At Silence Coffee, six people are talking all at once. And yet, you could hear a pin drop.
In a city where cafes blast terrible acoustic covers of pop songs, the hush is welcome. But the reason why it’s quiet is what makes it special: The space is run by a deaf couple, and serves as an unofficial gathering place for the hearing-impaired.
On each of our visits, groups of friends chatter away in Chinese Sign Language. We learn some ourselves from the posters on Silence Coffee’s walls, which teach us basic signed greetings, as well as coffee terms. (There’s also a picture menu, if the prospect of learning a new language just to order intimidates you.)
Silence Coffee’s hush is amplified by its location: Beixinqiao Toutiao, which is just one alley back – and therefore an oasis – from the clamor of Gui Jie and its perennial construction. The space is just across from the late Más, which was closed by the same hutong demolitions that force Silence Coffee customers to enter via a tiny alley leading to its back door. (There should be a new front door soon.)
READ MORE: 7 Cafes to Get Your Third-Wave Coffee Fix in Beijing
The space is visually calming, a whitewashed cube with exposed wooden beams, the red coffee mugs serving as occasional pops of color. During the day, sunlight dapples the clean table surfaces. Inside, the cafe feels like an aesthetically pleasing hut.
Given all this, you’d forgive us for treating coffee here as an afterthought. And maybe it is – Silence Coffee’s simple menu of ristrettos, americanos and single-origin brews isn’t as finely executed as those of nearby third-wave cafes, such as BigSmall and Barista. But the drinks are solid and carefully crafted. We wish we could say the same for the cakes, but alas, we shall stamp Do Not Recommend upon the chocolate fondant, which is purplish and bizarrely waxy. Stick to the coffee.
Or better yet, the beers – Silence offers a full range of BrewDogs (grab the Dead Pony Ale, RMB45).
But the most important thing Silence Coffee offers is a community. Well, that and the silence.
Images by Victor Liu
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