The nation’s largest joint chocolate and coffee marketing event, the 4th Nantou Chocolate Coffee Festival “Nantou Let’s Play,” will be grandly held from Saturday, June 8 to Sunday, June 16 at the Puli Fuxing Hot Spring Area in Nantou. Continuing the independent scale from last year, this year’s event will cover 3.7 hectares and feature thirteen themed zones, creating a vivid summer paradise theme. Over 60 local boutique coffee, chocolate, and souvenir brands will be gathered, aiming to surpass last year’s success and deepen the Nantou Chocolate Coffee Festival brand!
On the 29th, a pre-exhibition press conference was held in the first-floor lobby of the Nantou County Government, led by Nantou County Mayor Hsu Shu-hua, accompanied by event ambassadors Miss Taiwan Gao Manrong, dual IP mascots Malayan Tapir and Sausage Cat, and many distinguished guests, jointly announcing the upcoming fourth Chocolate Coffee Festival. The mayor specifically thanked the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Tourism Bureau for their event subsidy and included it as part of the Island Midsummer Festival series, with enthusiastic participation from the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Administration, Alishan National Scenic Area Administration, and the Agriculture and Food Agency’s Soil and Water Conservation Bureau Nantou Branch.
This event will feature thirteen themed zones, including the Dreamy Glass House Selection Avenue, Nantou Chocolate Coffee Pavilion, Boutique Flavor Pavilion, Taiwan Selection Pavilion, and Taste Nantou Pavilion, showcasing the award-winning brands of the Nantou Coffee Evaluation. Among them, Guoxing Township’s 92 Sunshine Highland Coffee, designated as the coffee for the Presidential Palace State Banquet, which has received the highest score certification from the Specialty Coffee Association of America in Asia, along with other renowned brands like Guoxing Township’s Black Gold Treasure representing the Guoxing Farmers’ Association, the champion of the National Baking Competition and the coffee evaluation special award winner “Mountain Pig Rush X Sun Moon Star Dance,” and the popular Sun Moon Lake internet celebrity coffee shop “Savage Coffee.” In terms of chocolate brands, participants include the internationally acclaimed Feeling18 Chocolate Workshop, ICA World Chocolate Awards gold medalist Cona’s Nina Chocolate, bronze medalist Yuelu Trail, and Vanilla Knight Chocolate, which specializes in premium vanilla pods. Over 60 brands will be exhibited. To encourage consumer spending, spending over NT$668 in the exhibition area entitles one to a capsule toy draw, with total prizes worth NT$1.5 million, offering a chance to win coffee beans, chocolate gift boxes, festival co-branded gift boxes, and exclusive souvenirs.
During the weekends, the exhibition area will feature large-scale coffee-themed activities. On the opening day (6/8), Guoxing Township Farmers’ Association’s 92 Coffee will lead local baristas in teaching hand-pouring techniques, creating a spectacular scene of thousands gathering to brew coffee. Registered participants will receive a special croissant picnic package co-branded with Feeling18. The next day (6/9) will feature the Flower Goddess Coffee Style Day planned by the Dongfeng Tea and the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau Nantou Branch, with 15 styles of floral coffee seats arranged on-site. Early bird registrants can enjoy exclusive hand-poured Nantou coffee surrounded by floral scents and savor vanilla gift boxes prepared by Vanilla Knight and a chocolate combination pack co-branded by Yan Yan and Maria Abe. On 6/15, a coffee roasting activity will be held, led by the champion roaster from Mountain Pig Rush Coffee, teaching on-site with sun-drying and roasting machines available for public participation. This event is co-organized with the Alishan National Scenic Area Administration, providing Alishan classic souvenir sets for the picnic package. Pre-registration for all themed activities is available on the Chocolate Coffee Festival official website, with on-site collection during the event. Additionally, hidden activities are launched on weekends, including a bar experience using coffee and chocolate as cocktail elements and a summer night cinema under the starry sky, enjoying a romantic evening breeze!
The festival kicks off during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, featuring fun and diverse activities. Visitors can roam the exhibition area during the day, participate in chocolate coffee handmade courses, view the 1.7-hectare colorful landscape flower sea, and see the Malayan Tapir and Sausage Cat light display. In the evening, there will be heavyweight singers and a drone firework show, with three main performances. Invited performers include rock and hip-hop god Marz23, Big Hip-Hop Era 2 champion Akwa, this festival’s theme song singer Forty Yan Shilin, famous internet celebrities Huang Brothers’ Weiwei, and Taiwanese Golden Melody Queen Tsao Ya-wen. On the weekends of 6/8, 6/9, and 6/15, there will be “Night Sky Fireworks Shows,” with two Saturdays 6/8 and 6/15 featuring an added “Malayan Tapir and Sausage Cat Drone Show,” offering an exciting visual experience from morning to night.
