A world champion's two floors in Taipei

Three things this fortnight: a café in Taipei run by a World Barista Champion, a Berlin route you can actually walk, and a single change to make on your next espresso. Nothing here is a ranking. It is just what is in the directory, written down plainly.

One café: Simple Kaffa, Zhongzheng, Taipei

Berg Wu won the World Barista Championship in 2016, the first Taiwanese barista to do it, and then built a two-floor flagship on Zhongxiao East Road rather than disappearing into consulting. That is the unusual part. Most champions leave the bar.

The Huashan site sits near Huashan 1914 Creative Park and runs single-origin espresso alongside seasonal filter, sourced through direct-trade relationships. There is siphon on the menu too, which is rarer than it should be, and a dedicated classroom for tasting workshops.

If you go, order the same origin twice, once as espresso and once as pour over, and drink them side by side. A bar with both programmes running properly is the right place to learn what roast level is doing to your palate.

[See Simple Kaffa](https://remembrew.com/cafes/simple-kaffa-taipei)

One city: Berlin, on foot, in one long morning

Start in Mitte at Ben Rahim, inside the Hackesche Hoefe courtyard. It has been folding North African coffee traditions into Berlin espresso since 2015, and the Turkish preparation is the thing to order, not the flat white. Walk ten minutes west to Auguststrasse for The Barn Mitte, open since 2010 and built entirely around single-origin filter. Ask what is on pour over and take it black.

Then head south to Luetzowstrasse for Concierge Coffee, a 15-square-metre former concierge hut. Two people fit behind the counter. Espresso or a flat white, standing on the pavement, is the whole experience.

Afternoon belongs to Kreuzberg and Neukoelln. Annelies on Goerlitzer Strasse, beside the park, pours La Cabra and makes everything on the brunch menu in house, bread and sauces included. Finish at Populus Coffee on Maybachufer, canal side, where the roasting happens on site and other Berlin micro-roasters share the space.

Save Flying Roasters in Wedding for a second day. Hochstrasse 34, only coffees scoring 84 and above, and workshops run regularly if you want to spend a morning learning rather than drinking.

[All 45 in Berlin](https://remembrew.com/cities/berlin)

One thing to try: Fix the ratio before you touch anything else

Espresso is the hardest method in the directory for a reason: every variable moves at once, so people change three things and learn nothing.

Next shot, weigh both ends. Aim for 1:2, so 18g in, 36g out, and grind very fine. Time it from first drop and look for roughly 30 seconds.

If it runs fast, grind finer. If it chokes, coarser. Change only the grind until the time lands, and keep the dose and the yield locked. Three shots is usually enough to find it.

[The Espresso guide](https://remembrew.com/brew/espresso)

If you log those three shots somewhere, the fourth one gets much easier. That is more or less why Remembrew exists.

Povilas