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CPC100 - Shanghai: A City with the Aroma of Coffee


02 June 2021 | By Chen Mengying, reviewed by Li Xiaoyuan | Copyedited by Xu Shijie

  • Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai

  • Starbucks Reserve Roastery Shanghai

  • Coffee Shop in Shanghai

A

s a college student from Chengdu in southwestern China, I thought coffee was just a drink to perk you up while working or studying. I’ve since learned that it’s more than just a functional beverage after I came to Shanghai. I am surprised to find that coffee culture is so distinctive here, and coffee in Shanghai is not just for refreshment, but also an important cultural token and even an essential lifestyle.

According to the “2020 International Cultural Metropolis Evaluation Report” published by the joint team of Shanghai Jiaotong University and the University of Southern California, Shanghai ranks first with 8,200 cafés among the top 50 cultural cities in the world, surpassing London, Paris, New York, Rome and other cities that have always been renowned for coffee. According to statistics by Meituan, a Chinese restaurant rating and lifestyle app company like Yelp, Shanghai has the largest number of cafés in China as of January 6, 2021, far ahead of other metropolis like Beijing and Shenzhen. It is undeniable that no city in China or even the world gives out more aroma of coffee than Shanghai.

Why is coffee so popular in Shanghai? How has it become a cultural symbol of this city? There are indeed many, many coffee shops in Shanghai, but they haven’t just emerged in recent years. In fact, Shanghainese’s affection with coffee can be traced back to 1843, when Shanghai was opened up as a port for global cargo. As a result, a large number of foreigners poured into this city and brought a new kind of drink called “嗑肥” or “Ke Fei,” the earliest translieration of “coffee” in the local language.

As part of a Westernized lifestyle, coffee was a modern fashion that only a special social class could enjoy. These people could only go to the hotels opened by foreign merchants to drink coffee. In the 1880’s Hongkou district in Shanghai, the first independent café opened. After that, the number of cafés on the streets increased sharply. Even open-air coffee stalls began to appear one after another, making coffee more affordable for ordinary people. Coffee, then, became an important drink in people’s daily life. Despite the twists and turns in modern history, the Shanghainese’s love for coffee has not been lost, and it has continued to the present.

Nowadays, for young people in the Shanghai workplace, drinking coffee is a “start of the day” ritual. People will drink a cup of coffee to start their busy working day in the morning or order a cup of coffee to stay sharp after lunch, or refresh their minds when they work overtime at night. It is common in offices that every staff has a cup of coffee next to their computers, creating a work image of “being busy and motivated.” Coffee has helped to build the unique “productive culture” of this modern international metropolis.

As I was born and grew up in Chengdu, a city famous for tea culture, I can feel the differences between the cafés in Shanghai and the tea houses in my hometown. For example, cafés in Shanghai are more like a necessity for creativity and business. At the same time, traditional tea houses in Chengdu mainly provide people with venues for leisure and entertainment. Compared with tea houses, business talks are more likely to happen in cafés. People tend to pay less attention to unnecessary greetings or show-of in cafés but focus more on instilling pragmatism and efficiency in conversations. These features and functions of cafés are in line with the characteristics of Shanghai, a city with a strong sense of rules and professionalism. I can see that people from all walks of life in this city all like to spend time in cafés. Perhaps what attracts them is not just the aroma of coffee, but the comfortable, free, and artistic cultural environment afforded by cafés, or simply because these are good places for them to temporarily put aside their busyness for a moment of peace.

Besides, the variety of coffee products also reflects the city’s openness and tolerance towards other cultures. In addition to Italian espresso and Americano, there are also Irish, Turkish, Indian, and Malaysian styles of coffee-making, and some ingenious local creation that integrates tea, milk, and soymilk with coffee. All varieties of coffee in the world meet here in Shanghai, re-combining and meshing with traditional Chinese food to breathe new life into situations.

The hybrid coffee culture in Shanghai is also another eye-catching feature. Many cafés “embed” bookstores, clothing stores, hair-styling shops, gyms, and even sneaker shops. Coffee culture is now combined with advertising, fashion, art, and sports more closely, which can help attract and retain more customers while embracing more business possibilities.

The historical coffee tradition in Shanghai has also joined international and local cultures together, by having both international chained cafés like Starbucks and Costa, and domestic brands like Luckin, Maancat, and Seesaw. These standardized chain coffee shops are very convenient and popular, as they can easily be found on the digital map. However, their lack of individuality and attractive styles has also given rise to many independent coffee shops with distinctive characteristics around the street corners of Shanghai.

Huaihai Road, West Nanjing Road, and South Shaanxi Road are the main blocks of Shanghai’s independent cafés recommended by internet influencers. They often surprise people by being so close to each other within steps’ range. Compared with the chain cafés in unified decoration styles, each independent café has its unique style in decoration, either retro in the Republic of China, European style, fresh style, or modern simplistic style. There is always one style that can match the taste of different coffee lovers.

Coffee culture in Shanghai is a way to see the human experience and art through a disciplined lens. As foreign cultures and local cultures are organically blended and burst out in more brilliant and splendid vitality, I feel and admire this city’s charm of tolerance and diversity more deeply. I realize that the many cafés in Shanghai are not only for those with a fixed agenda but also for those who freely explore and devour what interests them. Shanghai’s coffee culture is a unique culture that is distinctive from other countries. If you are a local, you will be charmed by the sense of your city’s diversity. If you are an outsider like me, you will appreciate the sense of Shanghai’s value as an international city that possesses the magic of coffee.

 

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Tel : +86 (21) 3537 2378

Email : news@shisu.edu.cn

Address :550 Dalian Road (W), Shanghai 200083, China

Further Reading