It goes something like 'when in Rome...'. If it comes to coffee - being in Rome is good, in Naples even better. You get your superly strong espresso in the morning, or a smooth cappuccino if the concentrated syrup is a little bit too much. Add a cornetto and you set for the day.
Life gets a little bit harder once you in Taiwan. The 'coffee culture' is soaring here - but... or maybe a few 'buts'...Pour-over cafes keep popping up like mushrooms after rain in Polish forest. Even in the 'slum' there are two 'boutique / barista' cafes. All would be great - and I could not be more excited to see this change on the horizon. Finally getting a cup of good coffee and completing some work (ehmmm... in case the boss is reading it...) would not require an hour of commute.
The problem is with the value and what most of these places offer. It appears that a little bit of a 'quirky' - mostly vintage European - deco and a 'standard' selection of '(often self roasted') single origins is all you need to charge NT160-200. That is around €5 - or NZ$10. Pretty steep price considering that in most of the places I tried the coffee was just average. Often too heavily roasted, the pour was OK - but would not scream about it.
When it comes to a decent espresso (my favourite test) it gets even worse. Often undrinkable. Latte usually is so weak and milky that you feel like having a milkshake.
It should not be a surprise since the standard question you get is if you want your coffee cold: the culture of having iced and sweet coffee was here long before the mushrooming of boutique cafes. MrBrown iced coffee is sitting in every convenience store - which means it's everywhere.
There are a few exceptions of course with places like Fika Fika for an excellent flat white or espresso (though I could not somewhat get myself to order any of the NT300-650 for a single origin pour over...), Frog Cafe that combines good coffee and mountain walking or some of the very old establishments that still offer an excellent cupper such as Astoria. these are well worth a visit and for good reasons.
But what seems to be an even better choice is to reprogramme your taste buds and get into tea. No seriously. What you are used to drink in Europe, NZ or US is an absolute piss. It does not deserve to be called tea.
On the other hand, Taiwanese do to tea what Italians and Melbournians do to coffee: achieve excellence and a culinary experience. You have a choice of some excellent green teas, oolong - or the famed Alishan Assam tea (especially number 18). In most cases hand picked and processed. And you can either go the 'full board' with a proper tea house (of try the Zhongshan hall) or a little bit simpler option in the Old tobacco dorm. The Cafe (閱樂書店松菸店) is set in such an atmospheric building and serves a good range of tea.
After a visit to some plantations, meeting the growers and visiting a few fabulous tea houses I can assure you there is a whole new world to discover in the cup of tea!
However, if you need some coffee to complete your day, it may be sometimes a better option to go with some of the chains (I know - never expected myself saying that!)
Although I usually avoid chain cafes - I found that a few of these are probably a better choice if you need a couple of cups a day and a pleasant place to work. Cama cafe (with TN$60 for an americano) is pretty good. Ikari is acceptable (again, in these places I get an americano as the safest choice). Surprisingly, small americano in 7eleven for only TW$25 is not too bad after all...
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