A Hidden Specialty Coffee Gem in Hangzhou | Endless Lamp Coffee Review

 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.

Parking Coffee Xiaoshan Review: A Must-Visit Specialty Café in Hangzhou

 In recent years, Xiaoshan’s neighborhood coffee scene has developed a distinctly local identity. Around Renmin Road, cafés are consistently busy, and the crowd isn’t limited to young people anymore. You’ll find a broader age range—people who seem to embody that “time-rich, financially comfortable, and quietly content” lifestyle. In a way, that mindset feels almost tangible inside Xiaoshan’s cafés.

The shop I want to talk about today is truly a calling card for Hangzhou’s coffee culture. I first visited its original location in Haier Lane back in 2022. Years later, I returned to Parking Coffee’s Xiaoshan branch, located at 135 Chenghe Street. Now that the initial hype has settled into a steady, everyday rhythm, revisiting Parking gives it an even stronger sense of being a “small but beautiful” neighborhood spot.

This visit allowed me to notice a lot of details. Let’s start with the location. Honestly, I didn’t have much expectation for this area at first. But when I arrived, I realized it sits tucked beside a relatively quiet residential alley—almost understated to the point of blending in. That sense of modesty carries into the interior as well: a clean, square layout with an extreme minimalism. Every object feels deliberately placed, restrained. And perhaps it’s precisely this sense of simplicity that makes the small space feel unexpectedly open and comfortable.

Compared to the Haier Lane location—with its slightly vintage, almost mysterious vibe—this shop is more focused, more direct. Everything revolves around coffee. It feels like a “functional space,” where conversation begins and ends with what’s in the cup. Naturally, your eyes are drawn straight to the menu by the bar when you walk in. That’s really the proper way to experience Parking.

And I have to say, the menu lineup is seriously impressive. Whether it’s the five distinct espresso options, each with its own character, or the Panama “estate selection” pour-over offerings, there’s something immediately eye-catching about it. The curation leans heavily into origin and flavor differentiation, which suggests a very intentional philosophy. After all, a café only develops real structure—and soul—when it commits to something.

Many Parking regulars love ordering their combos or signature drinks. But as someone who prefers more traditional preparations, I decided to skip the experimental side for now and focus on the espresso lineup. What really stood out is that the baristas test every bean used for the day’s service and write the extraction parameters directly on the glass at the entrance. These numbers aren’t just decorative—they represent both the rigor and the care behind the craft.

Looking at those parameters, I noticed that each espresso uses a surprisingly high dose—almost strikingly so. The extraction ratios are equally concentrated, emphasizing intensity. The baristas told me their first task every morning is dialing in each bean. While chatting at the bar, I joked that it felt a bit like selling seafood—observing daily conditions and adjusting accordingly.

For us as customers, what we perceive is consistency and layered flavor. We might summarize it simply as “excellent,” but that hardly captures the dedication behind those numbers.

Bean No. 4, an Ethiopian Hamasho natural from the Bensa region (74158 variety), felt like it was made for me. The moment I saw it, there was no way I could choose anything else. I had to start with a hot Americano. The barista mentioned that some customers have been ordering this same bean daily for over half a year—once you fall for Bensa, it’s hard to forget.

That day, they used 21.5 grams of coffee, extracted for 20 seconds, yielding 38 grams of espresso—an ultra-concentrated shot. Paired with precisely temperature-controlled hot water, it produced a beautifully balanced Americano with a light, delicate crema.

The aroma carried a vibrant, juicy apricot fragrance. On the palate, it opened with berry-like acidity—sweet, lively, and juicy—before transitioning into an extended tea-like finish, reminiscent of smooth black tea. Honestly, it drinks almost like tea itself.

The temperature control was spot-on, which matters a lot to me—overly hot coffee is a dealbreaker. They also use a thoughtfully designed cup that’s not just aesthetically pleasing but functional. Its double-rim structure enhances aroma diffusion, while the wide opening allows the coffee to spread quickly across the palate, amplifying brightness and sweetness.

For the second drink, I had to try their “Yunfeng Champion Blend.” Created by Pan Wei and Sun Lei, this espresso blend was developed through direct sourcing trips to origin and is now in its 2.0 iteration. It combines Colombian Geisha, Yunnan Typica, Ethiopian heirloom varieties, and Papua New Guinea Typica—a rather unique four-origin blend.

I chose to have it as a flat white. By default, they serve it more like a latte, so I asked for thinner microfoam. The barista was incredibly easy to communicate with—just a couple of sentences, and everything was perfectly understood. He even adjusted the cup size slightly, which worked great.

He mentioned the blend might have a subtle fermented note. The menu didn’t specify processing methods, so I hadn’t formed any expectations, but that heads-up helped. While sitting at the bar, I noticed the dry aroma during grinding—rich tropical fruit notes, quite intense but still clean. It felt more like a result of slow drying rather than heavy fermentation.

This blend used 20.5 grams, extracted for 22 seconds, yielding 38 grams—again, a bold and satisfying ratio. The flavor was fantastic: cheese biscuit, creamy cake, tropical fruit, and clean milk chocolate. It’s incredibly well-suited for milk drinks, and the sweetness of the dairy complemented the flavor intensity perfectly.

