Pu’er Coffee

 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...

 I first entered the world of specialty coffee around 2010. At that time, the development of specialty coffee across China was still in its infancy. Most people still viewed coffee as a “bourgeois lifestyle,” a bit of a luxury, something bitter, something you couldn’t drink without sugar... and so on. But do you know how dramatically China’s specialty coffee landscape has changed in the past 10–15 years? What happened along the way? Today, based on market reports and data I’ve reviewed, let’s take a look back together. We can begin with some tangible, quantifiable data. In the past decade, China’s coffee consumption has grown by 150% . The trade of green coffee beans has surged, with demand for imports from Brazil and Ethiopia skyrocketing. In 2023–24, Brazil’s coffee exports to China increased by 186.1% year-over-year. Domestic coffee consumption in China has been growing at an annual rate of over 15% —more than five times the 2023/24 global average reported by the Internation...

 Global food giant Nestlé is looking for buyers for its high-end coffee chain Blue Bottle Coffee, and the potential sale may be valued below the $700 million acquisition price from seven years ago. This move is not only another round of strategic “slimming” under Nestlé’s new CEO, but also exposes the core pain point of the specialty coffee industry—when the craftsmanship-driven world of “slow coffee” collides with the scale-first logic of “fast commerce,” the once-popular stories of quality are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. I. Nestlé’s “Amputation”: A Strategic Cut That Was Bound to Happen Nestlé’s consideration of selling Blue Bottle Coffee is far from a spontaneous decision; it is a key step in its systematic strategic restructuring. 1. A New CEO’s Iron-Fisted “Slimming” Since Philippe Navratil (Fei Nairui) took office, Nestlé has launched sweeping reforms: 16,000 global layoffs over the next two years—12,000 of which are white-collar positions—aiming to save 1...