Every year, quite a few new neighborhood cafés open in Hangzhou. As someone who’s constantly exploring new coffee spots, there are moments when I feel caught in the fleeting cycle of café-hopping and chasing the next “new thing.” Still, I always try to find something memorable — those subtle details that continue to shine through the ordinary. I suppose that’s become one of my deeper expectations for specialty coffee shops these days.
Today, I want to talk about a café called Endless Lamp Coffee, located at 22-1 Hefang Street in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou. It’s just a short walk from Jiangcheng Road subway station, and I happened to visit on its very first official day of business.
Before I even reached the shop, I could already see several customers gathered outside. Inside, there were opening flower arrangements sent by the owner’s friends. Even on day one, the café already carried a strong sense of community. Friends from all over had come together here, which says a lot about the owner’s personal charm. I can easily imagine this place becoming a warm neighborhood hub for nearby residents and office workers alike. To me, that community connection is the soul of a café, and the owner is often its best expression.
All of the beans served here are roasted in-house under the “Endless Lamp” label. Even during the soft opening, the coffee lineup was already impressively diverse, and sales seemed strong. The handwritten menu carried a warmth that digital displays simply can’t replicate. Holding the thick, textured paper instantly made the experience feel more personal and inviting.
The shop offers three espresso options alongside an even larger pour-over selection, with both categories receiving equal attention. Beyond the expected traditional espresso blend, there’s also a clean and straightforward Ethiopian washed SOE, as well as a more experimentally processed blend that immediately stands out from its flavor description alone. It’s clear that the bean selection was thoughtfully curated to appeal to different types of coffee drinkers.
For me, though, there wasn’t much hesitation — I naturally went with the Ethiopian washed SOE. Whether you prefer black coffee or milk-based drinks, beans like this rarely disappoint. I also liked how the menu simply categorized drinks as “black” or “white.” What made it even more interesting was the shop’s custom-designed cup size for milk drinks. Most cafés that use this menu style default to a standard latte ratio and volume, but Endless Lamp uses a cup that falls somewhere between an Australian flat white and a latte. That flexibility creates a very balanced milk coffee experience regardless of your preferred milk-to-coffee ratio.
The Ethiopian washed SOE worked beautifully as a milk drink. Visually alone, it was already incredibly pleasing. Honestly, cafés don’t always need heavy promotion. Sometimes, just posting a single photo of a beautiful milk coffee on social media is enough. Several friends immediately asked me where I got it. That alone says a lot about the quality of the presentation. Even through a screen, you could almost sense the silky texture and delicate microfoam.
Flavor-wise, it was wonderfully creamy, layered with citrus notes and hints of malt candy — a very classic Ethiopian profile overall, incredibly clean from start to finish. Coincidentally, the owner had just bought some fresh fruit and shared a small piece of pineapple with me. After finishing the milk coffee, taking a bite of sweet pineapple felt like a hidden post-credit scene at the end of a movie.
As I mentioned earlier, the pour-over selection here is equally impressive, and the pricing is remarkably approachable. Most of the beans lean toward traditional processing methods, and I was even surprised to spot a classic wet-hulled Mandheling on the menu — something I honestly haven’t seen in cafés for quite a while.
If I had to summarize my experience at Endless Lamp in one sentence, it would probably be: traditional coffee, unexpected surprises.
After some thought, I decided to order the cheapest pour-over on the menu — just 30 RMB. But affordable pricing should never make people underestimate flavor quality. In fact, when both quality and price align, it feels like a genuine win as a customer.
The coffee was an Ethiopian JERA Estate Washed 74110. I even looked up the green bean pricing online afterward: roughly 29 RMB for 200 grams, which works out to about 0.14 RMB per gram. But low green bean cost doesn’t automatically mean mediocre flavor. JERA Estate, located in Ethiopia’s Oromia coffee-growing region, benefits from an ideal microclimate and fertile environment for cultivating coffee trees. The farmers carefully harvest only ripe cherries and handle every processing step with great attention to detail.
Coffees from JERA Estate are known for their distinctive flavor profile: delicate white floral aromas, lingering sweetness across the palate, and an exceptionally soft mouthfeel. Those characteristics have become part of the estate’s signature identity.
Getting a pour-over for the price of a milk coffee already felt like incredible value. And despite being a very traditional washed coffee, the dry aroma was surprisingly sweet, filled with stone-fruit-like sweetness. The barista brewed it beautifully. From the very first sip, the acidity immediately came alive. The temperature control was spot-on, allowing the flavors to unfold with precision.
I have absolutely no resistance to coffees that open with vibrant acidity like this. It reminded me of a combination of lemon and citrus, with a slight astringency on the tongue that quickly transformed into intense salivation. Honestly… the flavor expression was fantastic.
What impressed me even more was how rounded and clean the entire cup felt. It’s exactly the kind of coffee you could keep drinking every day without ever getting tired of it. Truly excellent.