Coffee in Taiwan – How an Island of Tea-drinkers came to love the bean!
Coffee in Taiwan
Taiwan is historically known for tea, and until the mid 1990’s visiting java junkies had few choices for a bean-juice fix outside of the cheap burnt drip served at Mickey-D’s and a small handful of Japanese shops serving pricey but excellent coffee by the cup, usually brewed using a dual-chambered glass vacuum coffee maker more reminiscent of lab equipment than a kitchen appliance.
But the days of precious few choices for visiting bean fields are long gone, and in 21st century Taiwan a perfectly serviceable cappuccino can be bought at any small-town 7-11.
City Café by 7-11
The cities, meanwhile, boast a veritable embarrassment of riches for the traveling coffee lover, and though opinions vary wildly among coffee aficionados from a mix of excellent chain coffee shops like Cama, Louisa and 85° C to smaller boutique shops run by third-wave purists boasting single origin beans.
What happened to bring about the sea change in Taiwan’s caffeine habits?
Well. Starbucks opened its first Taipei branch in 1998, heralding the start of coffee consumption as something more than a niche foreign habit. Competitors soon followed – less than a decade later, the aforementioned Taiwanese chain 85° C had overtaken Starbucks as Taiwan’s big dog of coffee. These days, old men playing xiangqi (Chinese chess) in the park are almost as likely to be doing so over lattes as they are with tea.
But scratching the surface, one finds that Taiwan’s coffee history dates long before the Seattle Mermaid ever emerged from the briny waters of Puget sound.
There’s some evidence of coffee being grown both by the Dutch and by local tribespeople, with the former group being mostly unsuccessful in their efforts to cultivate the plant for its stimulant effect and the latter being somewhat more successful in using the beans as decoration.
But the first serious coffee cultivation in Taiwan was carried out by the Japanese, who brought over seedlings from Hawaii and planted them in the rich soil of Gukeng, in Yunlin county. The coffee wasn’t for local consumption, though. It was a luxury item sent back to Japan, and when the Japanese left, most local plants were torn and replaced with tea, the beverage favored by bendiren (local Taiwanese) and waishengren (Mainland immigrants) alike.
One place to head if you’re looking for genuine local coffee experience is rustic Gukeng, located in the western foothills of Taiwan’s central mountain range. While it isn’t on most bucket list, the place should be for any serious java aficionado. Gukeng is home to a number of small batch coffee farmers growing some of the finest world’s finest beans. Blessed with a climate and altitude similar to Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, the Aribica beans produced in Gukeng have a smooth, nutty flavor and low acidity, making it a good choice to be drunk black even by those who normally take theirs with cream. Though many coffee shops outside of the area claim to serve Gukeng coffee, most locals will tell you that demand for Gukeng coffee (both in and out of Taiwan) far outstrips supply, and that to get the real deal your best bet is to visit the area yourself.
There are other coffee growing areas in Taiwan worth visiting. Just south of Tainan county’s famous hot-spring resort area of Guanziling (who’s waters are well known for acting as a near-narcotic anti-stimulant, read more: Hot-spring bathing at Guanziling) is where you’ll find the Dongshan region, where you can sip locally grown blends while taking in the area’s abundant scenery. And even Chiayi, a place far better known as one of Taiwan’s premier tea-growing regions, many long-standing tea growing farms and families are increasingly carving off acreage for production of another cash crop: Made in Taiwan coffee beans (for which demand currently outstrips supply).
Getting Caffeinated in Taipei :
The Capital’s best coffee shops (according to our social media followers)
We asked some of our Twitter and Facebook followers to chime in.
1.Fox Coffee
Karen Chung told us
“Fox Coffee in Dapinglin – they have an adorable baby son! Free wi-if, good place to work, too!”
2.Fonda
While Susanne Palm said:
“Fonda in Hsimending. Oldest in Taipei and great coffee.”
“I Love their coffee, meals are good, and the cakes are divine! They also got branches in Ximending and one near the airport.”
