Tea and Coffee, What to Drink in Taiwan

Water Water- Is it safe to drink the water in Taiwan?

The general rule in Taiwan regarding drinking water is that it should only be drunk if it has been boiled (and preferably filtered). The locals do it, and so should you. If this is not possible, then you should buy bottled water.
Taipei, the water board officially declares the water they treat to be safe to drink. However, even if you rely on official guarantees, you can not rely on the piping in every building to be up to the same standard. Unless the building is very new, you should regard tap water as being safe to drink only once it has been boiled for at least 5 minutes. you can usually find a drinking fountain to refill a water bottle At most MRT stations in Taipei and Kaohsiung underground. The water here is officially guaranteed as safe to drink and should have a recent chemical analysis posted above, for those with extreme interest in water quality.

About Kaohsiung

Most people do not drink the tap water, even after filtering or boiling, since the water contains trace amounts of arsenic that is detrimental to ones health. The locals obtain potable water using pumps that look like gasoline pumps that are scattered throughout the residential neighborhoods. However, according to Taiwan Water, the arsenic concentration of the water in Kaohsiung is about 0.0007mg/L, which is much lower than the maxium limit promulgated by either U.S.or Taiwan EPA, and therefore they claim that quality of tap water in Kaohsiung is compliance with Drinking Water Quality Standards. If in doubt, follow the examples of the locals. However, irrespective of the arsenic problem, because water in Taiwan is generally stored in rooftop tanks.We highly recommend you to boil if for 5 minutes, then let it sit a day before drinking. In other parts of Taiwan, water is generally safe to drink after boiling.
Having said this, an independent study, I think by AMCHAM a independent studied the water and found it quite safe. Surprisingly to some they did find some of the bottle water to not be as good. The trick is to look at the water very carefully and make sure you see nothing—no miniature things floating around.

Alcohol

Traditional alcoholic drinks in Taiwan are very strong. Kaoliang is the most famous alcoholic drink. A distilled grain liquor, it is extremely strong, usually 140 proof or more, and often drunk straight.
Taiwan also produces many types of Shaoxing rice wine, which are considered by many as being some of the best in the world.
Taiwanese people enjoy beer on ice. A wide variety of imported beers are available, but the standard is Taiwan Beer, produced by a former government monopoly—the locals call it Taipee. It is brewed with fragrant penglai rice in addition to barley giving it a distinctive flavor.

Soft drinks

Taiwan is a great place for fruit drinks. Small fruit-juice bars are in abundance all over the island. These make the fresh on the spot and are experts at creating fruit-juice cocktails (non-alcoholic). zong-he - mixed - is usually a sweet and sour combination and mu-gwa niou-nai is iced papaya milk. If you don't want ice (though it is safe in Taiwan, even at road side vendors) say, chu bing and no sugar - wu tang.

Soy bean milk

or doujiang, is a great treat. Try it hot or cold. Savoury soy milk is a traditional Taiwanese breakfast dish. It is somewhat of an acquired taste as vinegar is added to curdle the milk. Both sweet and savoury soy milk are often ordered with you-tiao, or deep fried dough crullers.
There are a lot of pseudo health drinks in Taiwanese supermarkets and convenience stores. Look out for asparagus juice and lavender milk tea for example.

Asparagus Juice

Every convenience store you go to Taiwan wide,  be it 7-11, Family Mart, OK or a local mom & pop shop, has a nasty drink , asparagus juice. It's a very sweet drink tasting like asparagus-flavored sugar water. If you have a craving for asparagus-flavored juice, which I doubt you would you might enjoy it.

Drink 

Drink vending machines in Taiwan
As Taiwan is a subtropical island with the south part in the tropics, it cannot hurt to drink a lot, especially during the hot summertime. Drink vending machines can be found virtually everywhere and are filled with all kinds of juices, tea and coffee drinks, soy milk and mineral water.
The more obvious place though is convenience stores such as 7-11 and Family Mart that do carry a wide variety including beer both domestic and imported stuff like Calsburg, Guinness, Heineken and Budweiser.They also sell many senergy drinks and a popular ons called Man Nyo
However, what you’ll really want to try is the small tea shops spread all over the country on virtually every street. Ask for loo-cha (green tea) ban-tang choo bin (half sugar no ice—no ice is still quite cold and hald sugar or less is a good idea or you may find it too sweet.)

Tea
Taiwan's speciality teas are High Mountain Oolong (高山烏龍Gau-shan wulong) - a fragrant, light tea, and Tie Guan-yin (鐵觀音) - a dark, rich brew. Enjoying this tea drank in the traditional way using a very small teapot and tiny cups is a experience you should not miss. This way of taking tea is called lao ren cha - 'old people's tea', and the name is derived from the fact that only the elderly traditionaly had the luxury of time to relax and enjoy tea in this way.

Pearl milk tea (珍珠奶茶 Zhen-Zhu Nai-Cha) is a drink, most foreigners like. Its no longer a fad in Taiwan, but can still be found at nearly every coffee/tea shop. Look for a shop where it is fresh made. Just don't expect to see everyone in the homeland of pearl milk tea drinking it.
The cafe culture has hit Taiwan in a big way, and in addition to an abundance of privately owned cafes, all the major chains, such as Starbucks, have a multitude of branches throughout major towns and cities.

Rooibus Tea Latte
generally avoid Starbucks because their coffee is bad and I don't like their business practices. But when traveling they are often the place where I can get wireless Internet access.
Starbucks in Taiwan has a lot of different drinks, like green tea lattes, black tea lattes, and rooibus tea lattes. This is a rooibus tea latte with a sweet pork bread. I like rooibus tea and green tea, but I don't like the latte versions.