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Coffee CornerA personal selectionof Tianmu's cafésThere’s been an explosion in the number of decent coffee shops openingin Taipei during the last decade or so, and it can be tricky to separate thewinners from the wannabes. In the first of a new series self-confessedcoffee aficionado ALY COOPER choses a couple of her favorite spots for agood old-fashioned caffeine fix, starting on her home turf: Tianmu.TexT & images:aly Cooper, sToCk phoTosCoffee gives a night owland sometime insomniacsuch as myself a reason towake up in the morning.I'll drink it cold, hot, lukewarm —however I can get my zombie-likehands on it. The first cup in themorning is just...well, it's magic.For many of us, coffee mirrors ourmoods, whether it be bold androbust, aromatic or mild with atouch of acidity, sickeningly sweetor perhaps even a tad bitter. Evenwhen you're feeling nutty, there'ssomething for you too. The optionsare wonderfully endless.My love affair with coffee began incollege, encouraged by my parents,who knew I was really missing outon something. They weaned me intothis wonderful new world by givingme a ‘specialty’ coffee. I'm sure itdoesn't take a genius to guess whichchain this specialty drink came from.Famous for frappuccinos, mochasand machiato… we've all been there.If I'm being completely honest, I'mactually sitting in one right now asI write this article. As a lover ofcoffee however, it's a disservice toone's very palate to limit yourself.This, my friends, is why I havewholeheartedly agreed to branch outand sacrifice myself for the people.I'm taking the heavy burden uponmyself and I'm going to drink coffee— all over Taipei. The burden I bearis a tough one, but I'm up for it.Perhaps it's due to my roots, butI'm a sucker for what hard-core (i.e.straight up black) coffee drinkersrefer to as “not real coffee": the froufrouof coffee — you know, anythingwith froth, foam and a drizzle ofdeliciousness. I do however like towalk on the wild side, so I do notlimit myself. I'm just letting youknow where I may stray to in someof my coffee reviews, though I willdo my best to diversify (all in thespirit of research, of course). BeforeI begin, let me make the followingdisclaimer: these reviews are basedsolely upon my own opinion; Iwas not forced, bribed, paid orsummoned to venture to any of these10 march 2012 www.communitycenter.org.tw
locations. As we all have differentpreferences, what works for me maynot work for you — you'll just haveto try it out and see for yourself.OK. I feel much better. Whydon't you grab a hot cup of goodnessbefore reading? I'll wait.For my first few places, I decidedto keep to Tianmu, which is close tohome (for me at least), and I was notleft disappointed.SonnentorAlley 18, Lane 38, Tianyu St.,TianmuFirst up, Sonnentor. Perhapsyou've only been there for bread;if so you're missing out. Anytime Ihave company in from out-of-town,I bring them here and I've never beendisappointed. It has some outdoorseating during nicer weather andample seating inside. I’m particularlyfond of their counter space whereyou can perch with a latte and agood book. If you're in a rush for acup of coffee however, go to 7-Elevenbecause (as I have found) perfectiontakes time. The latte is brought ona charming wooden plate of sorts(I'm a sucker for presentation) witha little glass carafe of flavored liquidsugar, which in my case was hazelnut— my favorite! Pour (all) that liquidscrumptiousness into your latte andsettle in for a treat. It's pretty filling,so getting the corresponding teatimetreat may be over the top for some(no judgements please). How toadequately describe it …? Let meput it this way — have you ever hada meal that was so good you closeyour eyes, and are disappointedwhen it's over? Well, I get this waywith certain foods, books and —now — a hazelnut latte can be addedto the list as well. Heavenly.Price? The lower end of high(NT$120 -180) but worth the priceevery now and then. Sacrifice a coffeefrom the Chain and buy one hereinstead; you won't be disappointed.Oh, and did I mention that thecoffee is Organic? A bonus.Cafe 828, Lane 22,Tianmu E. Rd., TianmuI'm not going to lie, Cafe 8 tookme completely by surprise. I'veridden my bike by it a few times,but like many hidden gems I'veinadvertently passed up; I didn'tknow what I was missing. Cafe 8'stagline is "a fantastic place to havecafe". True statement. As I went toorder I asked if I could get a nonfatlatte. Clearly I had forgotten whereI was. No. They could not makethat. What's on the menu is what'sto be ordered, period. They didn'tsay that, but I like to think that I canread people pretty well. A regularlatte it was. Verdict? It was really,really good. The milk was frothedand foamed to perfection — it wasso thick it was literally floating likea sumptuous cloud on top of mycoffee. While not as aestheticallypleasing as Sonnentor's, Cafe 8 hasan outdoor seating area as well, andthe cafe itself, once you're inside, isliterally open: there’s no door. Theinside has a well-worn, laid back feelto it, and and the coffee is great forthe price (NT$40-80) with a largevariety of items to choose from.HaaYa'S66 Tianmu N. Rd., TianmuSo I didn’t run the risk of losingcredibility with ‘real’ coffee drinkers,I went to the dark side. You gotit. No milk. No foam. No addedsweetener. Yeah that's right — Ihad a cup of coffee. I had heardmurmurings of this coffee shop froma friend, and knew I needed to giveit a go. HAAYA's Coffee on TianmuNorth Road is a special find. Uponentering, customers can either sit atJapanese-style tables on the floor(removing shoes) to the right, orstray to a table on the left. For myfirst time, I opted for a little windowseat. I was handed a startling menuof different coffees, marked withdifferent color tags based upon whattheir “roast degree” was. Roastdegrees varied from medium ‘fruitlikeacidity’ to a city roast, or (forthose feeling exceptionally bold)the full bodied bittersweet roast.Unfortunately, after reading themenu a bit more carefully, I foundthat only the roasts marked witha sticker are brewed daily. OK.However, there were also expressos,blended and specialty coffees tochoose from. For the indecisive, thiscoffee shop was a bit paralyzing. Asany strongly indecisive person does,I deferred the decision to someoneelse: in this case my waiter. Clearlynoting my angst and perhaps beinga bit clairvoyant, he recommendedthe Malawi Miuku Geisha, markedwith a yellow tag for being a mediumhigh roast with fruit-like acidity.My coffee arrived a bit later (again,perfection takes time) in a daintywhite and blue china teacup. AsI gingerly picked up my cup, I feltan overwhelming desire to drink‘proper’ with pinky poised, but withsurprising restraint, I refrained fromdoing so. Instead I took my timeand dare I say, actually enjoyed mycup of Malawi Miuku Geisha. Asmy coffee cooled a bit, and I nearedthe end that ‘fruit-like acidity’ gotstronger, though certainly it didn’tdeter me from draining my cup. Ilearned that perhaps one does notneed milk and sugar to make a greatcup of coffee. Huh!Brace yourself — HAAYA'S rangeson the high side of pricey, charginganywhere from NT$200-350 a cup.I have to say though that if a cup ofblack coffee was actually deemedpleasant by me, it's worth a try. Theyalso have some sweet sets available,and juice if you're bringing your kid.If it were me though I'd probablypack a juice box and save your NTdollars for the coffee. Trust me.Aly Cooper is an expat wifeof one year who enjoysadventures with her fiveyear-oldson, reading,eating, blogging, having ALOT of coffee with friends,volunteering and spending free weekendsexploring what the island has to offer withthe family.www.communitycenter.org.tw march 201211
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Page 9: OFF THE BEATEN TRACKRICHARD SAUNDER
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