Short-haired girl + bicycle + coffee   She traveled from Changhua to Taichung, turning the city into her café.

▲A small independent bookstore, the aroma of coffee, and a short-haired girl brewing coffee have become the favorite coffee experience for many coffee lovers in Taichung.

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Taichung

In May 2013, a small “coffee bicycle” appeared in Changhua. A short-haired girl rode her bicycle, selling lightly roasted coffee on the streets. Through the test of time, her figure pushing the coffee bicycle moved from Changhua to Taichung, where the entire city once became her mobile café. Now she has settled behind the counter of an independent bookstore in Taichung. A small independent bookstore, the aroma of coffee, and a short-haired girl brewing coffee have become the favorite coffee experience for many coffee lovers in Taichung.


▲The figure of Xiao Ti brewing coffee.

The short-haired girl from Changhua who named her mobile coffee bicycle “Xiao Ti’s Masterpiece” is Xiao Ti herself. Originally working in nursing, she spent years in hospitals and care facilities but decided to quit her job in pursuit of change. “At first, I thought finding a new job wouldn’t be too hard!” said Xiao Ti. She had assumed that her years of medical experience would make transitioning to a new career easy—but job applications led to one rejection after another.

Unable to find work, Xiao Ti turned to learning a new skill: roasting coffee using a clay pot. Then, choosing the lowest-cost tool—a bicycle—she turned the whole city into her sales floor, selling single-origin pour-over coffee. All the coffee was lightly roasted, and from roasting the beans to serving them to customers, she did everything on her own.


▲%The scenes are all about the girl, the bicycle, and the coffee.


Starting in 2013 in Changhua, she later moved to Taichung, spending a year selling coffee along Caotun Road, then worked at the Li Guitar Station counter, before returning to the mobile bicycle. By July 2016, Xiao Ti joined the fairly well-known independent bookstore in Taichung, “Beginner’s Bookstore,” where she finally had her own small coffee counter.

“I operated the mobile coffee bicycle on the street for two years, but the customer base wasn’t stable. After doing it for so long, I hoped to elevate the brand.” After discussing with the owner of Beginner’s Bookstore, they decided to create a reading environment filled with both bookish and coffee aromas. “Xiao Ti’s Masterpiece” also introduced a portable espresso machine, hoping to offer more flavor varieties for customers to enjoy.


▲Coffee brewed with a portable espresso machine.

Xiao Ti is truly a magical girl, and her magic isn’t just about making great coffee. Her focused expression while brewing, the way she looks customers directly in the eye while chatting and speaks with ease—it often moves coffee drinkers to open up about their inner thoughts. “Modern people seem to need someone unrelated to their daily life to confide in. It might be easier that way.”

Xiao Ti plays that role perfectly. When she brews coffee, it’s as if she exists apart from the world. Sitting at the counter of “Xiao Ti’s Masterpiece,” it feels like you’re not just drinking coffee—you’re also sipping the ups and downs of life.

%Clamped$ scenes of coffee.


Beginner’s Bookstore - Xiao Ti’s Masterpiece Coffee
Address: No. 129, Xiangshang North Road, West District, Taichung City
Phone: 0921 365 621
Business hours: 12:00 - 19:00 (Closed on Thursdays)