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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