Tsinghua University Shuimu Bookstore Cafe: No customers, only friends
Tucked inside the campus of Tsing Hua University, in a corner of the Shuimu Bookstore, sits a coffee house. There is not the slightest hint of commercial atmosphere here, yet regulars keep coming in an endless stream; billing itself as a community-style coffee house, it sells not only coffee but also a rich warmth of human connection. Bookstore coffee houses have always been the favorite of book lovers, and a university campus in particular is filled with humanistic atmosphere and the depth of a knowledge salon. When Wang Dan, a leader of the June Fourth student movement, was hired by the Department of Humanities at Tsing Hua University, he once gave a public lecture at the Shuimu Bookstore coffee house; when Zhu Huifang launched her new book "Shi Shi" (Knowing Food), she also chose this place. Unlike the distance of a large lecture hall, the intimate space here easily makes one mistake it for a literary salon on the Left Bank of the Seine in France.
The Shuimu coffee house went through several operators, and the usual outcome was the same as elsewhere: poor management led to closure, until Dami, of the seventh-grade generation, took over. After that, the shop slowly began to regain foot traffic and a lively atmosphere. This year it further joined forces with the Bamboo Dragonfly Green Market of Tsing Hua College, becoming a community-style pickup point for organic goods. In order to bring good food into everyday life, the Bamboo Dragonfly Green Market, besides holding a regular market once a month, also launched an online ordering "green refrigerator" service. Through this digitized channel, customers who support small farmers can pick up their goods at the coffee shop. As for these tasks unrelated to the coffee shop's own business, Dami does not mind at all; he was already active in the green market, and he in fact has deep feelings for the small farmers.
Dami, who still looks like a student, has no ties at all to Hsinchu. After graduating and finishing his military service, he casually took a government employment-counseling coffee course, then plunged headlong into the fragrant world of rainforest coffee. Later he regularly set up a stall at the "Guxu 23.5 °/Market" in Chiayi, choosing "Huang Ziyu Coffee," which is 100 percent transparent and fair trade. The philosophy of not cutting down rainforest to grow coffee made Dami believe this was what he wanted to do. In this space that bills itself as organic, environmentally friendly, forestry railway, handmade creative, and traditional folk art, he is still searching for a stage where he can give full play to his talents. Drawn in by the Hongya Culture Association, he met the owner of Shuimu Bookstore, who is also one of the founders of the Bamboo Dragonfly Green Market, and just like that, unfamiliar with the place and carrying the naive boldness of youth that fears nothing, he came to Hsinchu. "This really takes a lot of courage," Dami said with a smile. Even he himself could not believe where his confidence came from, but in fact he simply wanted to know whether this was truly a viable path.
Besides large transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, the Shuimu coffee house also offers refreshing green trees and a blue lake as far as the eye can see. Such scenery is priceless; moreover, thanks to the support of the green market, all the ingredients served here are organic and natural good things vetted by the green market. Dami said, "We don't use pancake mix; it's all domestically produced natural organic wheat flour, and even the honey and ice cream are surprisingly star products." While sitting in the coffee house waiting for a meal during the interview, there was indeed a room full of warm aroma, and knowing that the food going into one's stomach was all reassuring ingredients, one felt completely relaxed. What Dami, who loves making friends, does most often is actually treat guests to taste newly developed coffee. No wonder customers who have come once easily want to come again and again. Won't a coffee shop like this lose money? I asked softly, full of doubt. Dami said without thinking too much, "There are no customers here, only friends." If it can go on like this, then don't be too calculating about it.
In order to learn how to run a coffee shop, Dami once left home twice within the island, cycling around the island, spending a total of 5,000 yuan, visiting 20 coffee shops across Taiwan with unique business philosophies, personally experiencing and feeling the coffee flavors as a consumer. "How much should a cup of coffee really sell for to be reasonable?" Dami said, "This is very hard to calculate with the concept of cost. But just think: in order to brew the cup of coffee you now hold in your hand, how many cups has the owner poured away? For a cup of coffee at 250 yuan, as long as it can make you feel happy, that is its value." In addition, the Shuimu coffee house bills itself as more than just a coffee shop; from time to time the aroma of handmade cookies wafts through here, whether ginger-flavored or longan-flavored, equally mouth-watering. Dami shyly said that this place is actually more like a kitchen lab (kitchen Lab); simply using an oven, one can create different menus. How much do the handmade cookies cost? Free. This is the owner's gesture of making friends.
What a coffee shop sells is actually the warmth of human connection. The small space is filled with a cozy feeling like home. This place attracts not only book lovers but also a group of green seeds who care about environmental protection, organics, and sustainability. On weekday evenings, it is still super popular, because different activities and lectures are taking place. Dami, busy until late at night every day, enjoys being in the midst of it, every day calculating in his mind how to make the space more creative. What he earns here, though not substantial money, is plenty of friendship. No wonder there are no customers here, only friends.
Address: No. 101, Sec. 2, Guangfu Road, Hsinchu City (1F, Fengyun Building, Tsing Hua University)
Phone: 035723474
Business hours: Tuesday to Friday: 12:00-21:00; Saturday to Sunday: 10:30-19:00
Originally published in Organic Journal