 tons of specialty coffee beans couldn't be sold in a year. The two partner shareholders of Billy Industrial blamed Huang Chongqing for being a "fool" with no market vision and withdrew their shares one after another, leaving Huang Chongqing to support Billy Industrial alone. As one of the few coffee raw material suppliers in Taiwan at that time and the only Kinmen person living in Taiwan with coffee raw materials, Huang Chongqing endured hardship in an era when coffee was a luxury, imports required high tariffs, and the market scale was small with limited profits. However, relying on his love for coffee, he never gave up on this industry.

To provide better quality coffee to customers, Huang Chongqing flew to Indonesia whenever he had time to understand coffee cultivation and production situations. He eventually invested in coffee plantations and established long-term partnerships to ensure quality control from harvesting, roasting to finished product packaging and market distribution, allowing Taiwan's coffee community to drink specialty coffee. Thirty-seven years of effort allowed him to build his own coffee kingdom. Billy (Billie) has become one of Taiwan's most popular high-end coffees. Billy Blue Mountain Coffee and Sulawesi Star won the gold medal highest honor in the 2000 Taiwan Coffee Competition. Besides roasting factories and retail stores in Taiwan, Billy Coffee's business has expanded to Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, as well as America and Australia. Billy Coffee was also rated as the number one Chinese coffee brand by Han Huaizong, author of "Coffee Science" and coffee science expert.

Vision for the Future

Recalling the establishment of his 37-year coffee kingdom, Huang Chongqing summarized that the first decade was dedicated to simple green coffee bean trade, the second decade to coffee processing and packaging, and the third decade to the promotion and popularization of specialty coffee. For the next decade, he plans to focus on combining coffee culture with art. "Coffee, along with tea and cocoa, is known as the world's three major beverage plants. In fact, it's a beneficial drink that has health effects on the human body, just like tea. However, in Asian regions, most people's misunderstanding of coffee means its popularization and promotion still停留在星巴克、Costa等快速消费饮料的阶段，并没有形成一种文化趋势!" Huang Chongqing hopes to return to his hometown Kinmen to establish a coffee museum, allowing more people to truly know and understand coffee. "Combine coffee with traditional Chinese culture, making coffee no longer just a product of Western culture, letting it flourish in China like tea culture."

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