Future Factory

Maximum use, minimum space, a vibrant and restorative experience. These are the words I would use to describe the atmosphere of Future Factory, a small cafe located nearby Taipei’s Yuanshan 圓山 Station and Expo Park. Whether shielding myself from the elements for a rejuvenating beverage, or plugging into my laptop at one of the reliable wooden tables, Future Factory has become a stable location and lifeline for my Taipei hybrid-work lifestyle.

The first time I found Future Factory, I knew it was just what I was looking for after moving here in 2018. Located within 10 minutes walk from where I currently live in Taipei, the interior of the cafe has a layout that lends itself to both a co-working space and a place where one can simply enjoy an afternoon of chatting. With outlets strategically located at every table and position, the cafe hits the mark with what I aim for when searching for just the right multi-purpose locale — HR candidate interviews, chats about business cooperation, relaxing to get out of Taipei’s hot Sun for a cool drink, interviewing a musician for another piece, writing up this post….

Taken from Future Factory’s Facebook page, this image might leave one to believe that the tables at the cafe are extremely tiny, or that the cups of coffee are ridiculously large — neither is true. The outlets are, however, aplenty.

Maximum use, minimum space, vibrant, restorative, personable. These are my words to describe Future Factory, but they don’t do the cafe justice. I recently sat down with owner Joey Chen, to talk about his story, as well as the story of how Future Factory came to be.

The owner of Future Factory, Joey Chen, opened Future Factory in 2014 at the age of 30. Besides Future Factory, Joey also teaches classes where he shares his coffee brewing knowledge at a small workshop called Roller Roaster (Chinese FB) nearby Taipei’s historic Dihua Street 迪化街。

The Secret Scoop

To Joey, the man behind the counter was just another customer. There was nothing particular about the way that he was dressed, he couldn’t have stood out in a crowd. Even the flavors that he chose were ordinary — vanilla and chocolate — two scoops. It wasn’t in Joey’s place to judge.

These details about status didn’t matter to him. All customers were exceptional customers. There was no such thing as an “ordinary” customer in his mind, and so he would treat each customer exceptionally with a smile, pleasantries, and make sure to serve the standard Häagen-Dazs scoop size for each and every one. He was still a student at this time, and the shop was a place for him to get some real-world experience with an internationally renowned ice cream brand.

The man took his ice cream and enjoyed it at his table. He sat in a spot where he wouldn’t be noticed and took out the form. Branded with the Häagen-Dazs logo, he meticulously took his time filling in each bubble and wrote comments where necessary. This is what Häagen-Dazs had asked him to do when they picked him. They wanted to know the experience from the customer’s perspective, and they were focusing not only on the quality of the ice cream, but on the professionalism of the customer service.

Joey received the maximum score from the mystery customer.

“This had never happened before,” Joey remarks over his mask after recounting his first steps on his customer service journey.

“Häagen-Dazs kept tabs on me and contacted me after my military service ended and asked me if I wanted to come and work full time. I said yes.” Taiwan has a mandatory military inscription service required for all able-bodied males (originally required at 3 years at its inception, but now shortened to only four months — Joey served just over a year at that time).

“I worked my way up to store manager after my military service, and I stayed there for a couple of years until I left and went to Houston, Texas to improve my English.”

“Why did you want to improve your English?”

“It sucked,” he said with a smile. “They hope you can speak a bit of English at Häagen-Dazs, being an international chain and all.” And with that, Joey left Taiwan for Houston, Texas.

“I went to Texas originally to improve my English speaking and presentation skills, but my experience there also really opened my mind.”

“I had traveled to the US before, but this time was different because I was really getting a chance to live there and experience the culture more deeply. I made a lot of friends with my classmates from all over the world, mostly the Middle East. Before this time, the expression “American Dream,” didn’t really mean anything, but after living in the US, you could really feel it.” Joey Chen

Joey’s experience in the US was more that what he or Häagen-Dazs bargained for. It was during this time abroad that he felt his mindset begin to change as he took on a more global perspective, both from a goals perspective, as well as from an economic perspective.

“When I was in Taiwan, the people I around me saw the horizon and felt that everything was about the island. In the US it’s not the same. You can look out and see the world and think if you want to do something, if you want to chase something, you just do it. I did research and noticed on Amazon that lots of things from Taiwan were quite a bit pricier when sold in the US. This got me thinking about more business opportunities as well.”

When asked about why his path diverged from one where he could develop his career with Häagen-Dazs, Joey mentioned a Chinese proverb — 急流勇退。Literally translated to a “hasty retreat,” it can also be somewhat equivalent to the English expression to “quit while you are ahead.” He knew that he had reached the peak of where he wanted to grow and develop with Häagen-Dazs as a store manager, as he wanted to continue to have a customer-facing position. The only place for him to go with Häagen-Dazs, however, was for an upper management office position, and that’s not what he wanted. We connected on this point, the idea of stepping away from something while at a high point. Countless times in improv scenes, we look to end the scene at an interval where the energy is still rising, where the audience wants more. We don’t wait for the energy to subside while on stage in an improv performance. We leave the audience hungry for that laugh, the next point of suspense, the next scoop. Joey knew it was time to end his scene with Häagen-Dazs and step onto a new stage, one where he could control the tempo.

Going out on his own

Upon returning to Taiwan, Joey wasted no time and hit the ground running. He researched different restaurants and cafes that were opening up, meeting friends for meals, drinks, and noting details along the way.

“I was trying new place, eating out with friends, etc….and I thought, ‘hmmmmm….starting my own business is a definite possibility. I knew I had to find work, but I didn’t really want to work for others at that time. Also, I’ve always had an interest in coffee, starting out during my time at Häagen-Dazs, but after returning to Taipei, I found instructors and really started to focus on different techniques and types of coffees from a more professional perspective.”

