Uhhhh…I don’t think so. Seriously, I love this drink too much to ruin it with salt. Or am I being too narrow minded here? Apparently, the people in Taiwan have discovered something quite unique – salt coffee.
This kind of coffee is currently being offered by Taiwan’s largest coffee chain, 85 Degree Bakery Café. Salt coffee was launched only on the 11th of December 2008 but it seems to be catching on like wildfire. According to Cathy Chung, the spokeswoman for the coffee chain, “Public reaction surprised us. Nowadays an outlet in north Taiwan can sell 700 cups of salt coffee per day and a store in south Taiwan can sell 700 cups, which is 20 to 30 percent more than the daily sale of our brand coffee, American coffee.”
Heck, it surprises me too! 700 cups of salt coffee in a day? Unbelievable. I just can’t get over the fact that salt is not supposed to put in coffee. Period.
Then again, I have never tried this beverage so who am I to say anything? Customers who have tried the drink rave about it:
“It gives you three tastes. First, you get the slightly salty taste from the cold cream foam, second, the mixed taste of the salty cream foam and hot coffee, third, the aroma of coffee,” says Ho Hsiu-ling, a university student, at the 85 Degree Cafe outlet on Xinyi Road in Taipei.
“It is amazing. I ordered it out of curiosity and expected it to be salty, but the taste is not entirely salty. It is salty and sweet and is more fragrant then sugared coffee.”
But Li Ping-mou, a computer engineer, says he prefers iced salt coffee “because the salty-sweet taste is sharper.”
Alright, being the adventurous person that I am, perhaps I would be willing to try this salt coffee. Who knows, I might be able to tell you about it if I ever find myself in Taiwan sometime in 2009.
For now, I will stick to my hot, rich, and sweet coffee. Happy New Year, guys!
Originally posted on December 31, 2008 @ 12:55 am