The Folks (Last Order about 12:40-12:50, please come earlier for your morning coffee! :) — Restaurant in Da'an District

Felt so strongly I had to leave a review…

The ambiance: 4/5 It’s a cool spot, low key, good vibes, seems to attract a younger crowd. The music might be a touch loud, just an FYI to anyone reading this. To my understanding the shop is operated by one person. It is a small spot. It can get busy. You may have to wait outside for a seat to open or even order to-go (which is totally fine just remember to bring an umbrella or a rain jacket). The neighborhood is nice and quiet and there is plenty of room to wait outside comfortably.

The experience: 2.5/5 I ordered a latte to-go. My qualm is that they didn’t fill the coffee to the to-go cup size. For the experience, seeing half of a to-go cup is—to be honest—an eye sore. Perhaps if they had more variety in to-go cup sizes… or if the customer specifies multiple shots, the volume would be larger and it’d fill the cup. But that type of thoughtfulness should fall on the shop, not the customer. Would this be an issue if you were ordering in? Probably not since dine-in has glassware/mugware that properly accommodates the owner’s intended serving size.

The latte: 2.7/5 The beans used had a light profile, not too bold (probably was a light to medium roast). The flavor in the bean was not too complicated either. What was interesting was that the coffee flavors didn’t linger much in the mouth after I finished each sip. I debated if this could be considered palette cleansing or bland since it forces you to take another sip to have the coffee flavor back in your mouth. The milk foam was mediocre. Felt like I was drinking a cafe au lait rather than a latte. If you’re a boutique coffee shop with impressive-looking equipment, you’ve got to have the latte down. The reviews are great and the equipment and setup is stunning. I started with high expectations and ended feeling disappointed. I wasn’t as impressed by the coffee as I thought I’d be.

Verdict: 3/5 Would I go back? Yes. The ambiance saves the experience. I can tell there is passion behind the product. I just think the execution can be better. I’d go with a friend here or maybe with someone on a first/second date. There aren’t many places like this and it’s impressionable. There are also some additional drinks that I want to try before putting the final nail...

Taiwan's third wave culture is just different from America's. What I mean is, all these third wave coffee places open at 1pm so I'd imagine they treat it like a nice, sit down afternoon tea-like deally. BUT WHY! I want coffee in the morning. Good. Effin. Coffee.

So thank you...THANK YOU The Folks. Because you open in the AM. And they are freaking deelicious. When I saw the pictures on yelp, I knew they did it right here, you can just tell when the art sits right, you know?

Let's see, let's start with the location itself. As I was dragging my mom and brother to yet another coffee place Mel wants to go to, we came across a sweet open market and it turns out it's RIGHT ACROSS from it. So score on the location! The interior is small, with a few seats inside and a bench outside, but it's done very well with a calm and serene atmosphere.

The menu itself made me so happy. Because its not just coffee and cappas and lattes. There's Kyoto Drip (Ice Drip on the menu) and Con Panna and lots of non-coffee choices (I am so freaking curious about that Whisky Hot Chocolate). My personal favorite is the black sugar latte, because black sugar is how I've been taking my coffee at home now, and it was just so..comforting, you know?

Our barista (I believe he's the owner) was incredibly sweet. He even let us try the Ice Drip with cream and omg...I'm pretty loyal to lattes but this man...I may have to get this next time.

I bought two bags of coffee to bring back home. I had one this morning and it is absolutely delicious. Definitely worth the trek there. And definitely worth...

The FOLKS is a very hard cafe to review, because depending on what you're looking for, it could be amazing, or frustrating. Let me tell you.

It's perfect if you're by yourself, you like cow's milk, you like black coffee, you like paying cash and you're just trying to park up for an hour. The interior (as you can see in the photos) is very cool, very unique, and feels like you're sitting in your cool, nepo-baby friend's apartment.

However, if you want to pay card (you can't), you want to sit to work (they have a 90 minute time limit which is totally fair, but it's so small you're unlikely to be able to stretch that time), or if you're a lactose sensitive guy or gal, you're not in luck. If you're a group of two, it's too tight to really face each other. On my trip, I found friction with all of these four points DESPITE the fact that my espresso was fantastic.

Coffee: Amazing espresso Ability to work remote: wouldn't recommend Service: really lovely people, but so much friction with cash only/no alt milk/small space Alt milks:...