coffee forum, ?????, ?????, fresh coffee beans and tea house

[boblam]

For Taipei, typically, people will always point to Gabee but recent review from a guy called stuckinmacau on coffeegeek http://coffeegeek.com/forums/worldregional/australasia/419276

and kckc�s comment make me change my mind for another espresso shop that stuckinmacau talked highly about, Trilobite

In all, it�s the second best espresso I�ve ever had so far, particularly its syrupy body that ristretto was meant to be. This is the kind of quality that almost tempted me to leave the French press territory and cross over to espresso making. One of these days.

Also, this is my first time with Synesso Cyncra. You can read more about Synesso on the net or Wikipedia.

There�s no menu at Trilobite but you know the drill. However, the café stresses on black coffee, ie espresso, ristretto, which is served in a shot glass. If you insist, they serve a milk drink like cappuccino or au lait, they serve a cup of froth milk for you to pour espresso from a shot glass by yourself, ie no latte art which is, to me, an antithesis of the renowned Gabee.

The shop carries six to nine blends and sports six mazzer blender (I don�t know whether it�s mini or super). They rest their beans for a week which is locally roasted by an American friend of his (that�s all I could get from talking to him).

The barista will ask you what kind of flavor you like in your espresso. Here�s the problem. Like what stuckinmacau said, the way that the barista express the coffee flavor is not quite the way the westerner did, ie you like sour or bitter? I can tell you that the two shot I had had no bitterness in there at all. Could be the Asian thing, the food/fruit in Asia has different taste profile vs. western hemisphere. On top of that, he had to do it in English, an admirable task, as I know no mandarin. Nevertheless, I managed to tell him that I like to try the one with not much chocolate tone.

I could call the two shots he gave �god shots� without any hesitation. It has a syrupy body with just enough bite to it. Perfect. I ask him to recommend me another shot with different blend. He asked whether I like Lavazza but I am definitely not the fan. The second blend he gave me was much more mellow, no distinct bite or acidity. Good but I like the first one much more.

There is also another problem. I forgot to ask him the name of blend so I don�t think I will get the same one again next time I drop by. Could be a long time before I could make it to Taipei again.

Before I got my first espresso shot, the other barista gave me a free chocolate drink in a glass shot on the house. I�m not a fan of chocolate drink, though. I really appreciate their courtesy but don�t want to spoil my taste bud before great coffee so I only have one tiny sip of it.

The shop decoration wasn�t my style. You can see it in this link.

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/vivienjames/6233356

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/my-ariel/article?mid=4865&prev=-1&next=4843&sc=1

I expect a rather stuffy and smell of old furnitures with this kind of retro decoration. Surprisingly, the shop smells really clean and the picture did not do any justice to the real shop. I got no sticky feeling sitting on its vintage couch I initially expect from this kind of decoration. The table is nice and clean, almost spick and span. In fact, I could really sit there for a long time and talk to barista which is very nice despite some loss in translation. I wish I knew mandarin�

Also, it�s quite pricey. Two shots of espresso cost me TWD275. The barista said the shop opened just eight months and was about to or in the process of breaking even. Nevertheless, I will drop by next time I�m Taipei for sure.

The way to go to the shop is quite easy and don�t let the google map search discourage you. If you input its address directly in google map or yahoo map, it will report back to you that no such address. Actually, it�s quite convenient via MRT

Take MRT to Zhongxiao Xinsheng station on Nangang line (Blue line). Take exit 2 and turn right back to the main road, Zhongxiao East Road. Walk toward the intersection of Zhongxiao and Xinsheng South road. DO NOT cross the intersection. Turn right around the corner you will see Hua Nan Bank on your right hand side. Keep walking until you hit Jinan Road Section 2. You�ll know it when you see McDonald at the corner and Trilobite is the shop adjacent to McDonald. The walking should be about 5 minutes or less.

Enjoy

Trilobite
1st Floor, No. 64-2, Sec. 2, Jinan Road, Jhongjheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan
Tel: 02-2321-3905

[littlelittle]

recorded. I will try it on my next trip.
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[vodkangump]

Hi boblam,

thanks for sharing. Any other recommendation of Taipei cafe? I have a short trip over there soon.
thanks
vodkangump

[boblam]

[vodkangump]

I did some internet research on the taipei cafes, here shows what I have summarized so far. Hope it is helpful.

2008????????-??50????????????:
??????????????????120??????????????2??????TOP50???:

01.???????-??????? : Caff'e Trombetta: ?????????60?11? : ???????10????7?????????

02.101???????: ???????11? 07:00 ~ 22:30

03.????????: ??????117?8?5? 11:30~2100 [????]

04.????: ??????165?1?1? AM12:00-PM10:00

05.??? ???: ?????????1-8?1? ?~? 07:00~19:00 ?09:00~18:00 ??&??????

06.????? Britt: ?????????71? ?? ??11:00 ~ ??19:30 ?? ??11:00 ~ ??19:00

07. PEG COFFEE: ??????309? 12:00~22:00

08.Cama: ???? 35-1 ? /?????? 6 ? 10:00~21:00

09.Roger Cafe ????: ????????151??1 08:00~22:00

10.KAWA COFFEE(????): ???????????56? 10:00~22:00

11.Leader caf `e: ?????????1?,??????,?????,??????,????3??15:00 ~ 24:00

12.GABEE.: ??????113?21? ??11:00~23:00 / ???13:30~23:00

13.LAMOUR: ????????????76?7?

14.????: ????????????140?11? 07: 30 a .m.- 11:00 p.m.

15.85?c?????: ?????????150?

16.????: ??????????1?141?9??1

17.U Cafe ???????: ????????????293? ??~?? 08:00~18:00 ??~?? 10:00~17:30

18.?????: ???????3?89?5?2?

