The coffee shop of which I speak is Masa Loft, conveniently located adjacent to the NCKU campus, a short elevator ride above the 7-11. Which 7-11 am I talking about you ask? This one:
Masa is on the 3rd floor. It is a big place, but here the view looking straight ahead when you enter:
And here is a view from one of the more comfortable areas. Note the book collection to the right. There are many books (art books, novels, etc, etc) to browse here. There are also many puzzle-toys, CDs, a couple DVDs, and some Masa stamps to play with.
They have their own roaster, which blows my mind as I've never heard of such a concept in coffee vending. When I worked at Jittery Joes one of the first things I learned was that the biggest determining factor of coffee quality is the length of time between roasting and brewing. That is why good coffee shops get beans from a local roaster who roasts in small batches. You are right if you suspect I have a new favorite coffee. ;) [edit: Jake informs me that there are multiple coffee shops in NYC with roasting capability. And also that the principal owner of Masa (pictured below making my coffee) attended college in NYC.]
The coffee menu at Masa is a little different than other operations, and had to be explained to me (yes, in English). If you order "American coffee" or "black coffee" off the menu, you get what I would call an Americano (with one or two shots of espresso respectively). If you want actual coffee, its costs a bit more, but its worth it to see the barista work one of their unique percolators! The varietals on tap were Brazilian (100NT), "Mandarin" (120NT - this one may have been a blend, I should have asked) and Hawaiian (180NT). There was a blend that was only described as Arabica (100NT). I went with the Brazilian, as there was nothing African or Indonesian to choose from. In retrospect I should have tried the Hawaiian or Mandarin as I have no idea where those two fit in the realm of beans.
Here is a shot of my coffee percolating. Resting on top is the wooden paddle used to stir up this glorious soup (the metal thing on bottom is holding a portable butane burner):
And here is the final product. "You don't put cream in good coffee" as an old gentleman always said to me at Jittery Joes when I asked if he wanted room in his cup.
The ceramic spoon was a nice touch. I think the real charm of this place is in the attention to detail. Last but not least is a shot of their astounding beer selection. I think I've only had 3 of these beers before. Trappists, Lambics, Belgians, oh my!
Is there a little halo around the row of Chimay blue label, or is that just me ;) I have never seen the blue label in a bar before, only liquor stores. Yum. Speaking of yum the food seems pretty standard coffee shop fare for Taiwan: "thicktoast", waffles, sandwiches. One thing they have that the other coffee shops don't is croissants. I have a feeling I won't see a bagel as quality as this one anywhere else though (Now I'm wondering what bakery it came from. Bagels are almost non-existent in Taiwan). It's smoked salmon/ cream cheese. And continuing their streak of getting the details right, the chopped green stuff if fresh basil. Hell yes for fresh basil!
I will spare you the long list of frozen/fruity/milky drinks they offer as this is Taiwan and selling milk tea is practically mandated by law. My only gripe is that the music selection often leaves something to be desired, so bring your headphones. Though I must say boss lady was DJing this morning and the music was right on: Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and such. It made for good sippin and Mandarin studying both. Since headphones are always a convenient option, and the music is pretty quiet anyway, I'm going with 5 out of 5 beans. Go Masa! (Until I find the ultimate tea shop anyway...)
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