Rufous Coffee, Taipei

Coffee can be quite a squeeze.

We love Taipei, a greyish city with dreary, grey buildings but so full of life and colour in its people, food and streets! Whether it’s a typical breakfast of youtiao (fried crullers) dipped in hot, frothy doujiang (soymilk) or getting lost in the maze of endless shelves at the 24-hour Eslite Bookstore, we never have a dull moment in the Taiwanese capital.

No surprise then even the coffee experience here is one step above the rest. There are cafés everywhere — serving dainty desserts or for your pets to socialize with other furry friends — but quite a number are specialty coffee bars with passionate baristas dedicated to their craft.

Rufous Coffee belongs to the latter category.

Our American-Taiwanese friend Jenny brings us here as it’s one of her favourite coffee haunts. The café is typically packed with students given its proximity to the National Taiwan University but the wait is softened by some comfortable seats outside. A few customers choose to have their espressos outside and then dash off. The locals here seem to be in a perpetual rush, which makes an opportunity to linger over one’s coffee a luxury we’re grateful for.

The name comes from the colour “rufous” which is reddish-brown or rust-like. According to the owner, Xiao Yang, this is the true colour of coffee. Once inside, many scramble for a bar seat in order to watch him brew their coffee. We settle for more comfortable seats at a table. Space is limited but it adds to the cosy, eclectic atmosphere, not unlike a shop selling curios, what with the dark corners, odd paraphernalia, an assortment of toys and postcards from customers from all over the globe.

A former chef in Italian cuisine, Xiao Yang is in charge of every step of the process from sourcing the beans to roasting and brewing. Our cups, when they arrive, are made with much care and craft. Nothing’s better than sipping our slow brews while the rain – another indispensable feature of Taipei – continues outside.

朋友們都知道我們倆愛泡咖啡館。
所以去年到台北遊玩時，
友人Jenny便特地帶我們拜訪了兩家她很喜歡的咖啡館。
而其中一家便是Rufous。
Rufous 在英文裡頭是紅褐色的意思，
老闆認為這是咖啡最真實的顏色。
咖啡館位於台大附近，雖然外表並不起眼，
可是來光顧的客人卻是源源不絕，
為了等一張能容納我們五個人的位子，
我們可是等了半個小時多呢。

一踏入咖啡館，便聞到滿室的咖啡香，
這裡的豆子可是自家烘焙的，
這樣更能體現出他們想表達的口感與味道。
咖啡館的地方不大，不過裡頭的東西可不少。
除了林林總總的咖啡器材外，
還有書籍、漫畫、小擺設，加上墻上的海報和昏黃的燈光，
一家很有故事性的咖啡館。
近來聽說他們正在搬遷中，咖啡館暫停營業，
新地址將於不久后公佈，有興趣的朋友不妨留意他們的網站。