Good Coffee Shop in Taichung

[SlowRain]

Plans are to meet at Café Lulu around 1:30 if anyone is at all interested.

[SlowRain]

If anyone has ever heard of Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha, Cafe Lulu has some (you can verify it here). It's an unforgettable cup of coffee, that's for sure.

[SlowRain]

There's another one called Forro. It's in an alley just off of Zhong Ming Nan Rd., near the Tai Zhong Gang Rd. intersection. I had a cappuccino ($120NT). It was good--certainly above average, if a little bland for my tastes. I think I'll ask them to put less milk in next time, but I think that's just me. Most people would probably like it as it is. Unfortunately--for me, anyway--they only offer espresso-based coffee. The do have other drinks for non-coffee drinkers, but no brewed coffee.

It's a quaint little place with a tasteful-yet-low-cost style. The alley is nice and quiet. The outdoor bar seating is a nice idea for the spring and fall. The unique thing with this place is the upstairs is a B & B. I'm not sure how that will work out, but it is different, that's for sure.

There's a link to a map in the top, right-hand corner of their website:

http://forrocafe.blogspot.com/

[SlowRain]

For those who like coffee, I thought I'd give a recommendation. I'm currently enjoying a coffee from Cafe Lulu called Columbia Valencia (named so after the origin of the beans). If you use that name, they'll know which one you are talking about. It isn't too acidy or sour, so it may be more to the average person's liking. I started drinking it a day or two after it was roasted, but the sourness was more pronounced, and it was a little astringent. If anyone does give this one a try, definitely wait for about six days post-roast before starting to use it. It's great. I'm brewing it in a French press, using a 4-minute steep. It has a bit of a nutty flavor, which I really like in my coffees.

[SlowRain]

Anyone else here into coffee?

I went to a coffee shop in the southern part of Taichung City, close to Chung Hsing/Zhong Xing University. It's called Sweet Cafe. It's very small, but quite new looking. There are just a few chairs at the bar and a very small table with two chairs--that's all the seating. He also has seating on the second floor. Two things stand out about this place. One is the classy-looking Diedrich coffee roaster right at the front for everyone to see. If you're lucky, he may be roasting while you're there (don't worry, the smoke from the roaster gets exhausted outside). The other highlight is the espresso blend. It recently received a score of 91 points in November's edition of Coffee Review. There has been some criticism of how Coffee Review prepares espresso for analysis, but that's not a huge issue for us average folk (some espresso geeks are fanatical--to the point of taking the joy out of the beverage). I think it's a good espresso to try, especially for people who aren't used to espresso--certainly a better first step than either Orsir or Retro/Mojo (not that either of their espresso is bad, it's just not what I would recommend for a first shot). If Sweet Cafe's espresso seems a bit bitter right after it is made, just wait 30 seconds to a minute--the flavor will change. They also offer vac pot/syphon coffee in addition to cappuccinos and lattes, but I'm not sure what else; and they sell whole beans by the 1 pound bag for home brewing. An espresso is NT$90; a cappuccino is NT$110.

The only weird thing is their opening hours: 3:00pm - 11:00 pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/taichungcity-sweetcafe

156-8 Guo Guang Rd., South District (Ying Cai Rd. becomes Linsen Rd., which then becomes Guo Guang Rd.)

Link to Google Maps

Also, for people who may like a bit of berry flavor in their coffee, Cafe Lulu has a nice natural-processed Ethiopian Sidamo Korate. For a bit of a nutty flavor--at least when brewed in a French press--check out their Brazilian Daterra Sunrise.

EDIT: My mistake, there is seating on the second floor as well.

[SlowRain]

Two more cafe's, both with really good cappuccinos.

Café Vanessa - Located in a small alley very close to Nova computer store (you can see TGI Friday's from the front door). The cappuccino is a little larger than other places and has a very nice flavor. Not too milky and not burnt--just great. The place is actually kind of quaint with a few small armchairs, a group picnic table, and some small cafe tables. There's even seating at the bar. They offer espresso based drinks, as well as brewed coffee (syphon, drip, moka pot). Open from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 403 台中市西區台中港路一段199巷一弄18號; TaiZhongGang Rd., Sec. 1, Lane 199, Alley 1, #18; tel. 04-2329-7220

Link to Google Maps

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/cafe-vanessa

Match Café - Located right on TaiZhongGang Rd., between WenXin Rd. and DaDun Rd. This place is a fairly good size and rather trendy. The design is thick wood and metal. The cappuccino here is also very good. When I was there, there was a barista who spoke good English, but I don't know how often she is scheduled to work. Open 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. 60-3 TaiZhongGang Rd. Sec. 2; tel. 04-2313-4597.

Link to Google Maps

http://www.match-cafe.com/

They both offer a very good value on their cappuccinos--Café Vanessa because of the size, and Match Café because of the price. Both, while having slightly different flavors, are very delicious.

[wix]

I'll add a couple of recommendations.

The first one is in Qingshui out in Taichung County. It's on the main road about 1.5 kms north of the town. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere, but the coffee is very good.

Lailin Coffee (來林咖啡)
No. 541-7 Zhongshan Road, Qingshui Township (台中縣清水鎮中山路541-7號)

The other is in Taichung City. There is no sign on the shop front and the opening hours can be a bit irregular.

Kāfēi Pù (咖啡鋪) commonly known as A-cai (阿財).
No. 37 Sec. 1 Meichuan West Road, Taichung City (台中市西區梅川西路一段37號). Near the Cultural Centre (近文化中心).

[trubadour]

My fav at the mo is Sweet Café on Guoguang and Zhong Xing. Great (dark roasted) espresso beans. 2 big bags for 500NT or so. Closed Mondays and randomly. Open 3pm-late other times.

I'm kind of a coffee junkie and was looking for more info on Fair Trade coffee available by the bag in Taichung. I understand there is one up by Donghai Uni. Any other places? Costco?

東海和平咖啡館 (Peace Cafe)
04-26317296
台中縣龍井鄉新興路55巷12號 (near Donghai)
禮拜二 到 六 15:00-22:00
only limited selection fo coffee, but all fair trade
This is the same place as Emerge (Lao Nuo's) Live House

This place still around? Anyone know the price of a bag of the black stuff?

[SlowRain]

My fav at the mo is Sweet Café on Guoguang and Zhong Xing. Great (dark roasted) esspresso beans. 2 big bags for 500NT or so. Closed Mondays and randomly. Open 3pm-late other times.

I get my green beans from Stanley. He's very friendly.

If you're interested in Fair Trade beans, you could try Cafe Lulu, mentioned in the first post of this thread. Excellent coffee, but they roast lighter than Sweet Cafe. The owners of Sweet Cafe and Cafe Lulu are friends.

I think Scott (Retro, The Factory) has mostly Fair Trade beans as well, however I've been disappointed with his brewed coffee recently.

[trubadour]

thanks, OP. Stanley's place is so close to mine, its gonna be hard to motivate myself to cross town, but I will try! I do want to try lighter roasts.