Five Beijing Cafés Serving Good Cups of Joe

Vincent R. Vinci, Contributing Editor | Mar 18, 2024 12:18 pm | Add a comment | 1202 reads

When Beijing wakes up every morning, there are a number of certainties: the roads will be jammed, people will be packed into the subway like sardines, and there's more than one place to get one's first caffeine fix of the day – be it a good cup of joe or bad cup of joe.

We prefer the former, if we can manage it. Even though there are options a plenty for coffee in the morning or afternoon, not all of them are all that good. Thankfully, we’re privy to a few good coffee shops and espresso bars across the capital, five of which we’ve listed below that are worth going out of your way for.

798 Coffee

The folks behind 798 Arts District recently decided to go in on coffee by opening their own branded shop: 798 Coffee. It’s actually two shops, if you count the brick-and-mortar location along Qixing Lu and the smaller food trailer of sorts across from the mural near UCCA.

Along with an espresso series categorized with the area’s old factory numbers – 700, 706, 707, 718, 797, etc. – 798 Coffee offers signatures like the 1957 Industrial Gray, blended to look cement gray. Along with coffee, they've even got chocolate mousse "bricks" you can stack and build with – lending an artistic purpose to playing with your food.

798 Coffee
Near Fuxing Square, Qixing Lu, 798 Arts District
朝阳区798艺术区七星路复兴广场侧
Hours: Daily, 10am-6pm
Contact: 199 1056 8798

Fenzi Coffee

Having opened up a few years back amid the pandemic, Fenzi has quietly stood at its location on Andingmennei Dajie, all the while churning out great espresso drinks – their cappuccino is a particular standout – plus snacks like quiche. Go here for the aforementioned cappuccino paired with that quiche, or perhaps a shot or two for espresso. Bonus: Fenzi morphs into BA Bar in the evening, making it a great starting off point for a night around Andingmen.

Fenzi Coffee Shop
64 Andingmennei Dajie, Dongcheng District
东城区安定门内大街64号
Hours: 10am-6pm
Contact: 010 6406 4088

FúDou Coffee

The coffee shop and coffee bean lab (BōRêDIRPS) inspired by luck and higher wisdom – 福豆 fúdòu translates to “lucky beans”, whereas BoRe 般若 bōrě is the Buddhist concept of highest wisdom or prajna – has moved around a bit as of late. While their Xindonglu venue has sadly closed, you can still drop on down to their shop with a window on Nansanlitun Lu (pictured) or their bigger shop on Hongxia Lu for a bit of that lucky joe in cold brew, pour-over, white, or black form. Plus they’ve got cakes now too.

FúDou Coffee x BōRêDIRPS (Sanlitun branch)
77-78 Zhongfangli Xiyuan, Nansanlitun Lu
朝阳区南三里屯路中纺里西院77, 78号平房

FúDou Coffee (Hongxia Lu branch)
1 Hongxia Lu (inside Tingshuo Shabao Dabian Lu Restaurant)
朝阳区红霞路1号听说砂煲打边炉院内
Hours: Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm
Contact: 156 5227 8585; 185 1564 6511

Parallel Line Coffee

This bright and pet-friendly shop filled the void Old World Coffee left in a hutong space near Beixinqiao. Whereas the former shop was all about old toys and an “old world” feel, Parallel is minimalist, open, and covered here and there not with old tin trinkets but with photos of pets instead.

Go for their special blends of SOE beans – available pour-over or in Italian-style drinks like an Americano – and their bagels, which are homemade and speckled with black sesame seeds, lending a bit of savory to the slightly sweet snack. Plus, now the weather is getting warmer they've got a great little rooftop to enjoy your coffee on while taking in views of the hutongs below.

Parallel Line Coffee
68 Luoche Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区罗车胡同68号
Hours: Tues-Sun, 10am-8.30pm; Mon, 1.30-8.30pm
Contact: 158 1101 5867

EGG COFFEE

When this little shop popped up on our Dianping feed a while back, we had to make a beeline over there seeing as they did Italian espresso the classic way, plus all kinds of variations on espresso like shakerato, espresso con panna, and then some – all from behind a nondescript kiosk on the fourth floor of a shopping mall. Along with some bomb espresso, they also serve gelato to wake up and cool off at the same time.