I have a new favorite coffee shop: 85\u00c2\u00b0C. They offer a smaller variety of drinks than Starbucks, but at a much lower price. Plus they have some local flavors. Here’s an example (article from Time magazine):<\/p>\n
Chinese people like to eat foods that Westerners consider unusual,
\nthings like pig-blood cake and chicken-butt kebab, to name just a
\nfew popular snacks. So the introduction of salty coffee shouldn’t
\nbe such a shocker. What difference, after all, can a few sprinkles
\nof salt make to your morning cup of joe? The chefs at Taiwan’s top
\ncoffeehouse, 85\u00c2\u00b0C Bakery Cafe, pondered that question for six
\nmonths before they started serving sea-salt coffee, which became
\ntheir best-selling drink following its December debut.<\/p>\n
That’s no small feat considering that85\u00c2\u00b0C (which is named for the
\nideal temperature at which to brew coffee) has surpassed Starbucks
\nto become the biggest coffee chain in Taiwan. Founded five years
\nago by tea-shop owner Wu Cheng-hsueh,85\u00c2\u00b0Cnow has 325 stores
\nin Taiwan and is expanding into China,Australia and the U.S. Wu
\nfirst built the business by finding good beans: in 2004, he went to
\nthe source of Starbucks’ most popular beans and persuaded the
\nGuatemalan supplier to sell him virtually all its arabicas (sorry,
\nmegachain). Then he hired five-star hotel chefs to concoct fancy
\ndrinks and desserts that sell for about half the price of Starbucks’.
\n(See the top 10 food trends of 2008.)<\/p>\n
What inspired those chefs to come up with sea-salt coffee?
\nAccording to spokeswoman Kathy Chung, it was the aiwanese
\nhabit of sprinkling salt on fruits like pineapple and watermelon
\nto bring out their sweetness. Salty coffee also makes sense in a
\nplace where shaved-ice desserts are topped with corn kernels and
\nbreads get slathered with sugary frosting and bits of pork.
\n“Taiwanese are greedy,” explains graphic designer Xena Wang, one
\nof six friends who recently tried the drink for the first time.”We like
\nto get all the tastes we can in one bite.”<\/p>\n
A striking palette of tastes and textures has long been a hallmark of
\nChinese cuisine (think sweet-and-sour soup), and this affinity for
\ntaste-bud workouts has carried over to trendy drinks. The countless
\ndrink stands that line Taiwanese streets flood the thirsty soul with
\nendless variations of bubble teas, a.k.a. hot or cold teas with chewy
\ntapioca balls and tropical juice blends. One popular combo, green
\ntea with passion fruit, tapioca pearls and chewy coconut cubes,
\nhelps explain why85\u00c2\u00b0C’s next coffee innovations will use panna
\ncotta and fresh fruit.<\/p>\n
Salty coffee may sound strange, but it isn’t so much an acquired
\ntaste as it is sequential tasting. You’re supposed to lick the salty
\nfoam to arouse your senses, then savor the sweet, creamy coffee.
\n“Through the contrast of textures, you experience the saltiness
\nand coffee at different times,” says architect Jeff Lu of his first
\nencounter with the drink. “It’s a multisensual experience that
\nworks.”<\/p>\n
After sea-salt coffee spent two weeks as the best-selling drink at
\n85\u00c2\u00b0C outlets in Taiwan, the company is sending the flavor combo
\nto its China branches. If it’s a hit there, Chung says, this cup of
\nTaiwanese sophistication may be exported to the West too. Could
\nsalty Frappuccinos be far behind?<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.time.com\/time\/world\/article\/0,8599,1871635,00.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have a new favorite coffee shop: 85\u00c2\u00b0C. They offer a smaller variety of drinks than Starbucks, but at a much lower price. Plus they have some local flavors. Here’s an example (article from Time magazine): Some Salt with Your Coffee? Taiwan’s Hot Drink Chinese people like to eat foods that Westerners consider unusual, things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197,"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions\/197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denniehoopingarner.com\/taiwanblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}