While Sunny Days Away at Central Park's Charming Swanna Coffee
Here’s a pro tip for any stir-crazy Beijingers: one of the best spots in town to cure your cabin fever on a breezy spring day is in the CBD's Central Park. Frequently overlooked when compared to glitzy Sanlitun and Dongcheng’s distinctive (but increasingly dwindling) hutong terraces, the ring of al fresco seating on the ground floor of offices and apartments in the Central Park complex deserves more attention. The next time you’re in the area, be sure to stop by one of its prime offerings: the leafy green, specialty coffee cafe, Swanna Coffee.
Aside from its simple-yet-elegant wicker outdoor seating, the year-old CBD café also boasts a light-and-bright interior. White walls are adorned with cutesy emblems that lay out a coffee bean’s life cycle, while a map highlights the coffee capitals of the world.
Thankfully, the café’s other elements break more ground than a painted map. Among their single origin bean options: Ethiopian Sidamo (RMB 49), which is unique for Beijing compared to the usual Kenyan, Colombian, and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe varieties that are mainstays at other local cafés (all of which are also available here ranging from RMB 39-68). The Sidamo is robust, full-bodied and sweeter than your average coffee thanks to its floral aroma and low acidity. They're also qualities that make this coffee go down particularly well in the warm weather.
If you’re feeling as peckish, Swanna’s mounds of blueberry cheesecake (shaped more like cheese wheels than desserts), thick wedges of chocolate cake, and other such sweets (each priced around RMB 50) make for solid choices.
Be it the breezy ambiance, generous cakes, or niche coffees, Swanna Coffee has no shortage of strengths. While it's not in the same league as cafés like Still Waters (which has a more distinctive ambiance and a greater range of beans) or There Will Be Bread (whose baked goods are all but unrivaled), CBDers will nevertheless enjoy whiling a sunny Sunday afternoon away at this charming café.
READ: How (and Where) to Order the Perfect Cup of Coffee in Beijing
Swanna Coffee
Daily, 7.30am-8pm. 103, 1/F, Bldg 16, 6 Chaowai Street, Central Park (around the corner from Jenny Lou's), Chaoyang District (185 1089 7099)
朝阳区朝外大街6号16号楼1层103
Photos courtesy of Swanna Coffee, Kyle Mullin
