Taiwan — Hsu Tingyeh Zhou Wu Mountain Farm SL34 (Washed, Looproom Collaboration)

Tastes Like — 🍇 Raspberry • 🍵 White Tea • 🌿 Sumac

DETAILS

• Producer: Hsu Tingyeh
• Farm: Zhou Wu Mountain
• Region: Chashan Village, Chiayi County, Taiwan
• Varietal: SL34
• Process: Washed (switched from Honey last year)
• Elevation: 1,300 masl
• Collaboration: Looproom Coffee (Taipei)

INTRO Hsu Tingyeh's SL34 selection is showing noticeably more flavour clarity and delineation than last year, along with greater cleanness and brightness — aided by the switch from honey processing to washed this season. Without fail, this coffee gives sweet, yummy raspberry, a delicate, clean, refreshing white tea character, and a definite zing of sumac brightness. In the cup: raspberry, white tea, and sumac.

THE PRODUCER Zhou Wu Mountain farm, at 1,300 masl in Chashan Village, Chiayi County, was founded in 2001 by Tingyeh, who adapted the high-mountain oolong fields of Zhou Wu to specialty coffee cultivation. The farm now spans roughly 7 hectares, growing SL34 alongside Geisha, Typica, and Purpurascens. Everything is done in-house, from seed germination through drying and milling, placing complete control over the coffee's final cup profile in Mr. Hsu's hands.

SL34 is an African cultivar of the Typica genetic group, prized for both quality and strong resistance to coffee berry disease — typically light-bodied, with abundant fresh florals, stone fruit, and potential for tropical fruit and berries. It was first selected from a single tree on the Loresho Estate in Kabete, Kenya, by Scott Agricultural Laboratories, and released for cultivation in the late 1930s. Most SL34 trees today remain confined to Kenya, making this Taiwanese planting particularly unusual.

THE PROCESS This lot switched from honey processing last year to Washed this season — removing the fruit before fermentation and drying, which has visibly sharpened the clarity and brightness in the cup, letting the raspberry and sumac character come through with real precision.

THE CUP Clean and refreshing — sweet raspberry leads, with a delicate white tea character throughout and a definite zing of sumac brightness on the finish. A clear step up in clarity from last year's honey-processed lot.

Flavour Notes 🍇 Raspberry 🍵 White Tea 🌿 Sumac