Top coffee taster Liu Pang-yu returned to Taiwan on Friday after winning the World Cup Tasters Championship in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday. Liu just finished his military service a year ago and has only been tasting coffee for around one year.
Liu was able to defeat Starbucks coffee master Amanda Juris to win the world’s top coffee taster title. The 25-year-old received the award with Taiwan’s national flag draped around himself. He shared his sentiments upon his return Friday:
"I was so happy because international competitions are really different from national ones," Liu said. "In a global competition, you represent your country, so of course there’s a little pressure. After I won, I was so happy."
Coffee tasters are able to distinguish the quality of various coffee beans. As he was preparing for the contest, Liu had to taste over 30 types of beans a day. His coach said in order to keep his taste buds sharp, Liu would drink only water and eat bland foods such as white bread.
The Taiwan Coffee Association is delighted about Liu’s win. It said that Taiwan’s coffee industry is growing and worth NT$50 billion (US$1.66 billion) a year. It hopes to continue to develop talent to make Taiwan’s coffee industry more competitive.