I am completely unable to drink Starbucks black coffee no matter how many times I try. It tastes disgusting and leaves a bad taste in mouth. Add 15g or more of sugary syrup and ok, but I don’t drink those.
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Admittedly they have not been exactly killing it lately.
I will say though that their current offering—Christmas Blend (NOT the truly odd Blond Roast version, the original one)—is not bad. But you will need to appreciate the heavy body with the aged Sumatra inside.
At least this offering is not stale… 
Guy
I first had a cup of nice $70 black coffee next door to Starbucks with a friend.
Then went to Starbucks to meet another friend and ordered black coffee.
The contrast between the two coffees was to great. Could not stomach the Starbucks.
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How do you order different blends for a cup of black coffee at Starbucks? I thought you just order black coffee and that’s what you get.
As you figured out, the sign is posted on the drip coffee machine. The hot one is indeed Christmas Blend.
And yes of course they rotate their brew. But I always pay attention to what’s on offer and also cross-check to make sure that it is actually what they are brewing!
If you like more control over what’s served, you can frequent the locations (quite lovely, actually) that have a bar with pour-over service. The two that spring to mind in Taipei are the Yongkang Street branch (up on the second floor, steps from Dongmen MRT Station) and the Lin Family house in Banka (about five minutes from Longshan Temple MRT Station).
And of course the Reserve Stores (costlier, but with unique offerings roasted in Tokyo) are also an option if you wish.
Guy
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I actually had a barista advise me not to get a drink. I was going to get the Festival blend and she said “mmmn… no, it’s not good. Don’t get it. You should get something else instead.” I was kind of shocked, but appreciated her honesty.
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Tried the Christmas brew again. Terrible cannot even drink. Not because old or something, just bad taste.
I’m sorry to hear that. The heavy body of the aged Sumatra beans is not, ahem, everyone’s cup of coffee…
Good thing there are lots of other lighter choices around town. Hope you find one that suits your taste.
Guy
Starbucks regular coffee is kind of legendary for being terrible, no? Why are people still going here for coffee? Even 7-11 or Familymart has better coffee.
iOS Starbucks app question: my phone is tied to the Canada App store, and it looks like I can’t download the Taiwan version of the app. A handful of questions:
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Has anyone used the Canadian version of the Starbucks app here? Does it work?
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Am I missing an easy way to get the Taiwanese version of the Starbucks app?
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For those using the Starbucks app: anything particularly useful from it?
Thanks in advance!
All good questions I’m also curious about the app in Taiwan.
Is Starbucks using personal names again to identify your drink? Or did they ever stop? They haven’t asked my name for a longish time and all the sudden like three different shops the last week ask my name.
Since it’s technically a completely different company and uses different currency: no.
On Android it’s possible to download the taiwanese .apk file and install it manually without changing the AppStore’s location. Maybe there’s a similar workaround on iOS.
If you want to collect the bonus points, that’d the only advantage. Oh and you’d get a free coffee on your birthday if I remember correctly.
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I just noticed that I can get all this at McDonald’s for the same price as a large vanilla latte at Starbucks.
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Unless I were some
Recent rescued castaway
I’d take the latte
For good coffee
I’ll take McDonald’s over Starbucks any day And I do
Unless I need a good spot to sit
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I saw what you did there. 
Guy
I really don’t think Starbucks is as bad as everyone says here. Overpriced, yes. McDonalds is also quite good. I also like Cama. I’m really not a fan of Mister Brown or Louisa.
Of course for the best coffee, you need to go to the independent places run by young couples that go on holiday to Europe every (non covid) summer to hone their craft.
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Japan gets 47 different cups of sugar to celebrate 25 years.
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Kit Kat has been doing that for years…
Damn those made-in-Japan matcha kitkats (not the Thai or Indonesian made ones) are crazy good. 
Guy
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