Tucked away on a quiet Taipei side street is this beautiful cafe with a very simple concept: we serve coffee. No bells or whistles and barely a chair to be found, the barista and owner made very consistently delicious drinks in either their La Marzocco Linea or via hand-brewed pour overs. An interesting observation we made is that the barista was not using a scale for the pour overs. “I know this coffee,” she said when asked why. “I will make 40 more cups just like this this afternoon.” The brews were indeed perfect. This is a great place to come to even if you are alone. People who visit this cafe are as friendly as the staff is, so have a chat with them!
She didn’t use a scale. Most specialty coffee shops use a scale to measure coffee and water dosage, and we thought this to be odd. So we asked her why she did it this way and she actually thought it was funny! “I’m gonna make 40 more of these pour-overs this afternoon. This exact coffee, this exact weight. I know what it’s supposed to look like, how it’s suppose to feel, and how it’s going to taste.” And surprisingly, she was right! We stood at the bar (there are no seats at the bar) as she served pour over after pour over. She was able to dial in that efficiency and consistency on a cup to cup basis without having to use a scale. It’s somewhat a testament to her skill as a barista. There are definitely benefits to using instruments but there are also benefits to not using tools as a crutch and knowing your craft by heart.
Keep things simple. That’s the overall vibe of Coffee Stand Up. They do away with everything unnecessary and focus their concise menu. They even dispense with seating, hence the name. Coffee Stand Up avoids gimmicks and extravagance, spending their time and money where it counts—the coffee—and that’s why people come here.
