In the latter days of the Qing Dynasty, British tea merchants plying the route between China and India made a stop at Taiwan and discovered that the climate and soil conditions were similar to those of Central and South America. They then planted 100 coffee plants near what is now Taipei County--the first to be grown in Taiwan. Unfortunately, the plants did not receive adequate care and did not successfully reproduce.
歷史記載，清光緒年間，英國茶商往返於中國與印度間，發現暫時落腳的台灣，風土、氣候條件與中南美洲相似，於是引進一百株咖啡苗木在台北縣附近種植，成為第一批飄洋過海來台的咖啡樹，可惜後來管理不當，並未成功繁殖。