Serious about the beans: DPP lawmaker Mark Ho demonstrates the art of coffee

Serious about the beans: DPP lawmaker Mark Ho demonstrates the art of coffee

2023-03-06

Serious coffee lovers, look up! Premium coffee has become more and more popular in Taiwan in recent years. More and more people are aspiring coffee connoisseurs. And among their ranks is DPP lawmaker Mark Ho. He’s been brewing and drinking the best beans for more than a decade. Today we’re going to take a class in the art of coffee, from a real aficionado.

A tiny flame burns beneath the coffee kettle, and steam is gently spiralling into the air. Coffee cups and beakers sit beside Tanzanian coffee grounds, and lawmaker Mark Ho is showing how to brew a premium cup of coffee.

Mark Ho
DPP lawmaker
Even the best grinders are the same. They all produce a mixture of more and less fine grounds, and the finer grounds are at the bottom.

The coffee grounds are poured into the funnel. Once boiling water is poured on, the grounds float up, while the coffee drips into the beaker below. As you brew the coffee, you must take care not to fill the funnel up completely with water. Steam rich with an invigorating scent fills the room.

Mark Ho
DPP lawmaker
See how its steam is rising? It also has a lot of volatiles in it. You could say that coffee is the most complex foodstuff in the world – from the moment it is roasted it is continuously changing.

The brewing is over. A cup of rich dark coffee is produced, but we’re not quite ready to drink it: the freshly-brewed coffee tastes too strong and it’s too hot. Most people add a little iced water to balance it out.

Mark Ho
DPP lawmaker
If I’m going to brew 500 milliliters, then I’ll leave 200 milliliters for water. That will make a coffee that’s exceptionally clean and vibrant. When we drink scalding liquids, our tastebuds contract. It’s my understanding that for really good tea or coffee, a temperature of about 50 degrees is correct.

Ho takes a sip, then swirls it around his mouth to taste it better. He’s meticulous about every step of the process.

Mark Ho
DPP lawmaker
Everyone needs to find something they enjoy. It could be wiping the floorboards, wiping your glasses, or drinking coffee. Find something you enjoy, and you won’t get tired even if you do it 100, 1,000 or 10,000 times. This is very important.

Ho has been interested in premium coffees for more than 10 years. For him, it’s not just a morning pick-me-up, but a relaxed and meditative process that can entertain him for decades.

鏡頭前露一手! 何志偉展示沖泡.品嘗咖啡流程

2023-03-06

民進黨立委何志偉接觸精品咖啡10多年，是中華精品咖啡協會的榮譽會長，在工作繁忙之餘，沖泡一壺咖啡就是他舒緩壓力的消遣，他也在鏡頭前露一手，從泡咖啡到飲用，展示一套完整的精品咖啡品嘗流程。

小火爐慢火加溫，茶壺口還冒出陣陣白煙，桌子上擺了燒杯、咖啡杯，以及來自坦尚尼亞的咖啡豆磨製的粉，立委何志偉親自示範如何泡出一杯精品咖啡。

[[立委(民) 何志偉]]
“再好的磨豆機都一樣，還是會有粗細，讓細的粉在下面”

接下來把咖啡粉倒入漏斗，一注熱水從茶壺口中流出，咖啡粉遇水浮起，熱水經過咖啡粉後被染色，滴落在下方的燒杯中，沖泡時還要注意別讓整個漏斗都被水淹沒，揮發出來的蒸氣，帶著濃濃的香氣。

[[立委(民) 何志偉]]
“你看到它水蒸氣起來了，同時也帶很多揮發物，咖啡堪稱全世界最複雜的食物，從烘烤那刻開始，一直在變化”

沖泡完，一壺深黑色咖啡拿在手中，但還沒結束，因為剛泡完的咖啡味道太濃、溫度也太高，一般都要加冰水來中和。

[[立委(民) 何志偉]]
“假設我今天可以沖出500cc，我可能會留200cc加水，這樣喝出來的咖啡，會異常乾淨，很繽紛。我們遇到燙的時候，味蕾是收縮起來的，喝真正的好茶或咖啡，我的認知，50度上下是好的溫度”

輕嘗一口，再用漱口的方式，把咖啡推到口腔內的每一個角落，從沖泡到飲用，每個細節都講究。

[[立委(民) 何志偉]]
“大家要找到自己喜歡的一件事，可以是擦地板、擦鏡子、喝咖啡，找到一件你喜歡的事情，做100次、1000次、10000次都不會累，這個好重要”

何志偉接觸精品咖啡超過10年，對他來說這已經不是單純的提神飲料，而是讓身心放鬆的娛樂消遣。

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Yeh Fa-yuan
Leather sculptor
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Yeh Fa-yuan
Leather sculptor
Actually, while I’m working, I always think that artists need to have a lot of perseverance and willpower, to keep struggling at it for long periods of time, as well as a kind of foolish desire to just keep doing it, without complaints or regrets. At the stage when you’re not yet famous, you can go months without making any money. I thought about giving up, in the past. And I thought to myself, “Maybe I need to adjust my pace and my methods, so that I can fulfill these dreams of mine.”

Hsu Kuai
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I’ve got a good line in leather chat! I can talk about his work in a more indirect, softer, more storytelling kind of way – about where he got the ideas for the piece, or the inspiration behind it.

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Yeh Fa-yuan
Leather sculptor
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We respect the outcome of both market mechanisms. We will continue to bring in eggs as quickly as possible from other areas. We’ll also look for eggs for egg processing firms.

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Hsu Chin-tang
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Lin Chia-hua
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