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ravenclaw
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Posts: 4
Location: soon to be taiwan
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 Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:47 pm Post subject: Caffine Junkie Wants to Know |
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| So this is a newbie question of a different stripe. How is the coffee in Taiwan? Is there a lot of it to be found and from where does the coffee come from? |
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dangerousapple
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 292
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:56 am Post subject: |
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There are three kinds of coffee here:
bad and cheap
bad and expensive
good and expensive
if you grind your own beans you have to do a little searching to find some good quality. Costco usually has some decent beans. Coffee shops are everywhere, but the quality is hit and miss. Starbucks and McDonald's are also everywhere, if you need a quick fix. |
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Ki
Joined: 23 Jul 2004
Posts: 475
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 3:43 am Post subject: |
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You don't have to spend a fortune on good coffee here. Certainly give the breakfast shops a miss. I love the dan bing but I have never had a good coffee, hot or iced, from a breakfast shop. McDonalds coffee isn't bad and you get a free refill during breakfast. Cafes like Ikari and Dante have nice coffee and meals too. At any rate I'm not complaining too much at US$2 a cup/glass. One dollar at Maccas.
You can also get nice coffee from convenience stores though you can also get really bad coffee there too. |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 4:31 am Post subject: |
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| Living in buttf*cknowhere, Taiwan, is a great way to kick the habit. |
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ravenclaw
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Posts: 4
Location: soon to be taiwan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for all the input guys. Its the little comforts that matter  |
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yanksrock1
Joined: 07 Apr 2004
Posts: 8
Location: New York
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| Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Coffee is somthing i didnt give up while I was living in Taipei. Yep Starbucks is expensive. I went with one of the cheapy cans in the morning and sometimes a sbucks in the afternoon. Anyway my fav place to have coffee was in Ximending. The place is called, Fong Da Coffee. It was the bomb, miss it dearly... |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:06 am Post subject: |
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I can happily say that good coffee is now widely available throughout Taiwan at about the same price you pay back home.
Coffee shops are abundant and most international franchises are represented in major cities.
Good luck!
A. |
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trukesehammer
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
Posts: 168
Location: The Vatican
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| Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:19 am Post subject: Re: Caffine Junkie Wants to Know |
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| ravenclaw wrote: |
| So this is a newbie question of a different stripe. How is the coffee in Taiwan? Is there a lot of it to be found and from where does the coffee come from? |
Mmmmmmm! Coffee! Now you're talking my language! 
Despite my fiance's complaints that I am damaging my health, I continue to be an avid caffeine fiend --or more precisely, a devout coffee aficionado. While my fiance regularly clips articles from local newspapers explaining that coffee destroys the liver, contributes to schizophrenia, causes migraines, turns your teeth brown, yadda-yadda-yadda, I fight back with stuff that says coffee combats high blood pressure, heart disease, keeps you mentally sharp, yadda-yadda-yadda.
But that is neither here nor there. I like Dangerousapple's assessment of the local coffee scene, which is a great overview. To add my own $0.02, I like to call this place "Coffee Heaven" because you can pretty much find whatever you're looking for here, ranging from the bad and cheap to the good and expensive. At any rate, here is a list of my favorites...
1) Starbucks
2) Barista (Seattle Coffee)
3) Dante
4) Ikari
5) IS
6) E-Coffee
7) Mr. Brown (poopy website that doesn't show the cafes, which are popping up everywhere like the dreaded flying crockroaches)
8 ) 85C (not sure about the website, but as M.Turton says, the cafe offers "decent coffee and kickass cake").
There are, of course, lots of other chains and independent establishments, which means you'll have plenty of time to wander about tickling your tastebuds and buzzing yourself silly, as I often do.
--One last thing. Don't waste your time with McDonalds. Buying almost ANYTHING from Mickey-D's is just a waste of money. Meanwhile, you're literally taking your life in your own hands with the stuff from dinky breakfast establishments and corner tea stalls. INSTANT HEART ATTACK in a cup! 
--OOH! Almost forgot to answer your other question, Where does it come from? This year while doing my taxes, I met a Sri Lankan importer who says it comes from the usual places. Brazil, Columbia, Africa. However, there is a town in Central Taiwan called Gukeng which is trying to give the rest of the world a run for its money. The Sri Lankan fellow says it'll never work because Taiwan's climate can't produce quality beans. My assessment: Gukeng Coffee is decent but overpriced. Still, it's worth a taste.  |
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ravenclaw
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
Posts: 4
Location: soon to be taiwan
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| Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks trukesehammer! That was the run-down i was looking for!  And you can tell your fianc� that the Boston Women's Hospital came out with a study this last spring stating that coffee in fact has many good fats, acids, and antioxidants that help women specifically lower cholesterol and prevent cancers. As well it was shown that drinking coffee regularly has an almost non-existent affect on your blood pressure. The kicker is the benefits from coffee were seen by people drinking about 6 cups a day (that�s a lot of coffee! ). |
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