19.777????: ?????????100???????7?

20.????: ??????4?553?6?2? 11:00-22:00

21.???????espressamente illy: ??????5?7? (??101????1??? ??????)

22.??CAFE' ???: ?????????12?12?

23.??99????: ????????????244?10?19?

24.???Café: ?????????14?16?1? ????12?00~22?00

25.????: ??????????5?524?16?

26. ??????: ?????????51?

27.????????: ???????76?B1

28.?????: ???225?2?2?

29.?????????: ???????64?

30.????CAFFE.COFFEE

31.??CAFE' ???: ?????????156?1?

32.???????: ?????????170?23? ??~??10:00~19:00 / ??~?10:00~22:00 / ????

33.?????????: ??????2?27? (02)2739-3046 ??~??07:30 ~ 19:00 ??~??10:00 ~ 21:00.

34.????????: ??????1?170?1?

35.????????: ?????????57?5?

36.????: ?????????109?9?

37.iT CAFE & RESTAURANT: ????????????1?

38.????: ???????????296?39?

39.swing caf'e: ??????6-1?1?(???????2?) (02)2391-0291

40.????: ?????? ???101?1?

41.information???????: ???????????24?2?

42.Coffee Boutique: ??????227-1?

43.????: ??????4?109?2?1F

44.???: ????????141?15?

45.3?2?: ??????????260?54?1?

46.????: ?????????201?

47.????:

48.People's Café: ???????4?53?

49.??????: ?????????18?

50.?????: ??????1?5?2?

[SimonCHAN]

[vodkangump]

[boblam]

vodkangump, some of the name in the list is not quite Indie level... At least I think 85 degree coffee is for inexpensive cup, from what I read on the web.

For me, I'll stick to the one stuckinmacau recommended unless you are well versed with all those cafes.

You can also try a list of cafe that Stephen Morrisey visited while he was in Taiwan.

[vodkangump]

[boblam]

I just found a picture of its grinders. The pictures were from this blog

http://www.ipeen.com.tw/i/%E5%85%BC%E5%85%B7%E8%97%9D%E8%A1%93%E8%88%87%E5%92%96%E5%95%A1%E5%B0%88%E6%A5%AD%E9%A2%A8%E6%A0%BC/comment/comment.php?id=45917

This is what I saw when I'm there.



I though what stuckinmacau mentioned was wrong, ie he said there's twelve grinder for 12 blends, ie each grinder set for each blend.

Until I see this picture today I realize that there were another six grinder at the lower countertop that I didn't see.



See how "over the top" this cafe is! No wonder they can offer 11-12 espresso blends in one shop and tastes good. I think all of the grinder is Super Jolly... Pls confirm

BTW, I was reading some post this afternoon regarding Synesso about its clean taste in the cup. This is actually what I like but doesn't really know how to explain to begin with.

The clean cup allows all the taste to show up without some kind of murky feeling you get with most espresso shot. The one in HK that boasts the same 'style' that I could think of is Crema Coffee but, of course, it's nowhere near this Synesso, let alone other espresso machine in HK.

Does anybody know any cafe that use Synesso in HK?

[SimonCHAN]

I am afraid that no coffee shop in Hong Kong could afford using Synesso considering the demand of espresso in Hong Kong is low.

I would rather enquie if there is anyone in HK willing to buy Synesso for home use.

Just visited Mojo Coffee in Taichung. They are using a 2 Gp Synesso.

SimonCHAN

[boblam]

SimonCHAN, could you tell more about Mojo, ie how's the coffee, directions, your impression, etc. I read somewhere it's a decent one too. English or Chinese are fine

Just for your information, these cafes are on the list of Taiwan Coffee House tour by Stephen Morrisey, the 2008 World Barista Champion, back in November 2008

TRILOBITE cafe 3 No.64-2,Sec2 Jinan Rd.,Jhongjheng District,Taipei City 100 Taiwan ( R.O.C )
tel: 886-2-2321.3905

BA YEH COFFEE address: 1F., No.462-1, Sec. 2, Neihu Rd., Neihu District, Taipei City 114, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
tel: 886-2-2795.2908

FOREST COFFEE No.11-1, Alley 150, Lyushan Lane, Nanyang Rd., Fongyuan City, Taichung County 420, Taiwan (R.O.C)
tel: 886-04-25130908

Problem about these three cafe is the direction. Google's map does not seem to help much by adding the address in there.

[SimonCHAN]

Dear Bob,

Don't be too concern about where did Stephen visit. To me, his tour was just a commercial activity.

Mojo is more small than I through in comparison with the photos on their web site. The atmosphere is relaxing with full height glazing facing the road. There are about 6 tables on the ground level and another 3 at the Mezz. They are using a 2 Gp Synesso with Swift Grinder and Abid for specialist coffee.

4 specialist coffee were being offered on the day I visited. I took a double and tried 2 coffee with my wife. The espresso was reasonable good with depth and complexity. The coffee were good too. We bought 2 packs. The espresso was NT 250 and the other pack was NT 270. I got 50% off for the second pack for they were celebrating anniversary.

Highly recommended.

Regards,

SimonCHAN

[boblam]

Thank for the comment on Mojo and appreciate you point out the marketing activity.

However, as I can't read Chinese, I find few info on Taiwan coffee and consider Stephen's choice to be of a certain standard. I know for sure they must be something better out there in Taiwan.

Taichung sounds like a great place to imbibe, be it coffee and bubble tea, its birthplace, IIRC

[boblam]

http://trilobite.funp.tw/

Found this website that looks like Trilobite's own webpage.

Anybody who knows Mandarin/Chinese can confirm on this one.