Taroko was born in December 2025 — the result of years spent working in specialty coffee shops for minimum wage, while feeling disconnected from the missions behind them. Inspired by my Taiwanese heritage, I started Taroko as a small pop-up focused on showcasing Asian-grown coffee beans alongside ceremonial-grade matcha sourced directly from Japan. What began as a simple idea quickly gained momentum. Throughout December, we hosted multiple pop-ups and officially launched our