Coffee paired with Shanghai proverbs stands out at this year’s CIIE
Xi ā Z ā (獬豸) solar-term drip bag coffee, made by a Minhang coffee baking factory, has been named a “2022 Shanghai Gift.” It made its debut at the 5th China International Import Expo under the intangible cultural heritage food category.
Xiā Zā, a Chinese mythical creature noted for its wisdom, is a part of folk culture IP in Pujiang Town of Minhang District. Xiā Zā is the pronunciation of Pujiang dialect.
In July the town cooperated with the Sixth Roastery to develop the Xiā Zā solar-term drip bag coffee, noted for its prints of solar terms, related to Shanghai proverbs.
A customer can scan a QR code on the package and listen to the pronunciation and explanation of the local proverbs on their phone.
Such proverbs include “The Beginning of Autumn won’t give a cold autumn wind with one month of scorching days ahead,” “Winter Solstice marks a new cycle of surplus” and “Summer Solstice marks a new cycle of diminishing.”
Shanghai proverbs are a traditional part of Shanghai folk literature. In May 2011 they were listed as a part of the national intangible cultural heritage.
The proverbs, with their unchanged language and diverse figures of speech, portrayed either a life of farming or a town life in Shanghai hundreds of years ago. They are full of life wisdom and universal knowledge that had been accumulated by generations of Shanghai people.
The gift box of the Xiā Zā coffee is paved with a layer of gilded paper that both highlights Chinese culture and presents an antiquelike aesthetic. Four different kinds of coffee are selected to match the solar term proverbs.
“The spring package is matched with Ethiopian coffee with a floral aroma, the summer package with lemon-scented Ethiopian coffee, the autumn package with chocolateflavored Colombian coffee, and the winter package with coffee from Baoshan in China’s Yunnan Province, noted for its wine flavor,” said Qiu Tao, a manager with Shanghai Kuirun Industrial Co.
“For the next step we’ll further improve our coffee gift package, make some derivative products, and help our Xiā Zā IP to achieve more cultural and commercial value,” Qiu added.