Since it’s not often I make it out to Xiaoshan, I figured I might as well keep going. My third choice was Bean No. 1, a “nutty dark roast blend” combining Mandheling, Colombia, and Kenya.

Blends with Mandheling can be tricky—the balance has to be just right to achieve both clarity and body. Here, Colombia and Kenya provide structure, brightness, and balance, while maintaining overall drinkability and consistency. The chocolate and nut notes are especially prominent, paired with a clean profile and a lovely caramel sweetness. It’s the kind of dependable, well-rounded blend that earns a permanent spot on the menu.

This one used 19.5 grams, extracted over 28 seconds, again yielding about 38 grams. Despite its depth and strength, it remains clean and layered—a solid, well-executed classic that definitely deserves recognition.

Under Coffee Review: A Hidden Gem in Hangzhou’s Growing Coffee Scene

 Even though I’ve visited over 1,300 coffee shops around the world, you know what? I still come across small places that surprise me when I slow down and pay attention to the details. That sense of discovering a hidden gem is something I truly treasure—it feels like a privilege. Boredom, to some extent, comes from predictability, but the world of coffee is vast and boundless. Along the way, this mutual exchange—between people, places, and flavors—is what keeps my curiosity alive and my sense of freshness intact.

The café I want to talk about today is one I initially slightly underestimated. But after a friend recommended it, I figured I should check it out—and I’m incredibly glad I did. It turned out to be absolutely fantastic. It’s Under Coffee, located at No. 14 Dongyuan Street, Chaoming Subdistrict, Gongshu District, Hangzhou.

By the time I visited, it was already a well-established neighborhood café with a strong base of regulars. When I stopped by on a Sunday afternoon, it quickly filled up, almost to the point of bursting. The place became lively in an instant. You could really feel how a café, in the midst of ordinary life, can be a source of light. Everyone there looked energized and full of life—proof that sometimes, a cup of coffee really can solve more than you’d expect. People were genuinely enjoying themselves, and it showed.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed Chaoming Subdistrict popping up more and more on my radar. This area seems to be quietly cultivating a distinct coffee community, with customers who have a surprisingly refined palate. That’s been my consistent impression after visiting several cafés nearby.

Under is a fully self-roasting café. The owner roasts all the beans in-house and mentioned that he sometimes roasts more than 20 different beans in a single batch. In addition to supplying his own shop, he also roasts for partners. One of the biggest advantages of a self-roasting café is the strength and diversity of its bean lineup, along with the ability to constantly introduce new offerings. That’s exactly why I’m always drawn to places like this. You can clearly feel the vitality and versatility of the shop—so much so that it’s almost impossible to define. Every visit brings something new to taste.

The menu here is equally impressive, offering up to six different espresso beans at a time, all single-origin (SOE). The owner regularly refreshes the entire lineup, so while these six beans are what I experienced, you might encounter a completely different selection when you visit. What matters is using each bean’s roast profile and flavor expression to understand the owner’s technical skill and creative intent—that’s what I was most interested in capturing during this visit.

As we all know, nearly every café—regardless of how many beans they carry—typically has a classic, traditional option with nutty and dark chocolate notes. This serves as the foundation and is usually the shop’s most popular “workhorse.” While this flavor profile is common, it requires strong performance and versatility across different drinks. That’s why these foundational beans are often blends—it’s rare to find such richness, intensity, and body in a single-origin bean.

This is where Under really stands out, along with the owner’s thoughtful approach. Instead of a blend, he uses a medium-dark roasted Costa Rican washed Caturra to deliver this classic flavor profile. At first glance, it almost feels counterintuitive. Most Costa Rican coffees are honey-processed, so finding a washed one is already quite unusual. Pair that with a medium-dark roast aimed at achieving depth and structure, and you’ve got something truly distinctive. As the shop’s “No.1 bean,” it immediately sparked my curiosity—so I chose it for a flat white.

One particularly delightful detail I noticed while watching the owner work was his “little trick” with milk. For the flat white, he uses Weiquan Full-Fat Milk 4.0 and adds about 15 grams of rice milk. It’s a subtle but clever touch. The result is a gentle boost in sweetness that complements the darker roast profile—but in a very refined way, with no sense of imbalance or intrusion.

The final cup was beautifully integrated. The first sip delivered rich chocolate and nutty notes—deep and satisfying. But what surprised me most was that, despite its intensity, the flavor didn’t transition into the usual caramel sweetness at the finish. Instead, it shifted into a remarkably clean sweetness reminiscent of cane sugar and maple syrup. It was so clean it almost felt like a break in the flavor continuum—truly fascinating.

I also ordered a hot Americano made with an anaerobic natural Bensa. Whenever I see Bensa on the menu, it’s almost an automatic choice for me—I just love it. This Americano was generous in volume and very satisfying. At the front, you get a hint of tropical fruit notes from the anaerobic process, though they’re quite subtle. Soon after, it transitions into a more classic natural profile, with bright citrus and a touch of berry-like acidity—juicy and pleasant. Through the mid to late palate, it remains consistently sweet and clean.