A good coffee shop is the epitome of the utopia in the boss's mind-Martha recommends the coffee shop on May Day.

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For me, whether it's making music or not, a cafe is a space full of possibilities.

The reason why it is called "space" is that there are many possibilities in a space. It can be a simple art gallery, a place for small music performances, a classroom for some kind of lecture, a humble cinema, a bazaar or a studio.

Coffee is only the excuse needed in this space, and it is the people and things that happen in this space that are enough to strike out the possibility of the future.

Selling shop

Picture source = Martha. Li Qingzhi. DarkBringer

Some people may think that coffee is too hypocritical, and if possible, it can also be oolong tea, beer, cola, or even soy milk. It's just that the culture of coffee has been in practice in Western history for many years, from the Renaissance to modern times, from the literary salon to the place where the literati stopped, cafes have always played an important role in the cultural history of the West.

So for me, a good cafe should give you more than a good cup of coffee. The stimulation in space, the mastery of atmosphere, the direction and content of music, and the cultural self. A good cafe should not just take the latest popular elements, draw designs, buy furniture and shove them into that place. Good cafes should not just forget the great misfortune of this life in the afternoon, and good cafes should not play Norah Jones plus Jack Johnson all day (occasionally with Jason Mraz and "Miss Ipanema"). All in all, I think a good cafe is the epitome of the utopia in the boss's mind, the embodiment of his personality in space, and what he should look like when he wants to have a cup of coffee and waste some time. It also includes his need for light, smell, touch, hearing and so on in such a space.

So ideas can be discussed and argued and continued in cafes, so art can be presented and stimulated in cafes, so music can be heard in cafes for the first time, so revolutions can be planned and realized in cafes. Occasionally it's not refreshing coffee, but distracting alcohol. The atmosphere should be relaxed enough without pressure, and the table should be moderate in size, so that you can whisper or laugh and scold. Music doesn't have to be good, but it has to have its own personality, and the lights don't have to be bright, but there must be some kind of ambiguity.

Recommended Cafe:

Kaffee alt Wien (Austria. Vienna)

I bumped into a cafe during a self-help trip in Europe a few years ago. In this cafe in the center of the old city, it is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the walls are covered with posters of all kinds of concerts, movies, stage plays, and so on. Smoky and noisy, it is more like a gentle pub than a cafe. There is also a billiard table in another space behind the cafe, and the whole store and its guests are full of bohemian flavor. In Vienna, a place with a rich and elegant culture, it is an unforgettable experience to run into this vibrant and subcultural cafe.

The Wall Shop (Taiwan. Ilan)

The building of the selling place itself is a building for tobacco monopoly and residential use in Ilan during the Japanese occupation era, but from the outside to the inside, under the planning and arrangement of the lead singer turtle of the orchestra "Miss Silk socks", it not only retains the historical flavor of the building itself. it also adds some new interest and rustic connotation. The relaxed atmosphere and not too much cater to the retro nature, facing the Japanese-style floor-to-ceiling windows in the backyard and the backyard where you can enjoy the fresh air of Ilan. When there is no performance, it is a secret base for chatting and enjoying the feeling of leaving Taipei. When there is a performance, you can see the performer performing in such an environment and relaxed atmosphere, which is an unexpected gain for both the orchestra itself and the people watching the performance. Such a cafe will not make you feel like you are looking for a place to hide in the city, but use a cafe to enjoy a different look of the city.

The weather in Taiwan is usually not like the outdoor seats in Europe, but in the backyard, apart from having to put up with mosquitoes occasionally, it is my favorite position. In addition to seeing the appearance of the whole building, you can also have a sense of leisure in your own backyard. The store also sells many records of independent music, as well as some independently published magazines and TV series.

Cafe Junkies small tattered coffee (Taiwan. Taipei)

The concept of Cafe Junkies is that what is regarded as rubbish by others may be a precious treasure to us. Therefore, most of the tables and chairs door panels in the store decoration, window frame display cabinets that make up the main vision, and even the owners' own collections in the display cabinets are almost picked up from the garbage. The boss, who is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Staycool, opened this coffee shop because of his love of coffee. In addition to coffee, bagels are also sold with homemade bagel jam. The music has a lot of personality, and sometimes the lyrics of the music I hear match the topics at the next table with a sense of conflict. The boss also supervises the production of coffee by making his own beans, and sometimes spends time playing in orchestras or arranging small performances in the store. I hope his coffee shop business is poor, so he can have a little more time to play music!

Martha.

The May bassist, who has also served as an album producer for many singers and orchestras in recent years, has won the Golden Melody Award for Best composer for Noah's Ark. In addition to music, I am also willing to try something different. At the end of last year, I opened a low-key coffee shop in Huashan Red Brick District to realize my blueprint for the ideal space.