Shanghai coffee: Bin that instant rubbish, these pours are the real deal

Cafe culture first took root in Shanghai in the 1930s.

Today, Shanghai coffee is a booming business, from the rapid spread of international chains (throw a stone and you'll hit a Starbucks) to the emergence of character-driven neighborhood nooks.

"More and more people are heading to retail coffee venues for more than an instant powder," says Daniel Prunty, general manger of Gloria Jean's, the newest chain to hit the Shanghai coffee market.

With all of these options, some are bound to be the real deal while others no better than the powdered, instant stuff. We sought out the cafes that are taking exceptional, even experimental approaches to brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Call it Shanghai coffee artisanal style. We’re way beyond Nescafe now.

Inside this miniature cafe, among cluttered shelves of books and crafts, owner Ma Zhong Ming is brewing ice coffee, slowly. Very slowly.

"I think doing something slowly is very interesting," Ma says. "It’s like self-cultivation."

He fills the top of an hourglass-like contraption, reminiscent of a science set, with ice, which drips drop by icy drop, onto a mountain of freshly-ground beans and the cloth filter below.

Ma starts the process at the beginning of his shift, and concludes eight hours later when he leaves. By Shanghai standards, from the outside the coffee here may seem a little steep (RMB 68 for a single and RMB 108 for a double) but considering the labor involved, we call it a bargain.

After all that work, the actual coffee better taste good.

And it does. The taste itself is potent and smooth, clean and refreshing with none of the bitterness or sour coffee aftertaste. Delicious. Worthy the price? That’s between you and your taste buds. But we definitely rate it.

Taka Niuya exchanged a life of semiconductor work in Japan for roasting coffee beans in Shanghai.

In his tiny, lacquered wooden shop in Taikang Lu, Niuya roasts the best beans from Hawaii to Ethiopia. He picks out the bad ones by hand, and makes sure the roasted beans are used within two weeks to optimize freshness -- and to keep us returning, cup in hand.

This coffee aficionado is so crazy about the taste of his coffee that he crafted his own mugs. Seriously. The ceramic cups’ varying angled brims allow the coffee to target certain parts of the tongue and the corresponding taste buds. We expected nothing less from a former engineer.

Of the three cup sampler (RMB 108), I liked the rich and smooth mocha Ethiopian, a refined cup with a subtle sweet note.

As we walked up to the third floor of an apartment complex, the only hint of a cafe around us was a wooden door plaque, in the shape of a cat’s head. Sneaky. Inside, we was still a bit unsure if we accidentally walked into someone’s living room, family cats and all.

Adorable pets aside, we picked this cafe for the siphon-style of coffee making.

Barista Houlian Huang, who trained in a Beijing coffee academy, expertly lights a flame under the glass apparatus. As we wait for the water to boil, he tells me that the cafe’s owner Li Peipei picked this style of brewing since its "pure extraction method is a favorite among coffee lovers."

The "vacpots", as they’re nicknamed, use all kinds of gravity-defying principles to infuse the water with coffee grounds, then use suction to completely filter it, leaving a clean cup of coffee in its wake.

Their coffee ends up without out any bitterness, letting the bean’s flavor emerge. But, at the end of the day, it’s not just about the coffee here.

Graphic designer Kuan Luo tells me she comes for the cozy atmosphere.

"Young people are not only looking for good coffee, but also a unique environment," says Kuan Luo. "Coffee culture is growing in China -- there are so many interesting places."

getting there

Gloria Jean's
1/F, Hong Kong New World Tower, 300 Huaihai Lu, near Huangpi Nan Lu 淮海中路300号香港新世界大厦1楼, 近黄陂南路
1/F, Channel One, 155 Changshou Lu, near Shaanxi Bei Lu 长寿路155号调频壹广场1楼, 近陕西北路

Easo Cafe
32 Xiangshan Lu, near Ruijin Er Lu 香山路32号, 近瑞金二路, tel +86 21 5306 8026

Cafe Dan
No. 41, Lane 248 Taikang Lu, near Sinan Lu 泰康路248弄41号, 近思南路. tel +86 21 6466 1042
www.idancoffee.com

Cat & Jazz Coffee
Rm. 301, No. 3, Lane 79 Ronghua Dong Lu, near Gubei Lu 荣华东道79弄3号301 (马赛花园), 近古北路, tel +86 21 6278 6377
www.cj-coffee.com