Coffee culture week set to kick off in Shanghai

Shanghai, the city with the most coffee shops in China and possibly the world, will launch a citywide coffee promotion next week.

With the theme “Because of Coffee, So Shanghai”, Shanghai Coffee Culture Week will take place from Monday to April 11. It will feature coffee-themed plays, maps, passports and industry exhibitions.

Organized by the Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Association and the Shanghai Food Association, the two-week culture week will kick off with the opening of the Shanghai International Coffee & Food Culture Festival at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The festival, gathering 187 specialty cafe stores from across the world, will be part of the 30th Shanghai International Hospitality Equipment and Foodservice Expo, also known as HOTELEX, which will run from Monday to Thursday.

A forum on the development of the coffee industry will also be held during the festival. Six major international coffee competitions, including the China finals of the World Barista Championship and Latte Art Championship, will take place during the expo.

“Shanghai has formed a unique coffee culture,” said Wang Yayuan, deputy head of the municipality’s publicity department.

“The culture week will be dedicated to excavating the cultural connotation of coffee and bringing coffee culture into the streets of the city, to promote the quality of life and the development of cultural and creative industries.”

Zhang Xueqiang, deputy director of the Shanghai Food Association, said a range of activities will be held through to the end of this year to allow more people to experience coffee culture. They will include cafe-themed city walks in Xuhui district, a tour of the coffee street in Jing’an district, and a visit to a cafe featuring robot baristas in Changning district.

Coffee, introduced to Shanghai in the mid-19th century, has gradually been integrated into the fabric of the city and become an important part of Shanghai culture.

Shanghai is the leading city in China in terms of coffee consumption, with each resident drinking an average of around 20 cups a year, according to statistics from CBN data.

A recent survey by the China Institute for Urban Governance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University said it ranks first in the world for the number of cafes and teahouses.

It’s estimated that Shanghai is home to around 8,000 coffee shops — including more than 800 Starbucks outlets, the most in the world — with at least 6,545 listed on Meituan, one of China’s major takeout platforms. In comparison, Beijing has less than 4,000 coffee shops and Guangzhou less than 3,500.

“The growing number of coffee shops in the city is a reflection of local residents’ consumption upgrade. Unlike restaurants, a coffee shop is more for leisure,” said Lin Tung-Yuan, the winner of the first Taiwan Barista Championship in 2004, who is an adviser to Shanghai Coffee Culture Week.

He said the event will pass on and popularize coffee culture. “The culture week can let professionals pass on more knowledge and guidance about coffee to consumers,” Lin said.