Trilobite

Revisited Taipei in February (2011) and decided to check in again at Trilobite. I had heard they changed hands but that didn't deter me. Same layout, but completely different vibe. Very quiet on my visit. Menu had changed - not only in content, but in format (very tacky, laminate peeling at the edges, no information about the coffee). We asked the waitress where they get their coffee from and we were informed that it was a secret. Coffees were labeled only as 1 through to 12, with some elementary flavour descriptors beside them. No roaster information, no mention of origin. Very poor service and exceptionally bad espresso.

In complete agreement with the post above. Blend number 7 (featuring Yirgacheffe and Kona among others) is a fragrant delight that gently slaps your palate awake. A perfect first coffee of the day for those that don't like an eye-opening heart-starter! :P Triliobite is about to move so best to confirm their location if you head there post June '11. Victor is personable, enthusiastic and his staff are friendly. Sadly, the coffee menu and the blend descriptors aren't in English so he'll need to be there to explain the selection unless you're willing to "spin the chocolate wheel" and take your chances. A nice cafe and worth the visit.

Cool little cafe. Walking in, you're first confronted by a bench full of grinders, facing a shiny Synesso Cyncra. When we got there, there was a TV crew doing a report on the cafe on the ground floor, so we moved upstairs. Awesome fitout. We sat in a vintage leather couch, hidden behind a bookshelf. Lots of cool old retro furniture. One of the workers came up to us and explained that they do not serve milk based coffees, but only serve ristrettos or espressos. They always have 12 coffee beans on offer - the reason they have so many Mazzer grinders (12 in total) is to show that they have that many beans on offer. They went to great lengths to try and understand what kind of coffee flavours we enjoy and then suggested a blend or origin. They also offer to serve your ristretto (which they serve in a shot glass) with a mug full of steamed milk, if you really need it. We gave it a go - the milk was textured perfectly. They then served me my ristretto and I was absolutely blown away. A unique cafe concept, something that took me a while to wrap my head around, but one that works. Check it out.