“Opening a shop really isn’t difficult, but making your own brand is a challenge — especially in Taiwan.” Seen here is the logo for Future Factory, with the shadowing and circular imagery reminiscent of industrial smokestacks mixed with a technological and futuristic feeling.

“I never once regretted taking the chance to start my own business. Actually, I always reminded myself that if I didn’t do it, I would regret not giving it a shot. If I fail, I fail….but at least I have to try. Starting up your own business needs a bit of courageous spontaneity.”

Just as with coffee, being in the customer service industry requires acute observation skills. “If I’m talking about managing, there’s a lot of things you can see with your eyes that you don’t necessarily need to use words to describe or manage. We have to be excellent observers, and I try to let my employees do their jobs without interfering, unless absolutely necessary.” Joey Chen

Joey chose the location for Future Factory due to its close proximity to the metro. In addition to giving it a competitive advantage, he felt that at the time there weren’t many shops of the type in the area. Located nearby the Taipei Expo Park, the weekends are full with the local Farmers’ Market, as well as pop-up markets, festivals, and exhibitions which constantly change. Being in such a vibrant vibrant has also kept Joey on his toes, always on the lookout for how to grow Future Factory’s brand.

“Every few years, we want to look for ways to refresh the brand. We have gift packages as well as Future Factory branded mugs.”

Besides the branded mugs, the aspects of Future Factory that really drives the brand are the friendly service and the excellent products. Prior to becoming a coffee drinker at the age of 42, I still enjoyed coming into Future Factory to enjoy their excellent smoothies, my personal favorite bing the one with blueberries and bananas.

“I looked at a few locations but settled on this one. At that time, the rent wasn’t as expensive, it was close to the metro, the Expo Park, and there weren’t many coffee shops in the area.”Joey Chen

Besides Future Factory, Joey’s other passion also lies in teaching coffee roasting techniques and preparation classes at a small workshop called Roller Roaster羅樂咖啡工作室. Situated on Taipei’s historic Dihua Street 迪化街，Roller Roaster is the perfect place for Joey to challenge himself by teaching others the beauty of coffee roasting. He has several courses and can take individuals or small groups by appointment only. The participants for these classes range from individuals who want to learn simply because they have a love for coffee, all the way to budding entrepreneurs who have a dream to open up a shop of their own in the future.

Seen roasting coffee at his other business, Roller Roaster Coffee Studio 羅樂咖啡工作室, Joey always seeks new challenges, learning about coffee, hosting events, and teaching techniques to those who joins his sign-up workshops. The workshops can run from 6–12 people at a time.

Learning and Growth

When Joey started out Future Factory, he had no way of knowing the quality of his own coffee because the only markets he could compare to were the limited amount of shops and cafes in Taipei. In order to grow his brand and improve the quality of his own coffee, he entered his products into international competitions.

“In 2015 I entered into a coffee competition in the US. The results were pretty bad — I didn’t know what I was doing and had never entered into a competition before. In 2016, we came in 3rd place, so it was a big learning curve and improvement. I sent in my own brand and coffee beans to Coffee Review magazine and was pleased with the results as well.” Joey Chen

For those who are not coffee drinkers, Future Factory also has excellent smoothies, desserts, and light meals. I recommend their smoked salmon salad, and whatever cheesecake they have on special that day. “We don’t add any sort of powder or chemicals to our smoothies to enhance the flavor. Also, anything we have with jams are made by our employees from scratch.” Joey Chen

With regards to the food and non-coffee drinks that are available, Joey likes to keep them simple and as natural as possible. The kitchen itself is behind a set of glass windows where customers are able to see everything that is going on inside. Just as the coffee brewing experience is out in the open, engaging our senses with fragrance and sounds of the steam shooting into the air, customers can easily view any food they order being prepared. The whole experience at Future Factory is as interactive and engaging as we wish to make it.

“Taiwan has had its own food safety scares. We want to make sure that everything we use and put into our food is pretty much as is, and we can see it with our own eyes. There’s no need to hide anything.” Joey Chen

One of the aspects about Future Factory that I enjoy the most is that I never feel rushed to leave. Despite the fact that the cafe itself is not so large, I feel fully comfortable taking up a chair or a standing stool and working for an entire afternoon. Although not required in Taipei, there is a small tip jar at the counter, a bit of memorabilia and American culture which I’m sure the staff is grateful. I always make sure to leave a small token of appreciation before leaving my table to walk back home.

While lattes are their most popular drink, Joey’s favorite is the single origin. “I make sure I drink at least one cup of single origin each day. My wife has grown an interest in coffee since we met, she prefers to drink drip coffee now.” Joey Chen

The name “Future Factory” is closely connected to, but differs slightly in meaning from the Chinese name, 啡創工廠 (Fēi chuàng gōngchǎng). The last two characters in the Chinese name translate directly to “factory,” while the first character is part of the Chinese word meaning “coffee,” and the second character meaning “innovation.” The literal translation would be “Coffee Innovation Factory.” Joey decided to settle on the shorter “Future Factory” for alliteration and a more hipster feeling.

With Roller Roaster and Future Factory to occupy his time, Joey Chen has proven himself not only to be a master of English language alliteration, but also a successful and approachable entrepreneur. Besides spending his time between his workshop and Future Factory, Joey also accepts invitations for private trainings and classes as well. At the heart of all of his businesses lies a strong belief in valuable customer service, backed by quality products, along with vibrant and restorative experiences.

“When I opened this shop, I just wanted a place where people could feel comfortable. I want people to enter and leave Future Factory with the feeling that this space belongs to them as well. Everyone can make themselves at home here.” Joey Chen