Can anyone recommend a good tea house in Taipei?

Hi, can anyone recommend a nice/quiet tea shop or cafe in Taipei near MRT stations or easily accessible to one and have a reasonable price and you can basically just chill/work there all afternoon?

All the teahouses in Maokong (the mountainous area behind Mucha Zoo) will only charge you for your “water fee” if you bring your own tea during the week. This is usually $150. Buses from the zoo only run every hour on weekdays but if you worked out the schedule you could arrange your time without waste.

Most teahouses only take about a 15 minute ride to get to.
I know a nice place just 3km from the end of the Mucha MRT Line. It’s set in a little valley with a rushing brook flowing behind it. Nice atmosphere, friendly owner and it wouldn’t cost much to take a taxi (probably around $100) there if you didn’t want to wait for a bus.

Let me know if you are interested.

My wife and I tried one of the Maokong teahouses that were recommended in the Travel Forum. Be prepared to spend some time traveling to Maokong. It was also a bit more expensive than expected for the tea and 3 snacks ($750). There’s one in Bitan ($400 for tea and 2 snacks) that offers a nice tea experience but the scenery is definitely not up to par with the Maokong one.

There was one Maokong teahouse that required walking up some steps which we’ll try next time. A really old man got off there after telling the bus driver where ours was. As I say, go where the old folks go since at that stage in life, they’ll really know how to enjoy the finer things in life :wink:

For those Maokong teahouses, the tea usually starts at 400NT.

If you just wnat a place in the city to hang out and do some work, there’s a lot of teahouses in Ximending (Ximen MRT station). These are more your zhenzhu naicha (pearl mikl tea) places rather than paocha (brew tea) places. Just have a look around and find one you like.

Brian

On weekends you must purchase a package of tea (average $300-400) and each person pays for a water fee ($100-150 each). On weekdays you can bring your own tea and only pay for the water fee. You can sit there all afternoon for very little money. Most places are more or less empty on weekdays so any business helps.

Regarding the time it takes to get to Maokong, why do you think I recommended a place that is only 3km from the Zoo. How long do you think it would take to get to that? :s

If you’re coming from downtown then yes it is far to go to Maokong, but if you are on the Zoo MRT line already it is not.

As for your advise about going where the old folks go I wouldn’t take it when it comes to Maokong. In my experience (and I’m up there all the time) they go to the older places which are often shabbily or poorly designed. Also they are noisier with all those old people. :wink: There are many teahouses up in Maokong now with good designs (which may simply mean good quality wooden tables and chairs set in a pretty garden or on a grassy knoll overlooking a peaceful valley) and good views.

Oh well, what am I doing trying to win people over to Maoking. Stay away. It is horrible. Go to Yangmingshan. Go to Bitan.

[quote=“Mucha (Muzha) Man”]
Regarding the time it takes to get to Maokong, why do you think I recommended a place that is only 3km from the Zoo. How long do you think it would take to get to that? :s

If you’re coming from downtown then yes it is far to go to Maokong, but if you are on the Zoo MRT line already it is not. [/quote]

Since you live in Muzha already, not far. Almost hardly anyone lives on the brown line. Most folks live in the city, downtown, near the usual school locations, red line or orange line.

[quote=“Mucha (Muzha) Man”]
Oh well, what am I doing trying to win people over to Maoking. Stay away. It is horrible. Go to Yangmingshan. Go to Bitan.[/quote]

Maokong is really nice, no argument there. It’s just freaking far for those without wheels and depend on mass transit.

Actually the best thing the OP can do is pick up one of those “Afternoon Tea” pamplettes at an MRT station. They show all the nearby tea and coffee shops.

That’s for true… there are already few that I have picked and would like to get out there and give it a try. Not to bubble tea nor western coffee, and definitely they aren’t any paocha place as what I have noticed.

Or maybe I have missed it. :s

Mucha Man, did you find any paocha place in the “Afternoon Tea” pamphlet?

There are tons of coffee / tea shops behide SoGo and that area.

