Big Small Coffee: Xiang'er Hutong's Latest Boasts Spirited Baristas, Creative Coffee-Tea Combos

Most café owners insist there are only two types of people: coffee fiends and tea aficionados. But at Big Small Coffee, those frequently disparate factions can cozily coexist as one.

That's because the nookish café – which opened a few weeks ago in the Jiaodaokou adjacent Xiang'er Hutong – serves two creative beverages that will satisfy patrons of nearly every persuasation: the RMB 22 Chappuccino and the RMB 30 Chaffogato. The Chappuccino forgoes the espresso found in more typical cappuccinos, opting instead for a shot of Big Small co-founder Zhang Yipeng's own Smash a Cup rooibos tea. Roobios is a variety unique to South Africa, made from leaves of red bush plants that grow in the Western Cape Province, which are then mixed with milk and sugar.

As for Big Small's Chaffogato, you guessed it: the espresso that's usually mixed with ice cream in a cup of Italian affogato is ditched in favor of red bush tea. Such key ingredient changes make both the Chappuccino and Chaffogato caffeine free and uniquely flavorful. You won't find a cup of joe like this anywhere else in Beijing, thanks mostly to its distincly bitter flavor and its after taste that smoulders like the Sahara sun. That's because Zhang invented and patented the recipies and names of both beverages, drawing inspiration from her stints in Cape Town.

Yipeng is also selling boxes of her own caffein free Smash a Cup rooibos tea at Big Small and other venues like Gung Ho pizza, Tribe, Clark Cafe, Spoonful of Sugar and 40 other locations. Each box contains 20 teabags and costs between RMB 69-79 depending on the flavor, which include vanilla, mint and more.

Caffeine addicts can also get thier fix Big Small, thanks to the cafe's vibrantly strong espressos and Americanos (both RMB 20 per cup), cappucinnos and flat white (both RMB 22), regular affogatos (RMB 30) and more. There are also Ethiopian, Sumatra (both RMB 30) and Panama imports (the latter being priced at RMB 40).

We opted for a flat white, and while it was curiously served in a regular drinking glass, which was too hot too touch without the benefit of ceramic or a handle, we did enjoy its peppy caffeine rife flavor once it cooled. Thankfully, Big Small's baristas avoided further cafe faux pas, serving the subsequent cup of Chaffogato in a proper cup. In fact, those servers' performance was practically flawless save for that initial misstep, hustling quickly to ready each patrons' order, carefully pouring what appeared to be a "just right" amount of beans, and giving each mug a careful whif to ensure that even the aroma was on par.

That dedication is also apparent in the most crucial of all departments: the desserts. The best amongst this small range of cookies and slices of pie and cake is the pecan pie, a great enough rarity in Beijing to give most Westerners instant nostalgia. And, unlike too many of the capital's snootier cafes, this wholesome slice will remind you of visits to your grandma's. That's because the pecans have been baked so deeply into the rich filling that they crackle in your mouth with the gentlest of chomps. Another winner is the chocolate chip cookies, which may very well be too crumbly for fans of moist, chewier varities, but are undeniably delicious in their own right because of their endless chocolate chips that seem more abundant than the cookie dough itself. Those sweet treats are yet another example of this fledging cafe's creative takes on beloved traditions. Indeed, each of Big Small Coffee's patrons will be treated to both something familiar and something innovative, sometimes in the very same sip or bite.

Big Small Coffee
Daily 8am-8pm. 78 Xiang’er Hutong, Dongcheng District (136 9159 1019)
香饵胡同78号

Photos: Kyle Mullin, Big Small Coffee