Best Coffee Shops of Beijing - 2023
In 2016 I wrote an article for Caffeine Magazine in the UK documenting the best independent coffee stores in Beijing. At the time, third-wave coffee was just beginning in China. A good brew was incredibly rare; instead, most coffee shops around the city were big brands like Maan Coffee, Bunny Drop, Pacific and Starbucks. Around the universities of Peking and Qinghua were giant coffee spaces perfect for studying, packed with students nursing a three-hour old late with Robusta espresso so burnt it tasted like an ashtray.
Voyage had one tiny location in the living room of an apartment down an unpaved alley of 798 Art District and Soloist’s only location was in the heart of a Qianmen hutong. Both were day trips from my apartment in Liudaokou, an area in the north with no subway at the time. Metal Hands, SeeSaw, Manner and the oh-so-trendy Arabica (known as %) would all come later, symbolising a shift in coffee habits.
My article listed five coffee shops: the aforementioned Voyage and Soloist as well as Living Room Coffee (near Qianmen) Real Coffee (near Gulou) and Barista (on Wudaoying). The latter three no longer exist. Indeed, other places I enjoyed have come and gone over the years. Soloist expanded across the city, but has since shrunk back down to a few locations, Metal Hands left Wudaoying and Manner seemed to be everywhere for a while.
Beijing in 2023 is a much better city for coffee. I can chose to be a lot more picky. Re-evaluating my list with the eyes of 2023, I want more from a coffee shop now: of course great coffee, but also an environment that’s relaxing to read a book in, comfortable enough for a bit of laptop work, and relatively convenient to get to (there are some great places on the outskirts of the city). And so my list of favourite places for 2023 are:
Tian Roast
Tian Roast (798 Art District) - My little secret. Tian Roast is easily my favourite coffee in Beijing - their beans are always in my grinder at home. I love their Single Origin Estate (S.O.E.) coffees, especially their Columbian Huila. When dropped into a flat white, it’s got powerful notes of mango, tangerine and chocolate. If they sorted out their WiFi, I’d work from there space far more often.
BigSmall
BigSmall (Liangmaqiao) - A tiny space attached to a French bakery. Their coffee is lovely, and sitting outside here is as close as one can get to a European al fresco experience in Beijing. It attracts a nice crowd of bikers, readers and quiet families that turn up for the space, not for Xiaohongshu photos.
SOAP
SOAP (Jiangtai) - Talking of that Little Red Book, I do like SOAP; it’s a well-designed space with great coffee, but on the weekends it gets swamped by xiaohongshu girls taking pictures of every little thing. But I can’t hold that against the coffee shop - they’re coffee, as well as their cups, are lovely.
Voyage
Voyage (Beilouguxiang / Nanlouguxiang) - Voyage remains on the list, although not the same venue. Their 798 venue moved quite some time ago to a much bigger space that’s not comfortable enough to spend much time. Their Beilouguxiang and Nanlouguxiang locations are both minimalist and beautiful. All venues have great, well-sourced coffee that is up there with the best of them.
Still Water
Still Water (Gulou) - Surely one of the most beautiful entrances to a coffee shop in the world. Walking into the traditional courtyard of Still Water, you enter a special space that feels meditative. The inside is small but furnished in calm earth colours, handmade mugs that are a pleasure to hold and and a quiet little roof terrace perfect for those cooler months.
