By Tongfei Zhang and Betty Richardson
Thought you couldn’t get a half decent cup of joe in this city? Think again – young entrepreneurs in Shanghai are shaping up to be a generation of caffeine connoisseurs, leading to a spark of independent coffee shops that are the perfect alternative to your daily Starbucks.
Release Coffee
What’s special: Release (RMB32), Mocha (RMB30)
This neighborhood coffee shop is a simple and cheerful spot, offering delicately brewed coffee owned by three experienced and passionate baristas - Chen Sisi, champion of 2014 China Aeropress Championship and Lian Chao (both pictured) and Li Yang.
A much needed addition to the buzzing Wuding Lu neighborhood, this compact space is great for working in with proper chairs and tables inside, and is un-missable thanks to a bold neon sign outside. We caught up with joint owner Li Yang to find out just what an aeropress is…
What’s the difference between hand-dripped coffee and aeropress ones?
Hand-dripped coffees are brighter and purer while the latter is richer and thicker. Single origins can be brewed both ways, so for a chance to taste the varying fragrances of our coffee beans, try this!
Tell us about your special ‘Release’ coffee…
It’s an innovative specialty we invented ourselves. With a mix of double espresso and homemade soda, the glass has a layer of quickly fading foam, tasting almost like iced dark beer fused with caffeine. Tart and bitter with a sweet aftertaste, it’s an updated version of a ‘sparkling Americano,’ which we also highly recommended.
Mellower Coffee
What’s special: Champion latte (RMB58), sweet little rain (RMB58)
The trendy flagship of this Kunming transplant provides ethically sourced coffee near to Xintiandi. Above the ordering counter are graphs explaining exactly how each cup of coffee reached you. With a vast seating area, training room and roasting area, the spacious but cozy place is great for get-togethers and even business talks. Manager Chen Xining filled us in on Mellower Coffee unique menu items…
Who exactly are the champions that make your ‘champion latte’?
We invited Huang Yan, champion of World Latte Art Championship (2014) to make ‘champion latte’ for customers, and Korean ‘coffee prince’ Kim Jinkyu - Asia’s only double champion of both World Barista Championship and World Latte Art Championship (2011 & 2012) as a coffee director to train our baristas.
What’s so special about the ‘sweet little rain’?
It’s many sweet-toothed customers’ favorite; we suspend pink cotton candy above a cup of Americano, then when the hot steam goes up, the cotton candy melts and drips like it’s raining. It’s one of most popular items on menu!
Undefine
What’s special: Yirgacheffe coffee (RMB25)
Right in the heart of the M50 art district and set in a refurbished factory, Undefine is a four-in-one space with a unique personality. The brainchild of coffee lover and former fashion journalist Nemo Zheng, Undefine was envisioned as a space to enjoy coffee and fine art together. Collaborating bimonthly with artists and designers, the space sometimes turns into a gallery or workshop, sometimes an exhibition space, with additional pop-up stores upstairs selling handicrafts. This relaxed and quiet haven has surprisingly cheap single origin coffee in addition to Italian blends, cakes and pastries.
We can see specialty coffees aren’t overly expensive here.
Coffee isn’t really our main business, space renting is. So we sell coffees at a ‘conscience price.’
Is there a theme of this place?
Every two months we have a different theme depending on the event we do, like pop-up stores, workshops, or art exhibitions. Accordingly we make derivative products such as special roast beans, self-brewed beers, plates, cushions, etc. for sale.
Do you have your own products aside from coffees?
Yes we actually have a barber corner when it’s not decorated as part of a gallery, and we sell boys’ products too. Boys get to make appointments and book a cool barber with maybe tattoos, to help them with whatever hairstyle they want.
W+S CAFE by NAPOLEON
What’s special: Joffre (RMB68), Lady’s High Tea (RMB298/two)
If you happen to pass by the intersection of Huaihai and Huating Lu, pink sakura flowers outreaching from a cheerful garden-like terrace will immediately catch your eyes. Cooperating with W+S Decoration furnishing store right next door, W+S Cafe makes use of bespoke luxury furniture pieces and silver tableware from its upscale neighbor. Owner Leon Chen was formerly a banker in Australia, and is also the brains behind Napoleon chocolate bar. These days, he spends his time working diligently on a culinary revolution of simple meals and handmade desserts at his cafés.
What’s so special about a Joffre cake?
