And as the cafes increase, so does the appetite for experimentation.
The coffee converts of this tea-drinking giant are keen to try new flavours and new brews.
Yuan Jingfeng, who runs the R1070 café, says all his beans come from Japan.
“My costs are very very high. My imported beans include American and Italian styles which are all imported from Japan in their original packaging,” he says.
“Wholesale prices have gone up dramatically over the past few years. The wars in Yemen and Ethiopia have both had an impact. The good beans are getting fewer while the number of coffee drinkers keeps increasing.”
But, so far, he says he has resisted passing on the increased costs to his growing base of coffee drinkers.
AC café is owned by deaf people and employs deaf baristas.
Yang Yanfang – who interprets at AC for those who can’t speak with their hands – says that, after the pandemic, “friends are really keen to meet up for a coffee or a drink and Shanghai has become a city with a really strong coffee culture.”
“I can skip meals, but I can’t skip my coffee,” she adds.
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