Start Your Day With Coffee Cuore's Cozy Cups on Liangma River

What gets you walking into a café? Your straight-up addiction to caffeine? The welcoming service of your favorite barista? The comfortable atmosphere? Or the delicious pastries to go with your cup of joe? Whatever your poison, Coffee Cuore has it all. The Liangma River area has been gaining traction, with Fiume, Liangshi Brewing (formerly River Homebrewing & Steak), the new BK’S Tavern, the new Lievito Gourmet pizzeria, and Japanese restaurant Qingjiu. With the addition of Coffee Cuore, we could spend an entire day up here, eating and drinking from morning till night.

All along the path that follows the Liangma River, you'll see staircases leading up into the cozy riverside eateries and cafés. Climbing up to Coffee Cuore, you'll be welcomed with warm greetings from the staff. There are about six small tables for two to four people, and a large table for groups in the brightly lit room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the tree-lined river. There are charming flowers on each table, and the counter to the right is home to a luxurious Ditting coffee grinder and a La Marzocco espresso machine – proof of how seriously the owners take their coffee. Like most of the cafes in Beijing, they provide blend coffee, specialty coffee, and tea. They also serve lunch sets all day for RMB 58-68, with a baguette sandwich and Americano, tuna bagel and black tea latte, tofu sandwich and tea, ciabatta with sausage and coffee, or a pasta dish and an Americano.

We opted for the “baguette sandwich” with “baby latte” (RMB 64), which were both served promptly. The “baguette sandwich” is more like a Vietnamese banh mi, and even the minuscule side salad aside had a careful dash of vinaigrette and shredded cheese. The bread was flaky and crisp, and each bite was packed with juicy chicken, avocado, cherry tomato, arugula, bacon, and pesto sauce. The “baby latte” is actually a rooibos tea latte with honey, with a complex and rich flavor.

The giant wall of windows makes the space a little chilly in the winter months, but Cuore is one step ahead of you: you'll find Kumamon (くまモン), the huge, cuddly mascot bear representing Kumamoto, Japan, sitting by the window to warm your heart. If that's not enough, they also provide blankets on a nearby shelf to wrap up in while you enjoy a hot meal or a hot mug of whatever your heart desires.

The shelf of bread is perfect for people dashing in and out

This café is a relaxing place for people to lounge in all day, and doesn’t get noisy and crowded during the lunch peak. If you want to use the loo, though, you have to leave the warmth and comfort of the café, find the elevator and use the one upstairs. There’s also a shelf filled with homemade pastries that we'd like to try next time. Each has a list of the ingredients and are quite popular with customers, thanks to the pastry chefs who formerly worked at Zeroll and the yeast they cultivated for nearly 20 years. Best yet: Cuore opens at 7.30am on weekdays, making it a great place to start your day on the way to the office.

Coffee Cuore
Mon-Fri 7.30am-9pm, Sat-Sun 9am-9pm. 101, FX Hotel, 39 Maizidian Xijie, Chaoyang District (8599 2521)
初心咖啡馆：朝阳区麦子店西街39号富驿时尚酒店101

Photos: Tracy Wang

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