Pu’er Coffee

 “Coffee Tasting Banquet” is a kind of tasting experience created for coffee enthusiasts. For coffee shops, this format allows them to test market reactions and collect customer feedback through a sharing-based event. The concept itself provides an excellent setting for both tasting and discussion. At this particular event, they brought six outstanding beans from different origins. Taking advantage of this tasting session, I’d like to share some thoughts about these six coffee regions and the flavor characteristics of their beans. The first bean comes from Roble Estate in Colombia . The farm reaches elevations of up to 1,800 meters and is located in the town of Pitalito in Huila. The owner, Dionel, named this coffee sanctuary after a century-old oak tree that inspired him. The estate places great emphasis on precision throughout the processing stage. After handpicking, the cherries undergo flotation to remove defects, followed by a second manual sorting to eliminate unripe fruit. ...

 Over the past decade and more of visiting cafés, I’ve accumulated quite a large mental sample size. Along the way, I’ve noticed certain recurring patterns and regional differences. One observation stands out in particular: in most European and American cafés, there is almost always a decaf espresso bean among the regular offerings behind the bar. In contrast, it’s rare to see a café in China consistently stocking a decaf option for espresso drinks. Today, I’d like to use this contrast as a starting point to explore what drives such different market demands. In reality, the types of drinks a café offers reflect the true needs of its local community. These visible differences speak to deeper distinctions in consumption habits and cultural stages between domestic and international coffee markets. At the core of it all lies a difference in consumer awareness and demand. In mature coffee markets across Europe and North America, coffee is as routine as drinking water. Many people con...

 As an offline “third space,” a café builds a kind of invisible boundary—a bubble—through visuals, sound, taste, and atmosphere. I often feel myself pulled into a specific mood the moment I lay eyes on a café. It’s a strange but intimate connection I have with these places. Today’s café is a bit special: STEAM ESPRESSO , located at No. 67 Huilong Temple Front, Chaoming Subdistrict, Gongshu District, Hangzhou. I call it special because, honestly, it doesn’t feel very Hangzhou at first glance—haha. The storefront is narrow, but the interior stretches deep inside. There’s a generous semi-outdoor seating area up front that feels relaxed and unrestrained. Step inside and you’re hit with a full-on concrete industrial aesthetic, paired with wild, untamed music. The whole thing leans heavily into a steampunk vibe—well, the name is “Steam,” after all… so that tracks. Orders are placed by scanning a QR code at the bar. Besides the house “Steam Blend,” the menu offers six different SOE (S...

 When we order coffee in cafés, it’s common to see certain drinks on the menu offered in “large” and “small” sizes (and let’s not bring up that brand that contradicts itself). But in reality, most espresso-based drinks already come with a naturally fixed serving size by design. Those so-called size options are often nothing more than a blunt, convenience-driven modification for consumption scenarios. I’ve long felt that cafés perhaps shouldn’t think in terms of “large” or “small” at all, but rather in terms of purpose-specific coffee cups . Today, I want to talk about where this idea comes from. This isn’t the first time I’ve thought seriously about this topic. Early last year, when a certain brand launched an 8-ounce cortado, it sparked plenty of discussion within the industry. In the world of specialty coffee, the idea of using a purpose-designed cup for each drink reflects a deep respect for coffee culture and the consumer experience. It shifts thinking away from the purely pr...

 When people order espresso-based drinks at cafés—especially milk drinks topped with beautiful latte art—it almost always brings a small moment of joy. The unspoken rule of “let the phone take the first sip” naturally kicks in, and a photo is taken before anything else. Sometimes, the visual impact of latte art even outweighs the actual flavor experience of the coffee. And although I personally care more about taste, I have to admit that when a cup comes with an intricate, well-balanced, and beautifully integrated design, it still makes me genuinely excited and pleasantly surprised. So this raises an interesting question: how did latte art, built on espresso, start becoming popular in the first place? Today, let’s take some time to talk about that. I did quite a bit of research online, and to be honest, there doesn’t seem to be a single, definitive historical account. However, its development can generally be traced back to the second half of the 20th century. Espresso machines w...

 Perhaps it was my off-season, three-day leisurely trip to Qiandao Lake that sparked these reflections. In a place so heavily dependent on tourism—one that essentially “works for half the year and rests for the other half”—the quiet of the low season leaves plenty of room to think. Even before I arrived, one question kept bothering me: why is it so hard to find a café around the entire Qiandao Lake area that genuinely cares about quality and tries to build a specialty coffee community? Beyond the obvious issue of young people leaving the area, the more fundamental reason lies in the nature of the place itself. Qiandao Lake is a nationally rated 5A scenic destination, famous for its natural landscapes. Along roads like “Sunshine Road,” what you mostly see are scenic attractions and hotels. Why is it that scenic areas in China usually don’t have good coffee? This isn’t just a personal bias—it’s a fairly common and accurate observation. In most tourist areas, it’s genuinely difficult...

 If you enjoy café hopping, you’ve probably noticed this: when you order a coffee—whether it’s espresso-based or pour-over—the barista often serves it with a small card. This card usually lists details such as the coffee’s origin, processing method, varietal, roast level, and even the story behind the region. It’s almost like an “ID card” for the coffee bean, giving you a clearer picture of what you’re actually drinking. Sometimes, when I’m sitting in a café, I pay attention to whether other guests read these cards—or whether they take them with them when they leave. Unfortunately, most of the time, people barely notice them. Some glance at them briefly and then set them aside; almost no one takes them home. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit of an “origin nerd,” but I always want to learn as much as possible about the coffee in my cup. Occasionally, some cafés—especially when it comes to espresso—don’t disclose much information. In those cases, I’ll taste the coffee first, form my own ...

 Coffee has long been one of the most important threads running through European history. But what many people don’t realize is that coffee also has its own “dark history.” When coffee first arrived in Europe in the late 16th century, it immediately raised alarm within the Christian church. This black beverage from the “infidel” Muslim world was once condemned as “the devil’s drink.” By the 18th century, this suspicion was still very much alive in Sweden. King Gustav III firmly believed that coffee was harmful to the human body and regarded it as a kind of poison. In order to prove coffee’s dangers, he organized what would later become one of the most infamous human experiments in coffee history. Although the scientific validity of this experiment is highly questionable by modern standards, it nevertheless revealed something remarkable: as early as the 18th century, humans had already discovered that coffee was, in fact, non-toxic. To understand this story, we first need some histo...