Moreover, the Chocolate Coffee Festival actively implements low-carbon and sustainable environmental concepts. On-site, there will be free rental booths for eco-friendly tableware, continuing past years’ experience of selling co-branded Chocolate Coffee Cups with artist Hong Yi, IP mascots Malayan Tapir, and Sausage Cat. Visitors can purchase and taste-test at the booths, reducing the use of disposable paper cups and serving as festival souvenirs. In the Fuxing Hot Spring area, there will be the introduction of automated electric self-driving cars, providing intelligent low-carbon green energy services, allowing easy park tours. The final event will see the repurposing of on-site canvas into tote bags, aiming to integrate sustainability as one of the festival’s core DNAs.
Besides electric self-driving cars, shuttle cars will be arranged on-site, transporting visitors around the park. Visitors can participate in a digital stamp collection activity via LINE, and upon collecting the specified number of stamps, they can exchange for an exclusive Chocolate Coffee Festival co-branded necklace, with daily limited exchanges. With on-site consumption vouchers, they can also receive limited commemorative coins. Showing the stamp collection screen at surrounding attractions will offer multiple discount benefits, with Taiya Resort providing accommodation discounts. For more information on the Chocolate Coffee Festival series, visit Nantou (FB) or the event’s official website. The county government’s tourism department is also hosting the “2024 Nantou Starry Season,” “Nantou Travel 100K Cycling and Town Roaming Carnival,” inviting everyone to enjoy Nantou.
Exhibition Dates: Saturday, June 8, 2023 – Sunday, June 16, 2023
Location: Opposite the Fuxing Hot Spring Visitor Center, Puli, Nantou (No. 293, Fuxing Road, Puli Town, Nantou County 545)
Thirteen Major Themed Zones:
Selection Avenue, Nantou Chocolate Coffee Pavilion, Boutique Flavor Pavilion, Taiwan Selection Pavilion, Taste Nantou Pavilion: Gathering over 60 local boutique coffee, chocolate, and souvenir brands, featuring award-winning brands from the Nantou Coffee Evaluation, including the Presidential Palace State Banquet designated Guoxing Township 92 Sunshine Highland Coffee, Guoxing Township Black Gold Treasure representing the Guoxing Farmers’ Association, national baking competition champion and coffee evaluation special award-winning brand “Mountain Pig Rush X Sun Moon Star Dance,” Sun Moon Lake’s famous internet celebrity coffee shop “Savage Coffee,” the internationally acclaimed Feeling18 Chocolate Workshop, ICA World Chocolate Awards gold medalist Cona’s Nina Chocolate, bronze medalist Yuelu Trail, and Vanilla Knight Chocolate specializing in premium vanilla pods.
PLAY Stage: Various performances and star singers arranged from afternoon to evening on weekends, featuring rock and hip-hop god Mars23, Big Hip-Hop Era 2 champion Akwa, this festival’s theme song singer Forty Yan Shilin, famous internet celebrities Huang Brothers’ Weiwei, and Taiwanese Golden Melody Queen Tsao Ya-wen.
FUN Electric Park: Designed for family groups, featuring outdoor ball pools, carousels, and coffee cup rides for kids and adults to enjoy.
Play Bar: Experience slightly tipsy enjoyment with coffee and chocolate cocktail elements.
Starry Cinema: Enjoy a romantic summer night cinema under the starry sky!
Capsule Toy Wall: Spend over NT$668 in the exhibition area to get a chance to draw from the capsule toy machine, offering NT$1.5 million worth of gifts, with opportunities to win coffee beans, chocolate gift boxes, festival co-branded gift boxes, and exclusive souvenirs.
Merchandise Pavilion: Selling exclusive limited commemorative merchandise co-branded by the festival, IP mascots Malayan Tapir and Sausage Cat.
Play Square: Venue for the thousand-people coffee-themed activities, with rest tables and chairs for visitors to enjoy meals.
Fun Market: Weekend hidden activities, including caricature drawings and Henna hand painting experiences.
