What Does the Nicholas Tse Coffee Shop Mean for Coffee?

Nicholas Tse opened a coffee shop called Chef Nic in Zhengzhou on October 9, a joint project with Xinhua Premium, a subsidiary of Xinhua News Agency. Drinks and light meals are priced between 18 and 30 yuan, and the store also sells agricultural aid products such as Yunnan Menglian coffee, Hebei Wuqiao roast chicken and Inner Mongolia oatmeal.

Visitors reported the coffee was ordinary, with bean aroma that was not prominent enough, and described the space as closer to an agricultural product experience area. Longtime fans responded by asking for more concerts instead of nationwide stores. The shop follows earlier celebrity coffee ventures, and its coffee beans origin story leans on domestic farm support rather than sourcing prestige.

Celebrities opening coffee shops across industries is no longer a novelty, but Nicholas Tse's "Chef Nic" coffee shop in Zhengzhou has taken a different route this time. Jointly created by Chef Nic and Xinhua Premium, a subsidiary of Xinhua News Agency, the store not only serves coffee and light meals but also displays agricultural aid products such as Yunnan Menglian coffee, Hebei Wuqiao roast chicken, and Inner Mongolia oatmeal, as well as intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and cultural merchandise. Fans who visited reported that the coffee was mediocre, with the bean aroma not being prominent enough, and that it leans more toward being an agricultural aid product experience space. Meanwhile, many longtime fans have been calling out: rather than opening stores nationwide, he should hurry up and hold a concert.

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According to Dahe Finance Cube news, Hong Kong artist Nicholas Tse has opened a coffee shop named "Chef Nic" in Zhengzhou, Henan.

It is understood that the food brand Chef Nic, founded by Nicholas Tse, has teamed up with Xinhua Premium under Xinhua News Agency to launch its first coffee shop in Zhengzhou on October 9. According to the menu shared by fans on social media, the store mainly offers coffee drinks and light meals, with coffee products priced between 18 yuan and 30 yuan, taking a mid-range price route.

After artists such as JJ Lin and Jay Chou successively entered the coffee track, celebrity coffee shops have become commonplace. However, fans who went to check out Nicholas Tse's store felt that it was somewhat different from other celebrity coffee shops.

They mentioned that upon entering the store, customers can not only drink coffee and eat lunch but also purchase a variety of agricultural aid products, such as coffee from Menglian, Yunnan, roast chicken from Wuqiao, Hebei, and oatmeal from Inner Mongolia. These agricultural products are also part of the raw materials used in the store's drinks and meals.

In addition, customers can purchase handicrafts made with traditional intangible cultural heritage techniques and brand cultural merchandise in the store's experience area, experiencing the richness and depth of Chinese food culture from multiple dimensions.

The report pointed out that Xinhua Premium is a "rural revitalization assistance" project under Xinhua News Agency, and "Chef Nic," founded by Nicholas Tse in 2015, has also continued to cooperate with various agricultural aid products in recent years. The two sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement as early as August 2022 to jointly create the "Xinhua Premium x Chef Nic" co-branded brand for promoting high-quality agricultural and sideline products.

However, the products of this co-branded brand were previously mainly sold through e-commerce channels, and public awareness was not high. Therefore, some users speculate that opening a coffee shop this time may be a trial run by both parties to expand offline experience scenarios, and at the same time take the opportunity to let more consumers who come attracted by the name learn about and try the store's agricultural aid products.

For this reason, some people who visited the store admitted that this store is essentially more like an agricultural aid product experience store rather than a café simply providing customers with a good cup of coffee. As for the coffee itself, it can only be considered mediocre — "the taste is a bit average, and the aroma of the beans is not very rich." Coffee enthusiasts with quality requirements who make a special trip to visit may feel disappointed.

Some netizens hold different views. They believe that precisely because the core purpose of Nicholas Tse opening a coffee shop is to aid agriculture, it gives an otherwise ordinary cup of coffee an extra layer of meaning, providing emotional value to customers who spend money in the store, and they suggest that Nicholas Tse open more such meaningful coffee shops in many places across the country.

In response, longtime fans hope that Nicholas Tse, rather than opening coffee shops nationwide, would hold a few more concerts: "Has he forgotten his main profession? Can someone call him out to hold a concert?" "I want to know when exactly he will hold a concert." Some also said that Boss Xie might as well learn from his peers — while holding concerts singing for fans , he could set up a cart near the venue to sell coffee, managing both without delay.

Image source: Internet

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