Capital Caff: A Cup of Sea Salt Cheese Coffee at M Stand

Ana Padilla Fornieles | Mar 7, 2022 9:30 am | Add a comment | 329 reads

Don't talk to me until I've read Capital Caff: Your guide to the latest in coffee happenings around Beijing.

How is your Monday thus far on the Monday Scale? I’ll go first. Judging by the day so far, my Monday is the Monday-est that ever Monday-ed. It's Monday-ing hard. If Mondays competed in a contest for Most Monday-ish Monday, this Monday is showing signs that it could sweep the podium.

You get me? Surely you do.

Ahem. No better cure for the Monday blues than chasing yet another coffee trend. Also, sharing is caring, so here I am, sharing my review for our Capital Caff series. You’re welcome and let’s jump right in!

This time, I set my caffeine-fuelled heart on … sea salt cheese coffee! Wow, did this trigger some memories of a long gone past! One in which we all lost our marbles for cheese foam tea. At first glance, the Internet traces this trend back to around 2018. Then again, my brain has conveniently processed the timeline of the Before World into a blurred daze. It could have been four or four thousand years ago that I grimaced with cheese foam tea. Fast forward to 2022. Would sea salt cheese coffee elicit the same response from me?

Only one way to find out. Dun dun dunnnnn.

For the time being, the most remarkable spot where you can dip your tongue (ew, no, not your toes) into this cheesy beverage is none other than M Stand. Luckily for you, they have several branches throughout Beijing. For the sake of convenience, I dived into the financial heart of the city, aka Beijing CBD, and went to the store located at the CP Center.

O, dear reader, what high winds I braved on my way there from Jintaixizhao subway station. The things I do for coffee! If you go to this branch, be aware that CP Center is to be accessed through what looks like a makeshift box of mechanic stairs and Health Kit checkpoints that were otherwise deserted.

Once you’re there, M Stand is easy to find on the second floor of the mall. Bright lights, a black and white palette and not a whole lot of square meters mean it’s a good thing the place was quiet by this time of the evening. Don’t let the rest of the menu distract you (or do — they've also got the cookie cup latte!) and order the 海盐芝士黑咖 hǎiyán zhīshì hēikā, aka Seasalt Cheese Black Coffee. I got mine cold and in the standard size (and also managed to knock the price down from RMB 38 to RMB 33.44 just by getting a free membership). They did say too much ice would water it down, so I paid heed to their advice.

Time for the taste report! Look, my lead found the drink fairly unpalatable and my taste buds were weighed down by past cheese tea induced trauma. Basically, I was predisposed to yeet the cup and declare my Monday irrevocably ruined. Well, what a pleasant surprise — I actually did like M Stand’s sea salt cheese coffee.

I think the whole cheese foam concept just works much better with the Americano. Also, “sea salt cheese” here mostly amounted to a thick, creamy layer that obviously tasted of dairy but was not sweet. Once I mixed it in the Americano, the result is best described as a rich, full-bodied latte. Also, the waiter was an absolute sweetheart. The perfect mix of chatty and friendly, and perhaps a bit underwhelmed by his own Monday too, he kept me company while I enjoyed my coffee.

Try my antidote against the grumps on any given work day. It might just happen that the day is still salvageable. All you probably need is a little coffee, a little patience, and a little kindness.