What to know | Aesop’s early-2026 Taichung fragrance trail: VWI Coffee, Deco Orange and local design

Between January 26 and February 28, 2026, Aesop launched an urban fragrance search project using smell as a clue around the Taipei Nanxi concept store, Taichung concept store, Taichung Shin Kong Mitsukoshi store and Kaohsiung Arena store. The event has ended after the February 28 holiday, but the Taichung route is still worthy of being used as a reference map to get to know local stores.

How to play the fragrance trail activity?

As long as consumers pay attention to the glass windows or old walls with the "Fragrance Nose" logo in the alleys, they can be guided back to the Aesop store by following the scent clues through the in-store signage, scanning the QR Code, or being explained by store partners. In the store, botanical artist Liao Haozhe uses exclusive vegetation installations to translate aroma into specific spatial language.

Where is the first stop on the Taichung route?

The starting point of the route is VWI Coffee, located in an old house in a quiet lane on Wuquan West 6th Street, run by world brewing champion Chad Wang. The space of the two-story old house is quiet, with the faint scent of Aesop Virēre perfume floating in the air. The flavor level of a cup of coffee is described as a delicate interweaving that exactly echoes the tonality of the perfume.

How does Aesop Taichung concept store present the image of Virēre perfume?

The Aesop Taichung concept store located in front of the green space of Citizen Square is inspired by the traditional fresh food market. The boxed stepped display is like a market vendor displaying fruits and vegetables. The custom-made long lamps in the tin house concept echo the memory of Taichung street scene. At that time, the store decoration collaborated with Liao Haozhe to reproduce the inspiration scenes when perfumer Barnabé created the perfume: a bicycle journey in the southern French countryside, a short pause under the shade of a tree, steaming green tea, and the aroma of figs floating in the wind. During the event, the store also cooperated with Wushi Tea Lounge. Tea sommelier "Dong" selected three Taiwanese teas: Yuchi Organic Red Rhyme Black Tea, Alishan Laoji Tieguanyin White Tea, and Pinglin White Monkey Green Tea. They corresponded to the citrus top notes, fig aroma and green tea texture of Virēre respectively, allowing the sense of smell and taste to echo each other.

What’s so special about Deco Orange?

An orange retro car is displayed at the entrance of this old object collection store, which is particularly eye-catching. The owner and his wife went to New York to study and were deeply influenced by the local taste and confidence in home decoration. After returning to Taiwan, they devoted themselves to collecting and restoring old objects. According to the itinerary, the store has repaired a number of out-of-print German Braun vinyl turntables and speakers from the 1950s. This set of industrial design classics can be completely restored and recreated in style, which is quite rare in Taiwan. It is a store worth visiting for those who love old design pieces.

What does the Hwyl fragrance installation at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Store in Taichung look like?

As the regeneration base of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Aesop Taichung Shin Kong Store also cooperated with Liao Haozhe to create an immersive plant installation with the theme of Hwyl perfume. The inspiration comes from the experience of perfumer Barnabé walking in the Japanese countryside forest: walking under an umbrella in the drizzle, with wet moss underfoot, and the air is filled with the smell of wood and water vapor. The installation uses preserved moss, old wood and cypress trees, which are hand-pasted piece by piece to present an almost real visual effect. It does not require watering and care, allowing the natural image to remain in the space for a long time.

What to eat at the last stop of the fragrance-hunting journey?

The route ended at Zai Cuisine, which was attracting much attention at the time. The name of the restaurant "Zai" refers to both "in" and "again". The founder Ken and the chef Jiayu are both from the Le Moût team, and the space is designed by "One Day, One Land". The cooking style is delicate and restrained, and paired with homemade non-alcoholic fermented drinks, each dish can be tasted with the depth of time and techniques. Therefore, it became a popular restaurant that was hard to get a reservation at that time.

What is the limited edition art made from cosmetically imperfect candles?

Aesop noticed during the manufacturing process and logistics that some aromatic candles may have appearance flaws due to collision, so they invited Taiwanese artist Tang Jie'an, who is good at capturing the flow of time and morphological changes, to repaint these candles into unique works of art. The limited edition products were sold at the Taipei 101 store and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A4, A8, and A11 stores starting from January 5, with each store limited to 9 to 15 pieces, while supplies last. The artist's live painting activities were held at the Taipei 101 store from 16:00 to 20:00 every day from January 30 to February 1, and from February 6 to February 8. The entire plan has now ended. For readers who missed this wave of activities at that time, this Taichung route can still be used as a reference map to understand the local smell and store style.