Coffee Craft Offers Artisan Beans and a Space for Artists
Beijing's café scene is quickly becoming crowded, with Big Small making a huge splash in the hutongs earlier this summer, Basic becoming a standout in CBD, while Yu and Soloist opened cafes in Sanlitun in recent weeks.
Out of that bunch, Soloist is arguably the capital's catalyst for that coffee craze, ever since it opened its first authentically artisan café in Dashilar a few years back It made another forward looking move by opening a branch in Beijing's relatively quiet Financial District earlier this year, but now Soloist has some pretty stiff competition not that far away, courtesy of the burgeoning been purveyor Coffee Craft.
While the similarities between Craft (which opened this past July) and its ever growing list of competitors is obvious, there are a few welcome features that set it apart. Sure, it sells the sorts of Kenyan (RMB 40), Yirgacheffe (RMB 40) and Panamanian coffees that are now standard at many such cafés (though its RMB 45 Guatemalan variety is a tasty, less common option).
But aside from the beans, this café's atmosphere is quite removed from that of many of its competitors. It forgoes Soloist's steam punk-ish vibe or the stark minimalism of several new-ish hutong cafés (we're looking at you, The Corner and Analogue) in favor of an airy interior that leaves plenty of space for artists to place their works on the walls, and for performers to show off their skills. A Christmas Eve Shakespearean sonnet recital was a big hit with the venue's regulars, while a performance by the Austrian jazz troop Tuesday Microgooves (which stopped by the cafe before their performance at DDC) was equally well received. The owners say they'll exhibit new paintings and other pieces on the walls every month or so, and host an ever-growing roster of performers.
These elements make Coffee Craft an excellent place to both perk up and appreciate art, and it looks like Xicheng's creative types and coffee lovers will be grateful to not have to go to Gulou or Sanlitun to get their fix.
Coffee Craft
Daily 9am-9pm. Bldg 2, Changhe Wanxiao Qu, 59 Gaoliangqiao Tiejie, Xizhimen Shang Quan, Haidian District (6219 8819)
北京市海淀区西直门商圈高梁桥斜街59号长河湾小区2号楼底商
Photos courtesy of Coffee Craft