5.La Grotta
Dubbs had a couple of suggestions:
“It depends but if we’re talking about just getting some coffee to go, Louisa and 7-11 are my favorite, thanks to price and location. I went to a cafe near Ximending called La Grotta; the cakes were amazing.”
6.Nichi Nichi
As did Andrew Ryan:
“Homey’s feels like home, has a great creative vibe; About Animals is located south and has great vegan burgers + social issues stances; Booday is warm and has nice set meals and lovely cakes; Nichi Nichi has a cool Japanese aesthetic. All have good coffee.”
7.Youmoutoohana
Jonathan Sullivan suggested:
“羊毛與花 Youmoutoohana in an alley off Yongkang street is my main haunt in central Taipei; the cold brew is sublime (albeit not cheap at $180). Its got a comfy “Japanese” feel to it, quiet and popular with readers and writers”
8.TRUST CAFÉ
While Michal Thim said:
“創咖啡 TRUST CAFÉ – decent coffee and very well suited for work, if that’s what you require from cafe…which I did”
“We like Rufous on Fuxing South Road, Shake House on Wenzhou street, A8 between Dunhua and Anhe near Heping, Drop on Xinsheng S. Road near NTU, Zabu at the north end of Tianmu…there are others but these are my particular favorites. The Lightening on Fuxing South Road has a cat on weekdays and fair trade coffee, and Pillow on Rui-an has a corgi.”
Ordering coffee in Taiwan (a brief linguistic primer)
Even if you don’t speak a word of Chinese, you’ll be able to get your java needs taken care of around Taiwan. Nearly every convenience store serving coffee has menus in English and Chinese, as do some of the smaller shops. But why not try your hand at ordering your coffee in Mandarin? It’s not as hard as you might think, will impress the hell out of the person behind the counter, and makes your coffee fix all the more rewarding.
So, to put it all together, what I say twice a day every day at my local coffee shop from November to March:
“Wǒ yào yībēi rè de měishì kāfē. Jiā nǎi jīng, bùyào jiā táng. Xièxiè!” (“I’d like an Americano, hot. Add cream, no sugar. Thanks 我要一杯熱的美式咖啡,加奶精,不加糖,謝謝!”)
And from April to October:
“Wǒ yào yībēi Bīng de měishì kāfē. Jiā nǎi jīng, bùyào jiā táng. Xièxiè!” (“I’d like an Americano, iced. Add cream, no sugar. Thanks! 我要一杯冰的美式咖啡,加奶精,不加糖,謝謝!”)
Don’t forget to add Xièxiè – even if you mess everything else up, the person serving your coffee will appreciate your manners!
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The Louisa fan who ripped on Cama is nuts. I LOVE Cama’s iced hazelnut latte more than any drink in the world. And my whole family thinks the little guy is adorable, not creepy at all.
I loved the coffee in Taiwan! We visited a homestay near the Toroko gorge where the owners grow and roast their own coffee. It was great to see the process. 🙂
I have to say Cama for me is much better than Louisa. Louisa the more popular it gets, the worse the service, and for me the coffee is unimpressive. Carma is stronger than most coffee houses and the iced coffee is not diluted to the point of being brown iced water. Also the Macchiato is almost half the price of Bucks. I sound like a broken record about coffee in Taiwan. The wife rolls her eyes. But it is amazing at how many coffee shops there are in Taipei alone now. I do wonder how tho…I can drink 5 cups of tea a day easy but coffee two is my limit…Makes you wonder where all these coffee ‘overs’ came from. I used to live in Yong-He and there is a place called E61 that did amazing coffee –
No. 200號, Anle Road, Yonghe District, New Taipei City, 234
Great article! Although the perception of the coffee culture may seem as a new thing, I found out siphon coffee as been around in Taiwan for a long time. I’ve discovered some old coffee shops specialized in siphon coffees. They’re quite amazing.
The list of good coffee places on this article is a bit outdated. If you want affordable SOE beans, In Natural Coffee sell their beans online. Their shop is temporarily closed because their building was sold to a new landlord. Simple Kaffa is expensive but their coffee is world class. Coffee Lover’s Planet is part of the Japanese UCC chain, they got excellent selection of coffee. FF Coffee located near the Taipei Botanical Garden is also a hidden gem. Other worth checking out caffein spots are Kiosk Cafe, Fika Fika, Coffee Sind, Hudson Coffee, Grass Mountain Coffee, La Meet, Black Coffee and there are many more.
