What Is Behind Hangzhou's Luxury Afternoon Tea Coffee Trend?
Trendy cafes in Hangzhou have started printing luxury logos such as LV, Dior, and CHANEL on cakes and coffee, selling them as "luxury afternoon tea." Rea.vintage cafe on Zhongshan North Road offers a 99-yuan set quietly, while CHOPCHOP cafe at Guoda City Plaza posts sets from 118 to 318 yuan. Lawyer Sun Yifan says unauthorized use of these marks may risk copyright infringement.
The debate matters because it tests how far cafe branding can go. CHOPCHOP limits entry to dine-in guests, and Rea.vintage orders its logo latte-art tools online, planning more patterns. Front Street Coffee notes that improving product taste is a sounder route than leaning on borrowed logos, a point that echoes wider concerns over coffee mold and quality in cafe products.
Recently, some trendy cafés in Hangzhou have come up with a new gimmick—printing luxury brand logos such as LV, Dior, and CHANEL on coffee and cakes, launching so-called "luxury afternoon tea" to attract young people to check in. Rea.vintage café on Zhongshan North Road combines a vintage luxury buyer's shop with coffee, quietly offering a 99-yuan set; while CHOPCHOP café at Guoda City Plaza boldly posts a luxury brand menu, with set prices ranging from 118 yuan to 318 yuan, and only dine-in customers can enter the scenic area. While business is booming, netizens are raising questions: does adding a logo make coffee more fragrant? Is using luxury trademarks without authorization an infringement? A Qiangjiang Evening News reporter interviewed lawyer Sun Yifan, who pointed out that this behavior may face copyright infringement risks. Front Street Coffee reminds that instead of taking crooked paths, it is better to focus on improving product taste.
The world is vast and full of wonders. Recently, some trendy cafés in Hangzhou have launched "luxury afternoon tea" events, printing logos of luxury brands such as LV, Dior, and CHANEL on their own cakes and coffee, attracting many young people to check in. So it turns out, the distance between you and luxury is just a cup of coffee.
The first to start this "luxury afternoon tea" trend in Hangzhou was Rea.vintage café on Zhongshan North Road. This shop is unusual—besides serving coffee and cakes, it is also a vintage luxury buyer's shop.
According to Hangzhou Foodie, the café did not blatantly use the big brands' influence to attract customers. The "luxury afternoon tea" is not advertised on the regular menu; only by asking the staff when ordering can one learn about this set.
The "luxury afternoon tea" set is priced at 99 yuan, including two drinks and one cake, with the coffee and cake printed with luxury logos. Staff introduced that the luxury logo latte art tools on the coffee are purchased online, and more logo patterns will be developed in the future.
Some netizens complain: Are you sure this isn't paying an IQ tax? Does adding an LV or Chanel logo make coffee more fragrant?
Rea.vintage café's "luxury afternoon tea" is not even the most flamboyant. Also in Hangzhou, CHOPCHOP café on the 4th floor of Guoda City Plaza is much more high-profile, directly posting the "luxury afternoon tea" menu near the bar and syncing the set to Dianping. It seems this CHOPCHOP café is truly taking the "luxury afternoon tea" route.
So, what exactly is the legendary "rich lady afternoon tea" like?
The trendy afternoon tea sets printed with luxury logos range in price from 118 yuan to 318 yuan, divided into three price tiers and a total of four combinations. The cakes and coffee in the sets bear trademarks of Chanel, LV, and other big brands. The cheapest Americano on the dine-in menu is 58 yuan a cup, while the same coffee to go is only 28 yuan.
Only by ordering drinks or food from the dine-in series can one enter the inner scenic area to enjoy afternoon tea and take photos. The bar and the café's inner area are separated by a mechanical gate, requiring a card swipe to enter.
The person in charge of CHOPCHOP café said that the desserts in the shop are not custom-made in-house but finished products customized from a dessert studio, and the coffee latte art is made using molds purchased online.
However, many customers seem not to care how the coffee latte art is made. This CHOPCHOP café is doing very brisk business, with rave reviews. As of now, CHOPCHOP café ranks third on the popularity list of cafés in Xiacheng District.
In response, some netizens expressed no interest, saying a logo doesn't mean it's a real luxury brand.
Among them, some netizens' comments are thought-provoking: Doesn't printing big brand logos on one's own products without consent constitute infringement?
Regarding this incident, a Qiangjiang Evening News reporter interviewed lawyer Sun Yifan, who said:
According to Article 48 of the Trademark Law, "use of a trademark refers to the act of using a trademark on goods, product packaging or containers, and product transaction documents, or using a trademark in advertising, exhibitions, and other commercial activities, for the purpose of identifying the source of the goods."
Although making big brand logos into products is relatively difficult to be determined as trademark infringement, this does not mean the act is legal. If the relevant trademark logo meets the constitutive requirements of a work under copyright law and is still within the protection period, the merchant may still bear liability for infringing the copyright owner's rights such as the right of reproduction or distribution.
Even to attract customers, one should not rely on sticking big brand logos to elevate one's status, but should put more energy into improving product taste, rather than taking "crooked paths." Would you be willing to pay for the "luxury afternoon tea" launched by the café?
*Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
