Pu’er Coffee

 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...

 When you’re out visiting cafés, have you noticed that many of them now prefer using zhukou cups for milk-based drinks? They’re especially popular for flat whites. Whether in terms of volume or latte art control, zhukou cups just seem to work beautifully. As a result, the term “zhukou cup” has quickly become a hot search keyword in online shopping. Simply put, the defining characteristics of a zhukou cup are that it’s short, sturdy, and compact. The walls usually go straight up or taper slightly inward at the rim. Most are made of ceramic with relatively thick walls. Visually, they look squat and charming—almost like a small barrel. The walls are nearly vertical, the base is wide, and the opening is generous. These are cups you naturally cradle in your hands, and they’re essentially designed as professional vessels for showcasing milk drinks with latte art. So why is this shape such a perfect match for milk coffee? Let’s break it down. If you’re currently debating which cup to u...

 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...

 Have you noticed that friends who love black coffee always seem energetic and productive? Don’t be fooled by its dark, bitter appearance—this simple drink actually hides a number of benefits that your body will silently thank you for. 1. Boosts Antioxidant Defense and Slows Aging The term “antioxidant” might sound distant from daily life, but think of it as giving your body an internal “anti-rust treatment.” Black coffee is rich in antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acids and polyphenols. These compounds help neutralize free radicals—those pesky molecules that act like rust on metal, accelerating cell aging and increasing health risks. People who regularly drink black coffee tend to have higher antioxidant levels in their bodies. This means your cells are better protected, your skin may look healthier, and you might even have a natural glow. It’s like quietly oiling the machinery of your body. And the best part? You don’t need to overdo it—just one or two cups a day can provide...

 The vast night sky holds a secret code—and each zodiac sign carries its own personality blueprint. Hardworking Capricorns procrastinate in secret. Detail-obsessed Virgos are actually lovers of order. And seemingly aloof Scorpios? Surprisingly social. What many people don’t realize is that your zodiac sign may also determine the coffee flavor that suits you best. So grab a cup and find your destined coffee . Aquarius (Jan 21 – Feb 19): Mocha Cocoa Coffee Aquarius is the ultimate idea generator—humanitarian, freedom-loving, and allergic to routine. Drinking the same coffee every day feels like torture. A mocha cocoa coffee perfectly matches their ever-changing nature. Add sugar to the cup, pour in hot coffee, stir in chocolate and milk, then top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Sweet and bitter intertwine in layers—just like an Aquarian mind. Best enjoyed between 2:30–3:30 PM to spark creativity. Pisces (Feb 20 – Mar 20): French Milk Coffee Pisces lives between fan...

 You bought beans with a great reputation — so why does your coffee taste off when you brew it at home? Don’t blame the beans first. Most likely the problem is in the brewing steps. Drip-bag coffee looks simple — just pour boiling water, right? There’s a lot more to it. Those drips that come out creamy and smooth with bright fruit or nutty notes weren’t made by chance. Here are four of the most common brewing mistakes, each with practical fixes. Follow them and your next drip-bag brew will taste noticeably better. Mistake 1: Judging water temperature by feel? Boiling water kills the flavor Pouring boiling water straight onto the grounds is a common habit. You might think hotter water brings out more flavor, but the result is often bitter, burnt-tasting coffee that feels harsh on the throat. That’s not the beans’ fault — the high temperature is extracting the “bad” compounds. There are two key groups of compounds in coffee grounds: one group contains the aromatic and fruity/aci...

 Do you still remember CLR CFF, the colorless, crystal-clear coffee that went viral nearly a decade ago? I was lucky enough to actually try that “internet-famous” product back then. For so long, we all believed coffee could be reddish-brown, brown, or even red—but it never crossed our minds that coffee could exist as something completely transparent. When CLR CFF was first released, it immediately caught the attention of coffee lovers. It became the world’s first colorless coffee drink, and its production process was always described in a vague, mysterious way—“made with methods never used before.” It sounded almost mythical, and no one ever seemed to crack the secret behind it. Today, the brand’s social media accounts have gone silent, its official website is no longer maintained, and similar products have essentially vanished. So how did they manage to make coffee completely clear? Let’s talk about this “mysterious” technology. Simply put, the core idea is to keep the flavor and ...

 Four years is long enough for a young barista to grow from awkwardly identifying flavors on a coffee tasting wheel to being able to sense—eyes closed—the subtle pull that water temperature and grind size have on extraction. Four years is also long enough for me to witness how the gap called “understanding” between baristas and customers deepens quietly, tugged back and forth by “educating” and “being educated.” The first time a customer, with a hint of impatience, told me, “I don’t like being educated,” I was stunned—and then uncomfortably silent. And so I, along with many peers, slowly chose to “give up.” But what exactly did we give up? At first, we gave up those instinctive “knowledge points.” When a guest pointed at “Yirgacheffe” on the menu and asked, “Is it bitter?” I swallowed the familiar explanation—“It has charming citrus and jasmine notes, very clean and bright”—and simply said, “Not bitter, more on the acidic side.” When guests asked to add sugar and milk to a s...

 A new “edible coffee cup” has quietly gone viral across social platforms, becoming a must-try item for young consumers. On Xiaohongshu alone, over 38,000 users have posted about it, and total views have reached nearly 10 million—and the number keeps climbing. So, what exactly is an edible coffee cup? It’s an innovative concept emerging from the specialty-coffee scene: a cookie-like cup made from oat flour and other grains, baked into shape and coated with a layer of chocolate on the inside to prevent leakage. The cup can hold coffee for more than 30 minutes, making it fully functional while also fun and delicious. With both novelty and practicality, it perfectly hits consumers’ curiosity and has sparked a trend across multiple cities in China. ACOC Specialty Coffee in Chongqing is one of the first to ride this wave, and its signature drink, the Black Sesame Vienna , has become a viral sensation. Served in a crispy oat-cookie cup and topped with fluffy black-sesame cream, the drin...

 I’ve shared before that “black coffee” is a general term referring to any coffee made without adding anything besides coffee and water. Drinks like Americanos, pour-overs, cold brew, and drip coffee all fall under the black-coffee category. Among these, Americano and pour-over are the two most common black coffee options in cafés. Because they belong to the same category, many people can’t resist comparing them. Customers in my offline shop often bring this up as well. Usually, pour-over wins in these comparisons—and even in the famous “coffee snob hierarchy” chart circulating online, pour-over sits on a higher tier. But is that really true? Obviously not. First, there shouldn’t be a “snob hierarchy” in the first place. Second, although both drinks are black coffee, I don’t think they’re comparable at all. Their brewing methods and purposes are completely different—they’re not even on the same racetrack. So naturally, there’s no need to compare them. Many people assume pour-over...