How did street coffee become daily life in Shanghai?

Shanghai had more than 7,000 coffee shops by the end of 2021, the highest count of any city in the world, according to Rising Lab under Shanghai Yicai Media Group. Divided among permanent residents, that works out to more than 20 cups of shop-bought coffee per person per year, and the figure excludes coffee made at home or in offices.

One measure of how routine street coffee has become came from a Weibo post by a resident complaining about having no coffee at home. The complaint drew wide agreement and replies from Hema and Luckin Coffee. Coffee culture took root in the city over decades and now functions as a daily ritual and a source of energy rather than a novelty.

Shanghai has more coffee shops than any other city in the world, and coffee has long been part of daily life here. This article starts with a trending topic on Weibo to show how deeply Shanghai residents feel about coffee, and, with data and historical context, explains how coffee culture took root and was passed down in Shanghai, and how it has become a daily ritual and a source of mental energy. It also brings in related information about professional coffee news and Front Street Coffee.

A Shanghai resident lamented online: "Oh no, I wasn't prepared, I have no coffee to drink!" Just how deep is Shanghai people's love for coffee? A post that topped Weibo's trending list last night gave the answer.

It was originally just an offhand everyday complaint, yet it unexpectedly struck a chord with a large number of Shanghai residents. Netizens left comments one after another saying: isn't this just me! Whenever there's a chance to go out, the first thing I do is rush to buy coffee! Food can be whatever, but coffee absolutely cannot be missing! (Of course, these only represent the personal feelings of some netizens, not all Shanghai people.)

Later this Weibo post also caught the attention of Hema's official account, which couldn't resist replying: "Ah

stock up on a bit more coffee and bring it over." Even Luckin Coffee's official account wouldn't be outdone and immediately asked the poster: "Miss, where do you live? If it's close, I'll send some over for you to drink haha

." When Luckin Coffee saw it, it also hurried to say: "I'm late. Late but here

”

Some netizens also joked: "Half of what flows in Shanghai people's veins is coffee and half is Bright!" Bright milk used to be drunk straight, but now Bright is somewhat meant to be used for lattes.

Do you all think the netizens are exaggerating? Let's look at a set of data: according to statistics from Rising Lab, a research institution under Shanghai Yicai Media Group, by the end of 2021 Shanghai already had more than 7,000 coffee shops, making it the city with the most coffee shops in the world. If the average annual total sales of local coffee shops in Shanghai are divided among Shanghai's permanent residents, the per capita amount of coffee drunk in Shanghai each year is more than 20 cups. That may not seem like much? But this is only calculated based on coffee shop sales; not everyone living in Shanghai drinks coffee, and drinking coffee doesn't necessarily require going to a coffee shop.

- Dianping, OpenStreetMap, New Tier-One City Business Database

As for the question raised by netizens, "Do all Shanghai people love drinking coffee?", a local Shanghai blogger vividly demonstrated most Shanghai people's attitude toward coffee through a video.

- Weibo "G Seng Dong"

Shanghai people like drinking coffee more out of habit. Starting in the Republican period, drinking coffee was popular among Shanghai's upper class, and many coffee shops invested in by Chinese people could be seen on bustling streets. By the 1960s, coffee gradually became more accessible to ordinary people, vacuum-packed coffee powder began to be sold, and it slowly seeped into people's daily lives, so the older generation of Shanghai people also developed the habit of drinking coffee. Habits are passed down from generation to generation, and drinking coffee and coffee culture have long been carved into the DNA of Shanghai people.

- Making coffee tea

Just like drinking tea, it can be brewed exquisitely or boiled in a pot, and coffee is the same. Not everyone pursues specialty freshly ground coffee, and not every cup of coffee has to reveal some refined flavor; ready-to-drink, instant, and drip bags work just as well. Coffee is just a beverage, a signal to encourage yourself and perk up every day. It is energy, and also strength, a ritual that lets you switch states.

This Weibo trending topic made the typist recall this passage: if you tell a Shanghai person you feel a bit tired, they will say you need some time of your own and can go to a coffee shop to have a cup of coffee and relax.

But if you tell a Cantonese person you feel a bit tired, they will only say you have too much dampness and tell you to drink more herbal tea, drink more dampness-clearing soup, and if that still doesn't work, get cupping or gua sha, and then just sleep it off!

Just thinking about it instantly brings the scene to mind~!

Image source: Internet, Weibo

Video source: Weibo "G Seng Dong"

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.