Buda Banai Coffee

「Reviving agricultural tradition of mulberry tree cultivation with culinary creativity」

The café serves caffeine-free tea of wild mulberry leaves after lengthy processing. It is at the first floor of a house for homestay accommodation managed by a young couple, Xiuxien and Tsaiwei, who run the small family business and revive the local agricultural tradition of planting mulberry trees, which gave rise to golden era of silkworm industry at Chishang in 1960s. The café has only ten seats and the visitors have to make reservations. The afternoon tea set it serves has mulberry leaf tea and rice cake made with powder of mulberry leaves and Chishang rice, which is mixed with local eggs and milk produced in Chulu. It is a popular dessert to diabetes patients and customers who have to follow a low-glycemic diet. “The mulberry rice cake is more popular than mulberry leaf tea,” said Tsaiwei softly with a gentle smile. After they promoted and served mulberry leaf tea for several years, the demand for it exceeded supply for the first time last year. As a result, the couple decided to purchase more equipment to increase the production capacity and ensure supply stability. Embracing their own business philosophy, they live their dream life in Chishang by managing a cafeteria serving hand-made mulberry leaf tea and homestay business in their own way.