I immediately noticed all the cafes in Taipei. They're everywhere and that warms a man's heart. There's nothing better than lazing in a cafe, drinking coffee, surfing the net, flipping through magazines, wasting time. It's the template for my retirement. I don't think I could live in a city where it isn't possible. NY excels at it, Paris fails - not enough free wifi. Singapore is coming along - though they need more free wifi. Taipei, it turns out, does pretty well, Cafe Ole being a good example. We went a few times, surrounded by hip Taipei-ers (Taipanese?) and enjoyed it to the fullest.
Don't be scared off by the cutesie napkins, they serve a grown-up coffee, rich and hearty. They also have a nice jazz soundtrack and plenty of cool people magazines to flip through. The wifi is strong and everyone there either had an iPad or something similar. Some of the younger set had books open and were doing homework.
Dodo got her coffee iced, though I'm not sure why - it was fall-like in Taipei with temperatures in the high 50s.
If you're in Taipei, looking for a chilled place to sip coffee and surf, you won't be disappointed.
Songshan District
Taipei
Yeah.. they sell the pretty cups too! Come to think of it... haven't had my cup of coffee today yet! No wonder am feeling sleepy....
ReplyDelete@Dodo - if we're counting, I've already had about 6 cups today... Jetlag.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it may be a pleasant served cafe are the coffees great, I mean real great, Taipei is not known for having a coffee culture with roasters, special grinders and espresso machines, etc is the coffee ground to order, you don't have to be a coffee snop or a purist but still ny was behind.
ReplyDelete@Anon - wow, you hit me with the grad student questions but I'm coffee 101, so all I can say is the coffee was rich, strong and tasted excellent.
ReplyDeleteYou can say that but most often folks including me will say that because they are used to not so great coffee, however I often found that I liked richer and tastier coffee aka more milk and better prepared but was still not pleased. The coffee is more satisfying but that is because of the milk and cream.
ReplyDeleteSure, the coffee shop is cute, but you don't have to be a snobist to know that its not the extra mile or anything to do with much in terms of coffee. For instance espresso has nothing to do with the machine usually then the grind, roast, a $1,500 machine with a $30 grinder is worse than a $300 one with a $100 burr grinder
Blogs such as manseekingcoffee and others talk about coffee, while coffeegeek is for those who are much more purists although not everyone there is so, I am not a grad or even great with coffee, but I am telling my experience,
@Anon - thanks for the links, they're interesting.
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