There’s an awesome pao cha place over in the student hive behind Shi Da - it’s in an alley directly behind that pizza hut on the main road, I think. Sorry I can’t remember the name. It’s a chain store, but really classy (and pricy). There’s also one in Shi Pai, and another in Hsinchu (where they’ve got a full-fledged Qing dynasty style tea house set up.)

Wistaria Tea House
No. 1, Lane 16, Sec. 3
Xinsheng S. Rd. Taipei
(Tel) 2363-7375 2363-9459

It’s a very traditional Chinese tea house, great atmosphere, although a tad pricy. It’s across the street from NTU. I really like it.

[quote=“LittleBuddhaTW”]Wistaria Tea House
[/quote]

Yes… what he said! It’s unbeatable if you want the real thing. And a must-see for any visitors to Taipei.

LittleBuddhaTW. Thanks for the address to
Wistaria Tea House
No. 1, Lane 16, Sec. 3
Xinsheng S. Rd. Taipei
(Tel) 2363-7375 2363-9459
I hope others can include address information with their recommendations. It makes things easier. Cheers. :notworthy:

I can also recommend that one.

Hi, I was wondering if there are still paomo hongcha and zhenzhu naicha cafes in the Shi-Da area. I’d be grateful for any recommendations or have they all closed down now? (I lived in Taipei 10 years ago!)

I remember there was a paomo hongcha place with red lanterns hanging outside, somewhere along Longquan Street, about 5 minutes walk from the Mandarin Training Centre. I liked the iced juzi hongcha there.

Thanks!

There are still lots of them.

The one on the corner of Longquan and Lane 18 (I think it is – anyway the first left when walking down Shida Road from the university towards Roosevelt Rd) is still going strong, despite having been subdivided about 10 times to make room for a flower shop, a shaved ice joint and heaven knows what else. I liked it better before when I could sit in the corner and watch the roadway, which you can’t do now. :frowning:

Down one more block on Longquan and left into the alleyway there is (was until a year ago anyway) the quintessential Jamaica (same owner as the above) with good cheap food plates. Definitely a pay NT$40 and sit for hours kind of place. Admittedly a bit short on atmosphere though.

See my new thread of the tea houses of Maokong. I have written detailled descriptions of 8 and included pics of their name cards.

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=10123

Thanks ironlady. Yeah, I remember the red-lantern joint was on the corner of Longquan Street and a lane. I used to love hanging out there when I finished class. It’s a shame you can’t watch the street now.

I’ll keep an eye out for the Jamaica cafe the next time I’m in the area. The Wisteria sounds like a nice place too for traditional Chinese tea. I haven’t been there before.

thanks to Mucha Man too. Your thread on the teahouses is great! I had some good times drinking tea and playing cards at a lovely wooden teahouse in the hills there.

I live in HK now and miss those teahouses in Taiwan where you can sit for hours with some tea and a book, or chat with friends. The shakey tea places here serve poor imitations of the drinks in Taiwan and are very cramped and busy.

I’m going to Taipei in December to look up some old friends. it’s a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. Checking out all the old places when I was student at MTC. Besides the wulong cha and shakey teas, I can’t forget the sanse douhua in the chocolate syrup. I can’t wait to go back again!

I’ll definitely make time to go back to Mucha again.

Thanks!

Ok. So I am meet a girl.

So we have

Wistaria Tea House
No. 1, Lane 16, Sec. 3
Xinsheng S. Rd. Taipei
(Tel) 2363-7375 2363-9459

which is a nice Chinese style one.

Then there are more tea houses western style like Rose Cafes.

Then there is this place listed in Taiwan Fun. Anyone been there?

taiwanfun.com/north/taipei/t … leries.htm

And finally, any suggestions for a nice nice place behind Sogos?

I gotta give the grrl some options and we are having tea in 2 days (Friday afternoon)

THANKS THANKS THANKS!

Go to Maokong, go to Maokong. Then take a little walk in the tea fields.

If you’re too dumb to do that :wink: I suggest the outdoor cafe at Breeze Centre (which is just up the road from Sogo). The wisteria is overrate in my opinion and expensive.