We usually don't put a tea shop or coffee shop in the shopping section, however, Pin Tea ("Pin Cha") 品茶 is one of those old style, non-descript tea shops located right in the center of the Zhong Xiao East Road Shopping District. 忠孝東路商圈。It's a great place to take a break, have a real Taiwan style tea, and people watch.
Before the coffee culture hit Taiwan in the 1990's, cities were peppered with tea houses where customers could meet friends,drink a tea, or eat some light food. Nowadays, there are more coffee shops for these kinds of meetings, but some places, like Pin Tea still exist.
Pin Tea is located one alley behind Zhong Xiao 4th Road which is the biggest shopping road in Taipei. It is behind the Zara and right outside the Luxy nightclub entrance. Alley #181 is busy with shoppers and diners which makes Pin Tea a great place to people watch. See the map at the bottom of the page.
Go to Pin Tea during the weekday and you'll see it's quite busy with locals playing cards, signing contracts, or surfing the net. Yes, they have FREE WIFI.
The tea is good and usually cold. You can get hot teas in the winter. Find a unique tea drink that you haven't tried. Taiwan is famous for them.
Pin Tea was opened in 1996. The inside decor looks like it hasn't change much since then. Just head inside or sit outside. You'll be given a menu for your order. It's simple and quick service.
Pin Tea is a 1 minute walk from the Taipei Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT station. Exit 2.