In a country where the coffee scene is booming comes a surprisingly strong specialty coffee scene. China both produce and roast coffee, and has a steady growing coffee market. As a foreigner, it can be hard to navigate the Chinese apps to find the best coffee spots. We’ve explored the specialty coffee scene in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an and Hangzhou. Here are our favourite coffee shops in China.
CHENGDU
~ Dopamina+ ~
A few kilometres out of the city center we find Dopamina+. Located in the building that once housed Five Elephant, they serve pour overs from a variety of different roasters. With a terrific selection of international roasters and an exciting pour over menu, this is one of our favourite coffee shops in China.
~ Gout & Co ~
If you’re into exclusive coffees, this is your spot. They have the widest selection of Panama geishas we’ve ever seen. Everything roasted in-house.
Instagram: @gout_and_co
Bonus: Raindrops Café (@rain.dropscoffee on Instagram) was recommended to us multiple times but both time we tried to visit they were unfortunately closed.
SHANGHAI
~ LuckyDraw ~
This Shanghai-based roastery has a small shop close to Jing’an temple. Serving a lot of funky coffees with fermented notes, this is probably one of the most exciting specialty coffee roasters in China. They have another café on the Pudong-side of the city called LovelyThoughts.
~ Right Here Right Now ~
In a chaotic setting of coffee-bag covered walls, a variety of international and Chinese roasters are being served in this hidden coffee shop a few blocks away from West Nanjing Road station.
~ 珈琲豆专门店 ~
With coffees of varying roast levels, we had the pleasure of trying a light roasted Bolivian geisha in this specialty coffee shop in the French Concession.
HANGZHOU
~ Drippers ~
This little café, with church-like rows of wooden benches, serves the most delicious pour overs. Rotating between roasters, we had the pleasure of finding MOK Coffee (previously featured in the Bean Portal box). Drippers has additional locations in Shanghai and Tokyo.
Instragram: @drippers.hangzhou
BEIJING
~ Muse Coffee ~
In a city that could potentially be referred to as a ”coffee desert” (because of its lack of specialty coffee shops) we were lucky to find Muse Coffee. Tucked away in one of the hutong streets close to the Miaoying temple, this small and friendly café is a great place to strike up a conversation with a stranger. When we visited they served a great variety of coffees roasted by their friend in Shenzhen.
XI’AN
~ Tiny Coffee ~
Not far from Wumen gate, this coffee shop serves a variety of international roasters. On our visit we were happy to find The Barn, Five Elephant and Code Black Coffee.
Guangzhou
~ Buzz Coffee ~
Pop into Buzz Coffee and select between two espresso beans or the daily bean on aeropress. The choices are few but the coffee might be the best in the city. We tried a light roasted anaerobic natural geisha from Colombia. Roasted in house.
All of the places in this guide can be found through the app Dianping (大众点评).