Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam: Coffee culture in Asia
Posted by TheShot on 05 Nov 2009 | Tagged as: Café Society, Foreign Brew, Machine, Quality Issues
Publications frequently run out of ideas, which is why the Wall Street Journal seems to be jacked on coffee articles of late. (But don’t worry — we have no plans to tell you what investments to have in your portfolio.) Just two days after making the ridiculous assertion that Illy is taking on Starbucks, the Journal published a more thoughtful piece on Asia’s “best” coffee: Ground Rules – Asia’s Best Coffee – WSJ.com.
Fortunately it’s nothing like America’s Best Coffee — one of coffee’s greatest product-naming let-downs. The article highlights the history of Taiwanese coffee culture, making mention of siphon pot coffee and last year’s salty coffee fad. The article also offers small sections on coffee culture in Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam — offering glossaries on the coffee in each country and brief tips on where to find a decent cup.
2 Comments »
on 07 Nov 2009 at 6:09 pm +00:00T 1.keith said …
Chronicle just published an article on peerless’ history. Would love to hear your thoughts on a local company that though haven’t had many memorable cups from are still the standout coffee for cyrus and gary danko?? No need to reiterate your thoughts on restaurant coffee though … i work at foreign cinema and we rely on roma. . .
on 08 Nov 2009 at 12:12 am +00:00T 2.TheShot said …
Yes, we caught that article on Peerless Coffee.
It’s hard to say what ruins espresso shots more: Peerless Coffee, or the kind of establishment that decides to save a few bucks by serving Peerless Coffee. We recently listed Peerless as one of our forboding signs that bad espresso is ahead.