Capital Caff: New Cafes for Autumn
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Don't talk to me until I've read Capital Caff: Your guide to the latest in coffee happenings around Beijing.
Pour a shot of espresso into a healthy dose of steamed camping equipment store, and you’ve got Lucky Trip, one of the most well-executed café concepts in central Beijing.
This shop opened in north Sanlitun in late summer, but honestly, a visit to an indoor camping-themed café seems more appropriate now that it’s becoming too cold to reasonably pack up your tent for an outdoor adventure.
Loose stones cover the majority of the flooring, atop of which sit camping equipment, lanterns, portable tables, and firewood holders – and the whole venue is spacious enough to let the theme come to life.
You can even complete your "trip" with a Camping Latte (RMB 48), which intends to be as much an experience as a product, allowing you to pour your own espresso into a camping mug filled with steamed milk. For visual effect, place it atop the faux stove, which unfortunately provides no actual heat for safety reasons.There are plenty of other things to try on the menu, including a few creative alcoholic options like the Beer Coffee (RMB 39) as well as specialty pour-over brews like the whiskey-barrel aged Honduras Godfather (RMB 50).
Even if themed experiences aren’t for you, keep this place in mind next time you go shopping for camping equipment you didn’t know you needed – the walls are lined with plenty of it!Just one corner of a wide array of camping supplies
Lucky Trip
1-001 Shoukai Bojin, Xingdong Lu
新东路三里屯首开铂郡北区1-001
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We move now to a much, much smaller café. The hutongs of Dongcheng hold plenty of this sort of tiny shop, but for the neighborhood just south of Chaoyang Park, where Jamaica Blue has been the only decent option for years, Vespa Coffee is uniquely hidden. It's so hidden, in fact, that it’s hard to imagine anyone would know it existed without the internet, as it sits in a gated alley shooting off from a hutong known for hardware shops.
Tiny as it is, it’s a fine place for a quiet conversation over a specialty brew (RMB 49) or their house blend (Americano RMB 19). We haven’t yet tried their creative options, but it’s the first time we’ve seen “tobacco coffee” on the menu, so let us know if you give that a try!
Vespa Coffee
82-2 Liulitun Dongli
六里屯东里81-2号
Bag up your Thai coffee
A new Thai beverage shop has opened up in Sanlitun Soho, and while most of the menu options are milk teas and flavored teas, by far the most popular option is the iced coffee (RMB 25). It’s markedly milky and served in a plastic bag with a straw, as are the teas.
Fun, though not too environmentally friendly
Sanlitun SOHO Building 5, B1 north exit
三里屯SOHO 5号商场b1层北出口
Burge’s brings on the caff
You may remember Burge’s Bistro from The Beijinger’s Burger Fest, and you’ve probably passed it on Sanlitun Nanlu. It’s already come to be one of the hottest spots for cocktails in the neighborhood, but recently they’ve started serving brunch, and coffee along with it. From what we tried, their methods and/or choice of product could still use a bit of tweaking – but hey, half the reason to go is for the jazzy environment anyhow.
Burge's Bistro
6 Sanlitun South Road
三里屯南路6号
READ: MORE about the banana lattes at the newly opened Taikoo Li West
Images: Joey Knotts, Dianping
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