Trends from China’s Specialty Coffee Scene

Outside of a cafe in China. Glad windows look into the cafe, which is made up of a wooden espresso bar. Outside of the cafe are two wooden chairs and a wooden sign with Chinese letters and the word “COFFEE.”

Coffee culture in China is booming, and signature drinks—mixing coffee with tea, fruit, and more—are all the rage amongst locals.

BY JODEE FOK
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Featured photo courtesy of Steven Chau

While tea is an integral facet of Chinese culture, in recent years, coffee consumption has been booming countrywide, with an abundance of specialty-coffee shops popping up in several megacities throughout the Asian country. Today, we’ll explore the growth of the Chinese coffee scene and the drinks that are trending amongst its locals.

A view from a cafe in Shanghai, China, shows a group of people seated at a bar with a large window looking out to a busy street. — China, typically known for its tea culture, is experiencing a rapid expansion in its specialty-coffee scene. Photo by Dynamic Wang.

In Shanghai, Coffee Blooms

A prominent example of China’s coffee boom can be found in the country’s cultural capital, Shanghai, which is now home to over 9,500 coffee shops. While China’s coffee consumption per capita (only an average of 16.74 cups per person per year) is still behind its Western counterparts, the coffee industry reached over RMB 265 billion (about $36 billion USD) in 2023 and is projected to hit RMB 313 billion (about $43 billion USD) the following year, according to a comprehensive 2024 report by Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Association.

A view of a busy cafe in Shanghai, China. — A coffee shop in Shanghai, China. Photo by Lufang Cao.

Creative Combinations: Chinese Cafés Offer Unique Drinks

As China’s coffee market grows tremendously, one trend is becoming apparent amongst its consumers: the desire for unique signature beverages. From raw coconut lattes to iced orange americanos, and even Moutai alcohol-infused lattes, numerous Chinese cafés have answered the call for options with more of an air of creativity.

At Chinese domestic coffee chains like Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee, popular drinks often offer a mix of flavors and textures, incorporating tea and seasonal fruits into traditional coffee beverages. International brands are tapping into this trend as well. For example, Tim Hortons recently launched two tea-infused coffee drinks to its Chinese consumer base: an orange blossom oolong tea latte and a gardenia green tea latte, created in collaboration with the Suzhou Museum.

A flyer shows the new beverages by Suzhou Museum x Tim Hortons, available in China. — In collaboration with the Suzhou Museum, Tim Hortons recently launched a line of tea-infused coffee drinks. Photo courtesy of Tim Hortons.

Following suit, many local coffee shops have also been meticulously curating menus of innovative signature drinks. But some Chinese coffee shop owners, like Gentle Tam of Shenzhen’s soulmade coffee, share that doing so is far from easy. “A signature drink requires not only harmonious flavor combinations but also an engaging backstory and aesthetic appeal,” Gentle explains.

A close-up of a barista in China making a drink in a cocktail glass. The yellow drink is topped with lemon zest, and the barista is seen placing a dried lemon on top of the glass as a garnish. — At Soulmade Coffee, signature drinks like their “Lemon Pie”—washed Ethiopian espresso paired with lemon honey and non-alcoholic Seedlip Grove 42—make up a significant proportion of sales. Photo courtesy of Gentle Tam.

Appealing to Local Preferences

The popularity of signature drinks in China cannot be overstated. Steven Chau, who leads Guangzhou-based coffee shop C Stands For, says, “Some people would drive more than an hour just to get a signature drink.”

A key contributing factor to the appeal of signature drinks, particularly tea-infused hybrids, is their alignment with the beverage preferences of local Chinese folks. “Coffee is still perceived as bitter and merely an energy boost among locals who are much into tea drinks like milk tea and lemon tea. This has prompted coffee shops to offer more sweet options so as to draw in new customers,” says Steven.

A line-up of iced beverages being made by a barista in China. The cups are filled with different drinks: iced black tea, iced milk tea, and iced matcha lattes. — In China, milk tea has long been the go-to beverage—and Chinese coffee shops are learning to cater to locals’ preference for sweet, flavored drinks. Photo by Frank Zhang.

Even though China has long been a coffee producer, predominantly in regions like Yunnan, coffee is hardly ingrained in the country’s culture and traditions, and it has become mainstream nationwide only in recent years. Gentle explains, “Many local consumers might have started to get into coffee with a signature drink rather than an espresso or black coffee.” He adds that, because of this, there’s more room for coffee shops to explore unconventional flavor pairings and the many ways to enjoy coffee.

Two coffee drinks at a cafe in China sit in to-go cups on a wooden table. The cups are decorated with colorful labels, showing images of a fruit and an egg tart. — Macau, China’s Blooom Coffee House blends coffee with one of the city’s most popular street foods: Portuguese egg tarts. Photo by Jodee Fok.

The Call for Photo-Worthy Beverages

Steven also shares the importance of offering visually appealing drinks when appealing to coffee consumers in China—especially those keen to share their experiences on Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, also known as Little Red Book. “Coffee shops are elevating their offerings to be ‘fancier’ and worthy of being posted (on Xiaohongshu), attracting people to visit and take pictures,” Steven says.

China specialty coffee: A person takes a photo with a phone of someone cutting into a pastry, with iced tea and hot coffee drinks surrounding the table with other pastries and food items. — Similar to Western consumers, many Chinese café-goers are looking for a photo-worthy experience. Photo by Mohamed Hamdi.

From a business standpoint, signature drinks help coffee shops across China stand out from intensifying competition, and their growth in popularity is a promising sign of the country cultivating a vibrant coffee culture attuned to its consumer habits and market development.

If you find yourself in any Chinese city, be sure to pop into a local coffee shop and check out their signature drinks—you’ll be surprised at the level of imagination and innovation that can go into a single beverage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jodee Fok is a social policy writer and researcher by day, and an art and coffee enthusiast all the time. She is a curious learner with a passion for social causes such as sustainability and farmers’ welfare. Whether it’s making a great pourover coffee, checking out a local café, or reading anything coffee-related, those little moments brighten up her day.

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