This.
But what the land will be as of now is narrowed but unknown. Broad strokes. Not mountainous, more coastal, south eastern Taiwan.
That’s the sort of thing I’d really like to develop. Alcoholic products are fun. But because I’m a lazy cnut, I probably never will.
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marketing is everything. Can have the best choccy on the Wan but if you’re too small to get the word out, youll just remain a niche treat… But yeah, im surprised there’s not more proper preparation of that kinda shit here yet. Guess I could go to switzerland and train as a chocolatier… maybe thats my path to taiwanese riches.
Is there a crop maybe that would be a good fit for a non-Taiwanese grower? For example, it seems the Americans pretty much have captured the American barbecue restaurant niche, at least in Taipei and Hualien (not familiar with other areas). Is there a crop that would require a bit of knowledge of how the end product should taste and look? California avocados? Sweet North American corn?
I think these guys are doing okay.
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well shit there go my millions
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Jam and juice they make of it and sell it at street stalls.
They had a bit of a setback of late due to publicity surrounding his dad’s sexual assault conviction. There are quite a few chocolatiers around, some are really good and have won international awards
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If your looking at south east coast ish areas I would rule out poly tunnels and look more at low ground crops with a big yield
Does anyone know of a government map or something similar listing what is grown where in Taiwan? Like county by county?
That rig could be used for growing various other herbs too.
Yes, really bad chocolate but good marketing.
Those herbs have been legal in NY and Massachusetts for years. Meh. IMO it’s just a balm to help snivilized slaves not feel like escaping even though the front door has been left open.
And it makes narcissistic kids not able to read or reason, enjoy particularly bad music and pretend the sex they’re having is stellar when it’s probably mostly mundane. 
I’d be so much more stoked if I could grow good oregano and thyme!
Curry leaves all the way for me.
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Honey is really good. I buy NZ Manuka 1100 and Yemen honey. Not cheap but is good with tea or to rub on wounds believe it or not. Is Taiwan honey of that caliber?
Pure Yemeni Sidr – Maters & Co (matersandco.com)
I don’t think I’ve ever tried Taiwanese chocolate, but from what I understand there are at least a couple of highly regarded ones.
At least that’s what I was told by a friend who has a bean-to-bar chocolate company in northern Thailand (he came here for some annual chocolate awards too).
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Go here and ask small farmers yourself what the economics of being a small farmer in Taiwan are:
Pick one that looks interesting and volunteer to work on his farm. One week of seeing firsthand should be enough to convince you that being a small farmer in Taiwan is extremely difficult these days due to labor shortages/the high cost of entry/difficulty of finding soil that isn’t depleted/polluted/ polluted water/economics of competing with large, mechanized farms . . .
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Add to that the neighboring farmers spraying their crops and the weeds on the property line. One becomes very familiar with the lingering pungent aroma of pesticides/herbicides. And don’t forget the burning - only plant material if one is lucky but sometimes plastics and other garbage as well.
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Yeah, this. It’s one of the reasons I wouldn’t choose to try farming commercially in Taiwan. Farms are just too small to create a buffer zone between your own stuff and whatever dumbfuckery the neighbours are up to. Worse, you’re likely to get aforementioned dumbfucks wandering over every five minutes to inform you that you’re doing it all wrong, and if only you’d set fire to some old truck tyres and pesticide cartons more often and spray the bejeezus out of your crops, things would work out much better for you.
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