Long before Barista Coffee or Starbucks arrived on these shores, Taiwan was home to a burgeoning cafe culture. But unlike the American-inspired franchise coffee shops that have sprung up across the country’s urban landscapes over the past decade, these earlier bohemian hangouts blended a Japanese-style tea shop atmosphere with a European vibe.
Early Taiwanese Coffee Culture (早期咖啡文化), located on the second floor of the National Museum of History, explores this coffee culture in an informative and well-designed, though small, exhibition.
The exhibition investigates two themes: the island’s coffee cultivation since the 19th century, and the coffee house culture that developed during the Japanese occupation period.
The museum does an adequate job of recreating the atmosphere of those days — from the lounge-style bars to the costumes of the servers — and even built a replica of a 1920s coffee shop.
The exhibit’s large collection of objects from the period, such as gramophones, phonograms, radios, as well as antique furniture and appliances, helps transport viewers back to a time when coffee shops were places to unwind and listen to the latest jazz, watch a silent movie or discuss art.
The black-and-white photos hung throughout the exhibit reveal a marked difference with Taiwan’s contemporary coffee shops. Here you won’t find crowds of university students spending hours at tables — either sleeping or studying — but well-heeled artists and intellectuals.
Other images show the servers in these haunts — far removed from the modern baristas who press buttons to brew coffee — and who were called jyogyuu (女給), a kind of geisha-cum-waitress. These images show “servers” sitting and chatting with clients.
The museum does a journeyman’s job bringing to life those glory days by placing the museumgoer right in the middle of the action. The exhibit also reveals the idiosyncrasies of each coffee shop, where owners would create an ambiance with a unique choice of furniture, art and services, which contrasts the uniform look of today’s coffee shops.
The section about Taiwan’s coffee cultivation is limited, just like the industry itself. It does, however, point out where coffee is grown and explain the bean-growing process.
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