The Aroma of Coffee─for Sophisticated Drinkers / 啜飲一杯咖啡
The Aroma of Coffee─for Sophisticated Drinkers
◎Text by Yu-Chun Lin ◎Photographs by Weiren Yang
For those who have coffee running in their veins, coffee is a daily essential. Coffee addicts in Kaohsiung might ask the question, "Where do I find a decent cup of coffee?" In fact, delicious coffee can be found all around this beautiful city!
Can Café
Located in the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art district, Can Café is a place where art meets fashion. With a double-layered and high-ceiling interior design, it has created an open yet cosy space. The grey-coloured walls complement the metallic building materials; the shop's decor is in a cool hue. With selected framed famous artworks hanging on the walls, the shop is soaked in an atmosphere of fine art.
The owner of Can Cafe, Guan Cheng Lu, was a professional painter. His artistic stubborn streak is shown through his insistence on coffee. Before the opening of his own cafe, Lu would drive for miles to his favourite cafe just for a good cup of coffee. Lu says, "Because I was so used to that particular taste, I always felt that something was missing in the coffee if I drank it somewhere else. He also points out that in order to make a delicious cup, every detail of the coffee making process should be taken seriously, from choosing beans to brewing methods.
According to his years of coffee-drinking history, Lu reckons that Gold Selection by Italian Coffee Company, Lavazza, is the best for Taiwanese coffee drinkers' tastes. It is a blend of 80% Arabica and 20% Robusta beans and is a medium roast. It does not taste bitter or astringent, but has a lovely, sweet after-taste that leaves you with a smooth feeling. It is the best type of bean for making espresso. However, a great bean alone does not make a perfect cup- you also have to match them with an excellent coffee machine. Can Cafe uses the Italian Faema dual-boiler coffee machine, which retains the water temperature at a consistent 92°C with a built-in microprocessor to ensure great quality cup after cup.
Apartment Café
Apartment Café was adapted from an old apartment which has kept the original structure of the old building. As you walk into the cafe, you'll get a feeling of travelling back in time. When the aroma of coffee and musical melody fill the air, it will make you instantly feel relaxed and at home.
"It has always been my dream to own a small cafe in an alleyway- it does not need to be a big one. The decoration of the cafe should not be so standardised. I do not want it to be so commercialised either. I just want a place where I can have my afternoon tea with some friends, or enjoy a delicious cup of coffee just by myself. " The owner of Apartment Cafe, James, who is also a designer by profession, knew his dream would come true the day he discovered this old apartment on Renyi Street. He brought his interior designing skills to full play- he painted, decorated, and furnished the cafe himself. He tried to maintain most of the original look of the old building. The only major change to the building was knocking down the wall facing the street on the 1st floor and transforming it into French windows.
James is zealous about coffee. He is a perfectionist when it comes to the quality of his coffee. He considers the perfect water temperature for brewing coffee to be 92°C- the full flavour of the beans cannot be released using water either higher or lower than this. Therefore, he purchased copper kettles especially for boiling water, and drip brewers for making coffee. He also added thermometers to the kettles, so he can monitor and ensure the precise water temperature to be at 92°C. When the boiled water is poured from the kettle and hits the coffee grounds, the aroma instantly fills the whole room as hot water and coffee fuse.
Can Café
Address: No.106, Meishu E. 2nd Rd., Gushan District, Kaohsiung City
Phone : 07-555-7126
Apartment Café
Address: No.227, Renyi St., Cianjin District, Kaohsiung City
Phone: 07-215-3434
啜飲一杯咖啡
◎文．攝影／楊為仁
對血液中含有濃厚咖啡因子的人來說，咖啡是不可或缺的生活必需品，嗜咖啡成癮的您或許會問：「好的咖啡要到哪裡找？」其實，好喝的咖啡在高雄是無所不在的！
Can Café
位於高雄美術館園區的Can café，是一家結合藝術和時尚美感的咖啡館，高挑的兩樓夾層空間，開闊舒適，灰色壁面和金屬建材搭配出的冷調性，加上一幅幅名人畫作，藝術的氛圍油然而生。
Can café老闆盧冠誠原是畫家，藝術家執拗的個性，從他對咖啡的堅持看得出來。開店前，他常為了喝一杯咖啡，就專程開車到數里之遙咖啡店，「因為喝慣了，別家店的咖啡總是少了那麼一點味道。」盧冠誠說，咖啡好喝與否，從選豆、到沖煮，每個環節都馬虎不得。
依他長期喝咖啡的經驗，盧冠誠認為義大利LAVAZZA 的黃金特選，最適合台灣人的口味，它是由80%的阿拉比卡咖啡豆與20%羅布斯塔咖啡豆調配而成，屬於中焙咖啡豆，特性是不苦不澀、回甘性強，喝完會有一種舒服的喉韻，用它沖泡義式濃縮咖啡，最適合不過了。有好的豆子，當然也要有好的咖啡機沖煮咖啡，才能相得益彰，Can café的咖啡機採用義大利進口「FAEMA」雙鍋爐咖啡機，以微電腦控制水溫和壓力，攝氏92度的恆溫，確保連續沖泡的咖啡品質不變。
公寓咖啡
老公寓改造的「公寓咖啡」，保留了建築的原始結構，從一進門開始，渾然天成的懷舊氛圍襲身而來，當咖啡香伴隨音樂旋律迴盪在空氣中，更讓人有一種居家休閒的輕鬆自在感。
「開一家位於巷弄裡的咖啡廳，小小的、不用太大，裝潢不那麼制式，也不要有太濃的商業味，可以和朋友喝下午茶，或是獨自一人靜靜啜飲香醇咖啡的地方，一直是我的願望。」身兼設計師的老闆James，在仁義街發現這間老公寓後，知道美夢終於可以實現了。於是他發揮他室內設計的專長，自己動手油漆、裝潢、布置，並盡量保留老房子的原貌，唯一比較大的變動是把２樓面街的牆打掉，做成落地窗的感覺。
喜歡喝咖啡的James，對咖啡的品質相當講究，他認為，攝氏92度是沖煮咖啡的黃金溫度，過與不及都不能呈現出咖啡的最佳狀態，他特別添購銅製煮水壺和滴漏式咖啡壺，並在銅壺上加裝溫度計，以精準控制壺水的溫度，當熱水從壺嘴直直送進咖啡壺，在熱水與咖啡的交融過程中，滿室皆香。
公寓咖啡 07-2153434
地址：高雄市前金區仁義街227號
Can café 07-5557126
地址：高雄市鼓山區美術東二路106號