Well, its name is inspired from the old street name of Huaihai Lu. We pair fresh Yunnan raspberries with pastry cream, sandwiched between giant rose macaron. The melt-in-your-mouth raspberries help to neutralize each bite of crisp almond sugar. We make them ourselves everyday at our bakery in Songjiang.
What is the atmosphere that you want to provide?
I want people to feel relaxed when they walk in. There’re a lot of playful and natural elements dotted around the café, which lend a less formal vibe to the place. Some people describe it as an Alice in Wonderland sort of feeling! To me it’s ideal spot for a quiet chat with friends and a laid-back afternoon.
The Beast Cafe
What’s special: Caffe Latte (RMB35/tall, RMB38/grande), Costa Rica - tarrazu (RMB42)
Derived from the well-known flower shop brand - The Beast, Beast Cafe opened its doors two months ago and is already a hotspot for local hipsters - the tiny place was packed on our visit on a Thursday afternoon. With a “flowers of the desert” theme, an array of succulent plants and cacti populate both the inside and outside of the store, resulting in somewhat tropical shielded hideaway slap bang in Xintiandi, guarded by the store’s namesake black leopard statue over the threshold. We caught up with COO Isabelle Zhang to hear more about their beastly concept…
What’s special about the coffees here?
We do quality specialty coffees for a small crowd, and all coffees are roasted in town. This store acts like a supply station in the vast desert - espresso coffee and drip coffees are the main products we provide, with beans hailing from Africa and South America too.
Can people buy flowers here?
Yes. This is a ‘two-in-one’ store where people get to enjoy nice coffees surrounded by the scent of flowers. A selection of preserved fresh flowers is our main business apart from coffee, but if you want to buy fresh flowers you can also book here.
Cambio Coffee
The brainchild of Washington DC born entrepreneur Sebastian Martin, Cambio is a wholesale coffee business that buys its beans directly from growers around the world, including domestically from Yunnan. With a character cast of different blends that vary in tone and strength, Cambio’s coffee aims to be gourmet and responsibly sourced at the same time. Baristas in the attractive courtyard shop on Jiangning Lu invite you to take your pick out variety of brewing contraptions depending on how you like yours, and are capable of whipping up some incredible ‘latte art’.
In addition to a menu of snacks and lunch food, Cambio’s location will also play host to live music, performance and cultural events, with future plans to expand seating and a cocktail bar onto the rooftop of the adjacent office building.
Uncle No Name Espresso
Small in size but perfectly formed – and with surprisingly ample seating – Uncle No Name provides roughly 3 times the character than your average Starbucks. Operated by a pair of local hipsters and with a relatively robust wifi connection, this place is a must if you’re looking for a quiet place to work or chill.
Café Ming Qian
Ming Qian is an awesome, locally owned sustainable wholesale coffee supplier specializing in single origin brews from international sources, including beans grown in Yunnan. Located literally above Husk restaurant in McBain Court, Ming Qian is almost hidden from the outside, but is bright, spacious and decidedly trendy within. Outside is a particularly gorgeous seat lined terrace that looks like it gets plenty of sunshine in the summer.
Aside from coffee and food, Ming Qian also hosts classes like ‘Latte Art’ (RMB120) in its special training rooms, has its own roasting room and a number of coffee brewing contraptions and bags of its own beans for sale.
While not necessarily quiet, Ming Qian’s coffee is excellent, not overpriced, and worthy of a visit.
Roaster Café
Equal parts roasting shop and quick stop coffee, Roaster Café’s coffee is flavorsome, devilishly strong and cheaper than Starbucks. Prices start at RMB14 for a single espresso, RMB23 for mint or whisky spiked hot chocolate and RMB25 for grande almond lattes, caramel macchiatos and their ilk.
Seating is fairly sparse and basic, but is enhanced by the smell of coffee beans being freshly roasted by staff (with fire extinguishers at the ready) and bagged by staff right in front of your eyes.
// See listing here `
Lanna
Another boutique coffee wholesale business, Lanna’s tiny but chic shop on Yuyuan Lu is good enough to be a destination visit thanks to its relaxed and cozy (heated) outside seating, and compact menu of sandwiches, including Napa club (bacon, turkey, egg and cheddar on rye, RMB42) and ‘green sandwich’ (two eggs and avocado on toasted rye, RMB40). Aside from their very reasonably priced espressos (RMB18), Lanna’s mocha (RMB24) is the thing to get, crafted from raw cocoa powder perked up by a hint of Ghiradelli’s chocolate sauce.
Tell the English-speaking staff how sweet (or not sweet) you’d like yours. We’d be here everyday if we lived or worked in the area.
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