What would a coffee shop look like after 15 years? Lim Dong-Won from the coffee champion to the coffee lab

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What does it look like when a coffee shop has been open for 15 years? GABEE. The boss-Lim Dong-Won, from a beginner who is a complete stranger to coffee, to opening a shop of his own, and winning coffee competitions one after another, is still constantly innovating and changing, and let many people see different possibilities in the coffee industry.

GABEE. Boss.-Lim Dong-Won.

Put the experimental spirit into the coffee creation.

Lim Dong-Won himself is not a catering-related background. He, who loves coffee, stepped into the coffee industry after leaving the army. At that time, Taiwan's coffee circle was still quite closed, and you had to observe and practice almost all by yourself to learn to make a cup of coffee. Lim Dong-Won slowly groped through his working experience in the coffee shop, and sorted out a set of his own theory and logic through the analysis of the experimental spirit of his own technical background. For example, his flower drawing skills book published in 2005 is a practical reference book that he compiled by analyzing the characteristics of coffee, the law of milk flowing on coffee and compiling it.

Combining the drinking method of tequila and the hierarchical sense of coffee-"Roman Empire"

A creative drink with a combination of sweet potato, milk foam and coffee-"coffee you have no potato"

After learning to a certain extent, Lim Dong-Won decided to open a shop of his own-GABEE. It is based on the homonym of "shop" in Taiwanese and the Taiwanese pronunciation of "coffee shop" as GABEE.), continue to challenge the limits of coffee, and think about the development of "GABEE." toward a deeper and wider possibility.

From brewing coffee to the advanced challenge of running a coffee shop

Running a coffee shop is hundreds of times more difficult than making coffee, Lim Dong-Won chose to GABEE. It is opened in the alley of Minsheng East Road in order to give different groups of customers the experience of fine coffee in a mixed zone of residents and businesses. however, the environment has changed over the past 15 years, and the operation has been constantly adjusted. Lim Dong-Won believes that opening a store must take into account the very details: product marketing, customer analysis, raw material cost, labor cost, rather than making a pot of coffee. "running a coffee shop" tests everyone's experience and way of doing things.

Running a coffee shop is often a test of the boss's ability other than making coffee.

Lim Dong-Won believes that modern customers have entered the stage of "sharing food", and everyone more and more knows how to choose what to eat for the day. Apart from three meals, they drink coffee in the afternoon and go to the bar in the evening, and their diet choices are cut into more details. More and more people begin to choose coffee. Making a cup of professional and delicious coffee is already a necessary condition. However, taking into account the atmosphere of more customers for the store, the level of service, visual presentation, and so on, there is a way to promote the store to a more distant customer base.

Giving customers a good experience is something that coffee shops need to constantly examine themselves.

15 years of continuous innovation experiment, moving towards the road of establishing coffee brand

The thoughtful Lim Dong-Won will GABEE. The operation is divided into four stages, and he believes that through long-term planning, the team can have more direction and the brand can last longer.

Establish a professional image

Not long after opening the shop, the first coffee contest was also held at about the same time. Unexpectedly, Lim Dong-Won decided to participate in the competition. Through continuous training and analysis, he won the first championship, and then the exposure made him decide to participate in more competitions to obtain proof of strength, as well as GABEE through reports, lectures, books and other ways. The image of producing professional coffee spread.

The first champion for Lim Dong-Won and GABEE. It means a lot.

Transnational exchanges and expansion

After gaining fame in Taiwan, it is natural to go abroad to promote coffee, no matter in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries, there are GABEE. Lim Dong-Won even set up a branch in Shanghai and let him know GABEE through cross-border exchanges. Is there any place to learn or change and take your brand internationally.

Lim Dong-Won collects coffee-related things all over the world

Cross-border exchanges and cooperation

After gaining popularity, Lim Dong-Won is also very active in combining with a variety of different brands, whether it is TEDxTaipei sponsored drinks, metalworking jewelry cooperation, Tainan Ninwei Ice products, etc., large and small brands are GABEE. The objects of cooperation, such as the small moon cakes co-operated with Fengxing Cake Shop in the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, is also the result of their first cooperation with the traditional food industry, taking into account ordinary people's habits of coffee food, constantly adjusting the proportion, and adding coffee bags of different tastes, so that the public can enjoy different experiences while eating moon cakes and drinking coffee during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Ice products in cooperation with Ninwei family in Tainan

Fengxing Cake Shop and GABEE. Cooperation of small moon cakes

Construct "Coffee Laboratory"

In the future stage, Lim Dong-Won imagines that he will be able to create a laboratory specializing in coffee, which is also the next step of his plan, which is good at science thinking, just like the R & D unit of science and technology, in which he can constantly come up with new products, combinations, and integrate knowledge in different fields, such as wine blending, desserts, etc., and GABEE. Become a "brand" and spread all over the world.

These four stages are not mutually exclusive, but are related to each other. Even now, Lim Dong-Won often goes abroad to promote, cross-domain product cooperation and so on, constantly pursuing innovation and change is also GABEE. All the way.

GABEE. It is also entering its 15th year, many of which may be in the future. Continuous challenge and innovation is Lim Dong-Won 's motto, also known as GABEE. The reason why it is influential in Taiwan, through Lim Dong-Won 's story, also makes people understand that it is not easy to turn an interest into a career, so that more people can learn from it.

Reference: FLiPER

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