I’m not sure if people knew about this. Taiwan since 2016 has established a name in the world coffee scene when Berg Wu (Simple Kaffa cafe owner) won the 2016 World Barista Championship. The following year another Taiwanese won the World’s Brewer Cup. The best part about this is that although these two champions are Taiwanese, they aren’t the only excellent coffee makers in Taiwan. They are the few lucky ones who can afford to attend these expensive international competitions. Anyway, what makes the coffee culture here so special is the fact that almost every single coffee shop roast their own beans. Unlike most coffee places in Europe and North America where most cafes would work with the same local roasters or specific roasters, Taiwanese coffee shops tend to establish their own way of roasting; some are hand roasted manually, many roast with smaller machines, and few use larger roasting machines such as Giesen brand. Since I relocated here, it’s been a hobby of mine to walk the streets of Taipei discovering new coffee places. They are literally hundreds. And most of them are really good.
The Louisa fan who ripped on Cama is nuts. I LOVE Cama’s iced hazelnut latte more than any drink in the world. And my whole family thinks the little guy is adorable, not creepy at all.
I loved the coffee in Taiwan! We visited a homestay near the Toroko gorge where the owners grow and roast their own coffee. It was great to see the process. 🙂
https://www.visa-vis.com/visa-vis-travel-blog//people-we-meet-boyalisa
Thanks, Zachary! I need to check that place out on my next bike trip to Taroko.
I have to say Cama for me is much better than Louisa. Louisa the more popular it gets, the worse the service, and for me the coffee is unimpressive. Carma is stronger than most coffee houses and the iced coffee is not diluted to the point of being brown iced water. Also the Macchiato is almost half the price of Bucks. I sound like a broken record about coffee in Taiwan. The wife rolls her eyes. But it is amazing at how many coffee shops there are in Taipei alone now. I do wonder how tho…I can drink 5 cups of tea a day easy but coffee two is my limit…Makes you wonder where all these coffee ‘overs’ came from. I used to live in Yong-He and there is a place called E61 that did amazing coffee –
No. 200號, Anle Road, Yonghe District, New Taipei City, 234
Great article! Although the perception of the coffee culture may seem as a new thing, I found out siphon coffee as been around in Taiwan for a long time. I’ve discovered some old coffee shops specialized in siphon coffees. They’re quite amazing.
The list of good coffee places on this article is a bit outdated. If you want affordable SOE beans, In Natural Coffee sell their beans online. Their shop is temporarily closed because their building was sold to a new landlord. Simple Kaffa is expensive but their coffee is world class. Coffee Lover’s Planet is part of the Japanese UCC chain, they got excellent selection of coffee. FF Coffee located near the Taipei Botanical Garden is also a hidden gem. Other worth checking out caffein spots are Kiosk Cafe, Fika Fika, Coffee Sind, Hudson Coffee, Grass Mountain Coffee, La Meet, Black Coffee and there are many more.
I’m not sure if people knew about this. Taiwan since 2016 has established a name in the world coffee scene when Berg Wu (Simple Kaffa cafe owner) won the 2016 World Barista Championship. The following year another Taiwanese won the World’s Brewer Cup. The best part about this is that although these two champions are Taiwanese, they aren’t the only excellent coffee makers in Taiwan. They are the few lucky ones who can afford to attend these expensive international competitions. Anyway, what makes the coffee culture here so special is the fact that almost every single coffee shop roast their own beans. Unlike most coffee places in Europe and North America where most cafes would work with the same local roasters or specific roasters, Taiwanese coffee shops tend to establish their own way of roasting; some are hand roasted manually, many roast with smaller machines, and few use larger roasting machines such as Giesen brand. Since I relocated here, it’s been a hobby of mine to walk the streets of Taipei discovering new coffee places. They are literally hundreds. And most of them are really good.