Fun fact: 800 new cafes opened in Shanghai last year. Turns out young Chinese people really, really like coffee shops. The Coffee Academïcs is a gourmet coffee chain that started out in Hong Kong, serving serving artisanal coffee beverages to legions of Canto hipsters. Having expanded to multiple locations and Singapore too, The brand has turned its attention to Shanghai, becoming one of the city's 6,000 total coffee shops.
Set just beneath Glo London (that place is still open!) on Wulumuqi and Dongping Lu, the space itself is plentiful and with lots of seating and tables, with plenty of exposed concrete and white lighting for that special 'independent coffee shop' feel.
The coffee menu itself is very long and very complicated. Much like a wine list, likely you'll gaze at it blankly for a few seconds before quickly choosing something that looks vaguely familiar and/or mid-range.
For true bean-heads, you can also purchase from a range of imported coffee brewering contraptions, including Chemex, AeroPress and V60 Dripper Kettles, as well as The Coffee Academïcs' own blends available by the bag.
From the 'classic espresso-based coffee' section, prices range from RMB23 for a basic shot up to RMB40 for a caffe mocha. If you want it chilled you'll have to pay up to RMB12 more, perhaps because of all the expensive ice added, widely acknowledged for its costliness.
From the 'special' section, the pepper agave latte (RMB45) is unusually creamy and with a strong kick of pepper. It's also rather small for a latte, and there's honestly not a whole lot of coffee taste because of the creamy milk.
Even pricier are the brews from the 'hand crafted coffee' section. These start at RMB60 for Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and stretch up to RMB123 (!) for ice drip Jamaica blue. Coffees from this section are served in test tube beakers to remind you of their importance.
In addition to gourmet coffee, The Coffee Acamdemïcs also serve brunch and lunch dishes including salads, sandwiches, breakfasts, pizzas and pastas. Honestly, the food's pretty dece, it's just too expensive for a coffee shop. Behold four cheese mac with bacon and leeks (RMB98).
It has kale on top because hipsters.
The chicken and kale Caesar salad (RMB78) is also not half bad. It comes with a big piece of grilled chicken, avocado and still-runny quails eggs. If we were to come back for a dish, it would be this.
Would we come back to The Coffee Academïcs? Maybe. The space is pretty nice (with functioning Wifi) and the service is very polite, but those prices? Give me a break. It's still just beans and water, people, and there are plenty of other cafes around town that do it just as well for cheaper.
Price: RMB50-150 per person
Who's going: local hipsters, expats
Good for: coffee, brunch, lunch, meetings, dates
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