A World Barista Champion Opened a Coffee Shop in Taipei. There's a Queue.
Issue 13
Four cafes reviewed in Taipei so far. The best of the coffee comes from the one run by Taiwan's first World Barista Champion, and yes, there is a line for it.
Huashan 1914 Creative Park is a converted brewery complex in Zhongzheng District, the kind of building Taipei turns into a cultural hub rather than tearing down. Inside one corner of it, past the industrial bones the renovation left alone on purpose, is Simple Kaffa's flagship.
The shop is run by Berg Wu, who became Taiwan's first World Barista Champion in 2016, winning the title in Dublin. The pour-over program at the Huashan flagship carries that same precision into the cup, single-origin filter work expressive enough to be worth the line that forms for it.
Berg Wu became Taiwan's first World Barista Champion in 2016. The pour-over at Huashan is what that pedigree looks like poured into a cup.
The pick, if you only have time for one
Simple Kaffa Huashan is a Steep Pick, scoring 8.5 overall and 9.5 on coffee alone, the highest coffee score of any cafe we've reviewed in Taipei. Order the brunch while you wait for a table, not after. Tourists and Taipei regulars share the same queue without much friction, which says something about how good the room actually is. Go on a weekday morning if you want it at its most comfortable.
A pattern worth noticing
Simple Kaffa isn't the only credentialed room in the city. Shawn Coffee, a few minutes away in the Minsheng Community, is run by a nationally known latte art figure who trains competitors from his own counter. Fika Fika Cafe's founder won the 2013 Nordic Roaster Competition outright. Both score within a point of Simple Kaffa on coffee. The fourth cafe we've reviewed in Taipei has no title behind it, and its coffee score is the lowest of the four by a clear margin.
- Simple Kaffa Huashan Flagship Store Steep PickHuashan, Zhongzheng · Taipei · Steep Index 8.5/10
Berg Wu became Taiwan's first World Barista Champion in 2016. The Huashan flagship is the room where that reputation is poured into a cup, inside one of Taipei's most atmospheric creative spaces. The brunch is excellent. There will be a queue. It is worth it.
- Shawn Coffee Steep PickMinsheng Community, Songshan · Taipei · Steep Index 8.5/10
A specialty cafe down a quiet lane in Taipei's Minsheng Community, unassuming from the street but run by a nationally known latte art figure whose pours are the real draw.
- Fika Fika CafeZhongshan · Taipei · Steep Index 8.4/10
A Nordic-influenced specialty cafe on Yitong Street with a communal table at its centre and a pace that does not ask you to leave. The sandwiches are better than expected. The coffee is exactly what you hoped for.
On our radar
All four Taipei cafes are reviewed on steep with full scores, and the pattern above gets the full argument in a new city guide if you want to see exactly how it holds up. Taipei's catalog is small right now. If there's a fifth stop we're missing, reply and tell us.