Jiu Fen: Coffee

I am a person who cannot live without coffee. Before I visited Jiu Fen (九份), all the coffees that I have tasted were hot-brewed, even for the all the iced coffees. I have heard about the ice-drip (冰滴咖啡) in Taiwan from the travel programmes on TV and when I saw it in Jiu Fen, I couldn't resist myself to try it out.

As the dripping process takes a very long long time, the number of servings is limited everyday. From my own rough estimation, every cup requires about 30 minutes or so.

So what's the verdict? I would say that I prefer the hot-brewed coffee anytime, any day; iced coffee included. My cup of ice-drip coffee had a very mild taste of coffee compared with the hot-brew coffee that I took a sip. In my opinion, the ice-drip coffee is for the beginner of coffee drinkers whom I am not.

Having a Share of Nine Portions

Jiu Fen (九份) is a small mountainous town in the Rui Fang (瑞芳) District of Taipei. During the old days, there were only nine families residing in this area. Therefore, when the village folks went household shopping, they always carry back nine portions of the same shopping list. That's how the nine portions (jiu fen in mandarin) had officially become the name of this place.

The old street part of this village has been turned into a tourist attraction lined with shops along a narrow stone-tile pavement. It was used for the setting of a famed Taiwanese film entitled City of Sadness (悲情城市). Due to the success of the film, the tourists number increased many folds.

Since the old street receives many visitors each day, most of the shops are selling souvenirs and ornaments. Some of the artists will demonstrate to you how the sold items are made inside the shops.

Other than the souvenir shops, most of the other shops are selling food and beverages. What else will a tourist buy other than souvenir and food and beverages?

This is a great place for a stroll and local food tasting. If you are expecting to experience the local life of a village, I am sorry to say that you have to look somewhere else.