2020 Year in Review: The Cafés That Kept Beijingers Buzzin’

The 20th year of this millennium has been the longest yet, and boy are we ready to say goodbye. But hey, if we had to spend it anywhere, then Beijing ain't a half shabby place to do so. In 2020 Year in Review, we're taking a look back at all the happenings in this city that somehow managed to keep us sane while the world went crazy.

If you read our 2020 Year in Review: Restaurant blog then you’ll know that despite the trials and tribulations of the year, it was no match for Beijing’s resilient F&B scene, and the same is no less true for our coffee culture. From old brands branching out to new spots sprouting up, the city’s mugs runneth over with caffeine – not to mention a few delicious coffee-infused cocktails. From Guomao to Beilougu Xiang, here are a few of the new cafés that opened this year.

M Coffee goes a bit more bourgeois

Last year saw M Coffee take up residence in the artsy digs of Meishuguan’s 77 Culture and Creative Park where they quickly carved out a name for themselves with rare coffees like the Ugandan espresso. Well, this year they took the party to Sanlitun, setting up shop on the third floor of Nali Patio, where folks could get a taste of their small producer-sourced beans and “M naturally!” red wine. With a full menu of single-origin espressos, pour-overs, and cold brews, plus a decent selection of spirits, M Coffee Sanlitun quickly became a favored spot for sipping with a friend – morning and evening.

nugget café serves up music with a side of coffee

Already well-regarded for their DIY tape label and with a devout community in tow, Jen Rao and David Carey of nugget records went one step further in July and opened their eponymous café just east of Beilougu Xiang. Since then, they’ve served up a steady stream of coffees, cocktails, cassettes, and community-driven events such as weekly Board Game Nites, Drink & Draw, and a plethora of live shows. Nugget is a welcome, brightly lit nook perfect for kicking back with a laptop and getting some work done while sipping on a cup of beans locally roasted in Beijing, or in the summertime, a signature cold brew milk cap featuring cold brew coffee made in-house and topped with sweet cream, all while listening to an expertly curated playlist of some of China’s finest bands and musicians.

Naive Café is an aesthetic identity crisis that works

As one of the newest additions to Guomao, Naive Café embraced a boundary-crossing aesthetic utilizing textures from dark wood and white marble to concrete and decorative sculptures, altogether evoking ancient, vintage, and modern styles. But that’s just half of what made it such a hotspot for amateur coff-otographers, the other part being inventive coffee drinks and cocktails that are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the tastebuds. Some of our favorites included the Light Republic served in a stemmed glass with oat milk, tea liqueur, a dried orange slice for garnish, and a shot of espresso on the side, as well as the Young Grapefruit which was perfect during the dog days of summer with its refreshing grapefruit and white peach soda water.

Wake Up & Coffee brings a little bit of Eastern Europe to Beijing

Opening back in August, not far from nugget on Beilougu Xiang, Wake Up & Coffee staked their claim on bold beans and an affinity for Eastern European design circa 1960 and 70. With exposed wood beams in the ceiling, a wall that appears to have been haphazardly smashed in so that the seating area could be connected with the barista counter, and a fresh coat of white paint, Wake Up & Coffee straddles the line between traditional hutong, distressed warehouse, and modern art space. They also benefit from a rather extensive coffee menu, including a number of options you won’t find at many other shops nearby such as the Dirty, a shot of espresso sitting atop a thick layer of condensed milk, and their Special Plum Coffee, a refreshing cuppa mixed with a light liquor infused with homemade plums.

Peet’s Coffee lives up to its international chain expectations

In coffee juggernaut news, 2020 was the year Peet’s Coffee moved into Beijing, and specifically, Guomao’s China World Mall. Say what you will about soulless coffee husks, this particular store is well-lit and modern with a leafy green aesthetic which is complimented nicely by a bright orange espresso machine on the marble counters. Admittedly, it’s not the kind of place you should go out of your way to frequent or spend any significant amount of time in, but if you happen to find yourself at the mall and need a quick pick-me-up, you can’t do much worse. And with two kiosks serving folks who want to get in, get out, and get on with their lives, it’ll do just fine.

Agora scores big with the literary crowd

Agora was the latest addition to Beijing’s family of bookafés, setting up shop in Wangjing's B.P Maxx City mall. Rather than adopting a strategy of creative drinks (there are some pretty looking ones, though nothing that hasn’t been done before), they’ve leaned into the aesthetics of the shop. Its rooms are spacious, comfortable, and woodsy, with large-table seating for both study groups and large single chairs for a little alone time. Simply put, this is the kind of place you come to when you’re looking for comfortability over quality.

Housetop No. 9 and its stairway from heaven

Serving coffee and pecan pie by day and organic wines by night, Housetop No. 9 is another example of aesthetics being the main draw. Located in Jianwai Soho, the bar and coffee shop is defined by its modern, bright white décor that lights up as the sun shines through large windows. But after sunset, the rooms adopt the colors of the orange and red lighting – and the same goes for the subtle mural of a deep, winding passageway that makes the main room feel even larger than it already is. The real attraction, however, is the location’s beautiful spiral staircase that leads to the upstairs seating. Even if you’re not headed up there, it’s worth a gaze skyward from below.

Qing Coffee wants you to have your egg and drink it too

Opening in Sanlitun Soho, Qing Coffee features an intriguing interior – bi-colored flat stone flooring, seating in sunken walls, and a (sometimes) rotating light fixture above the bar. The menu is largely been-there-done-that, but one item did catch our eye, and that's the poached egg coffee. Complete with the likeness of a cracked egg on its surface, this cup is both chocolatey and salty. With a little bit of protein to boot, it's not a bad option for those hungover mornings.

READ: 2020 Year in Review: The Movies That Managed To Reach the Screen, but Failed To Reach Our Hearts

Images: the Beijingers, Dianping