Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491368
STiR tea & coffee industry international 77 the remainder comes from the sale of health supplements, cleaning detergents, mosquito repellant, and other household goods. Of the conglomerate's 2,500 em- ployees, the coffee division accounts for 1,500; the shops themselves average 7-10 workers each. Wu, 52, joined King Car at the age of 22 — a milestone not only for her but for the company as well. "Thirty years ago, only males could apply for such jobs. I saw the advertise- ment and thought, 'why only males'? So I applied. The supervisor interviewed many people but in the end, they chose me." As chief of R&D, Wu travels fre- quently throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company sources its coffee from Indonesia as well as the Cen- tral American nations of Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and El Salvador. This partially explains why Taiwan's commerce with those five countries — all of which have free-trade agreements in place — totaled $778.35 million in 2012. That was a 103% increase over 2003 figures. In late June, journalists from each of those nations participated in a week-long press trip to Taiwan that included meetings with government officials and visits to ports, factories, and cultural attractions in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and elsewhere. Also invited on the trip — sponsored by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) — were correspondents from the United States, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, and several Middle Eastern and Asian countries that enjoy diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China while maintaining business and commercial links with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province of China. "For more than 50 years, most of Central America has recognized the existence of Taiwan," said Victor Chu, senior secretary of MOFA's Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs. "We appreciate this kind of relationship, but you cannot say that means we have more business or investment from those countries. We have lots of investment in Vietnam, for example, but no diplomatic relations with them." In fact, despite its relative political isolation — only 22 countries have full-fledged embassies in Taipei — Taiwan is now the world's 20th largest exporting nation, and its 18th largest importer. Last year, total trade came to $575 billion, with exports at ap- proximately $305 billion. And Taiwan's inhabitants enjoy an annual per-capita income of roughly $21,000, compared to $6,800 for mainland China. That prosperity largely explains the proliferation of coffee shops all over Taiwan, whose population density of 642 people per square kilometer makes it the 16th most crowded nation in the world. The average Mr. Brown shop is smaller than its Starbucks counterpart, measuring between 40 and 50 square meters (540 sq. ft.) and seats from 10 to 100 patrons. Its largest outlet by far is at the King Car whisky distillery in Yilan, a two-hour drive from Taipei. This shop is quite popular with tourists from the Chinese mainland, which can often be found crowding the gift shop or posing for pictures with the Mr. Brown mascot. Mr. Brown's high-capacity roasting operations are fully automated.