STiR coffee and tea magazine

58 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 5, 2017 (October / November) ikastone coffee officially opened its doors in March 2017. STiR visited in August. The shop features a Nordic minimalistic design with a large open skylight that infuses this building (two stories and a loft) of over 3,000 square feet space, rendering it a contempo- rary gallery. It is a perfect location to hone one's coffee skills. It is so genuine and paradoxically intimate in such a minimalistic space. Visitors are wel- comed to an introvert's workspace by Johnny Zhang manager/coffee master, who speaks without reservation. It is as if we have been longtime friends. Sikastone is a coffee school, certified by Specialty Coffee Association. Staff offer monthly courses on foundation and taster, roaster, barista specialization. Striving to excel on training, Si- kastone has invested in professional machines from top brands such as La Marzocco, La Cimbali, Nuova Simonelli, Rancilio, Mahlkönig, and Mazzer. Zhang is a Q-Grader, one of a handful of Chinese among the 4,000 coffee professionals worldwide who hold a Coffee Quality Institute certificate. He shared his insights on coffee growth in China and Chinese coffee consumers. "Coffee growth [in China] was 20% last year," he says. "Compared to Europe and America, China is such a winner. Big coffee companies have already made their moves to invest more in China." He chatted about Yunnan Arabica and the growth of China's specialty coffee culture. Specialty coffee is far from a 'wavy' movement yet, said Zhang. "We are barely making any splashes, that is, we are very, very early on." This is different from how Yang describes the mar- ket. "There is a lot of people coming in asking for drip coffee, and already knowledgeable or at least very comfortable to try," Yang said. During the interview, Zhang made one Yirgacheffe and a Guatemala coffee from beans freshly roasted in-house three hours prior. From the fluidity of his movement you see someone who has put his heart into cultivating his skills, "gongfu" style. Zhang is very into his art, and also very open at the same time about sharing his passion.The school, and its floral training center across the street, where you can also grab a cup of coffee, has prospered in such good hands. Location: Qikeshu Innovation park C2-2, NO.55 Banjieta Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 北京市朝阳区酒仙桥半截塔路55号七棵树创意园C2-2 Learn more: coffee.sikastone.com Sikastone Coffee Contemporary Coffee Scene Beijing is an anomaly for any type of busi- ness, observes Johnny Zhang, manager at Sikastone Coffee. The city is big enough for any business to establish itself, but it takes spectacular talent to withstand time. "The city washes away startups with the tide," he says. For the past two years, Korean franchises such as Coffee Bene aggressively pursued the market and eventually died out. That has not dampened investors. See- saw and Manner, two high-end specialty cof- fee franchises from Shanghai, are rumored to soon open cafés in Wangfujing, near the heart of Beijing's in one of the more densely populated business districts. San Francisco-based Blue Bottle chose to open its first Chinese location in Shanghai. "I myself am curious where they will put their money into," observes Yang at Me & Temple of Earth cafe. "There aren't many ar- eas for newcomers to splurge extravagantly [in building a café]. With a decent budget, you could buy expensive espresso machines and hire award-winning coffee experts to train your staff, but cash flow is highly un- likely to justify the investment anytime soon. Also, baristas don't yet have the experience to justify the investment," she says. Rent is a concern for specialty coffee stores in Beijing. Commercial real estate is very expensive. Managers at both Si- kastone and Me & Temple of Earth enjoy less stress on the rent because they are co-located with established businesses. Sikastone is better established and more lucrative. Yang said that of the first round of independent cafes, which were established around 2014, all but one lost money. It will take time for the general public to appreciate specialty coffee, providing the financial rewards that will motivate coffee shop owners. Sikastone invested heavily in equip- ment to position themselves as the most professional coffee training center in China. But at both Me & Temple of Earth and Si- kastone, customers are only willing to pay a little more for a cup or a lesson. Their ability to taste the subtle differences in origin and brewing methods simply hasn't developed to the highest levels of sophistication. - Si Chen Photos by Xu Zhang Stairs lead to a loft and an additional classroom. The stairs are artfully designed to serve as as a mini-theater. Presentations are projected on the wall. S

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