This shop sells a very nice Cuban Blue Mountain bean, that might fit the bill. Not a very dark roast though.
There’s another coffee store next door, a more traditional tea shop a few doors towards Ximen station on the same side, and a Tienren tea shop across the street.
Does anyone have recommendations on where to buy coffee equipment (grinders, espresso machines, etc)? Right now I am looking for a Hario Skerton (Skeleton) grinder, but would like to poke around in any place selling fancy coffee makers…
I found that the Mr. Brown coffee beans make a really nice cup of coffee. Specifically their Firenze Blend (佛羅倫斯綜合). 176 nt$ for a 220g bag at the Quanlian supermarket, and I had them discounted to 125 nt$ some time ago.
Mr. Brown coffee is good.
The newly opened “Roy’s Caffe” close to Miramar (JianNan MRT Station) sells really high quality coffee beans. You can go in and sample some first, too.
The shop Tempo mentioned is 峰大咖啡, its one of the oldest and most respected shops in Taiwan that most people have heard of. Coffeehouse owners will recommend 峰大 as a decent place to get equipment when starting out for fair prices, (their Hario wares are indeed cheaper that most other places around town, trust me I’ve checked).
[quote=“silmanor”]I’m looking for a good shop that sells reasonably priced quality coffee beans, that is preferably in the south/west of Taipei. I don’t have a big freezer, so I can’t freeze loads of them, and will need to make regular trips. I’d love it to be not too far off my work/daily living path. I know Costco is an option, but I always like to support smaller shops, over multinational corporations, when given the opportunity.
Cheers[/quote]
This is exactly what you’re looking for, a couple of years late:
Seeker Coffee - they mainly sell and service Saeco espresso machines, but sell their own roasted beans too. My favorite beans Stateside is Peet’s Garuda blend, and despite the cheesy name, I think one of Seeker’s roasts is almost as good as that, and cheaper. Unfortunately I don’t remember which, but they’re all OK. They’ll deliver to your door or you can stop in their shop:
喜客咖啡股份有限公司
台北縣中和市壽德街16號-18號 (Nos. 16-18 Shoude St., Zhonghe Dist., New Taipei City)
TEL：(02)8952-1778
FAX：(02)8951-7990
E-MAIL：seeker@seeker.tw
Hours: 08:30~17:30, closed for lunch: 12:00~13:00
They also have locations in Taichung and Kaohsiung; see their website: seeker.tw.