Beijing Boyce

During the past few years on this blog, dozens of Beijing residents have agreed to list their five favorite places to grab a drink in the city. For a change of pace, this edition is switching from cocktails to coffee as Sarah Peel, known to many for her work with Kindermusik, tells us her top five spots to get a cup of Joe in Beijing. As the cream on top, she provides some links for those who want to get locally grown or ground coffee.

“I love everything about coffee. The smell, the taste, the feel of a hot mug in my hands, the ritual of making it, the endless varieties of pots and cups, and most importantly the kick in the pants it gives me to get through the day. At home I have no less than five different pots I use, and I keep three to four kinds of coffee in the house at all times.

“I’m not a snob about coffee. I’ll drink almost anything that purports to be coffee as long as it is not sweet. That said, the instant packet stuff is swill, and should be done away with for the good of humanity. If you’ve got a source of boiling water, you can have fresh French-pressed coffee in two minutes. But I digress…

“The one delicious form of coffee brewing I have never attempted is espresso. As far as I can tell, it’s a bit of an art to do it well. It also requires expensive equipment I’d rather rent the use of by the cup than buy outright. Since I’ve been lucky enough in my life to avoid the Barrista Rotation so far, here are some of my favourite places to grab a cup of joe around Beijing.

“Café Zarah (Gulou Dong Da Jie)

“This is the gold standard for espresso in Beijing, and my favourite cafe. The café is à la française, offering the smoothest cup, perfect milk foams and, even better, the option right there on the menu to add ice cream or Bailey’s to your coffee. Great location near the Jiaodaokou, the café is comfortable, relaxed, and populated by one of the most interesting mixes of people in Beijing.  Indoor and outdoor seating are both quite limited. Be prepared to wait for a table any time of day.

“Sculpting In Time (locations include Lido and Xueyuan Lu, opposite Beijing Normal University)

“The food at S.I.T. is rather hit or miss, and varies greatly by location, but their Illy coffee is strong and reasonably priced.  Every branch is a little different, but they all feature movie posters, wooden tables, cheerful if wildly inconsistent service, and iffy wifi connections. The location opposite Beijing Normal University is beautiful, light and airy, built into the second floor of the University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium.

“Storygarden Café (Xizhimen)

“From the outside, this seems like an odd collection of café meets library meets trinket sale. Somehow it all comes together to be a quirky little place that serves some great lattes. Known for its Saturday coffee schools, Peka Kucha-like salon offerings, and Beta Camps, this is the not-so-secret hangout of a lot of Beijing’s young social media / web 2.0 crowds. Think social justice meets the Internet for a cup of coffee. Fun staff and great cast of local characters. Bring your laptop if you want to fit in. Indoor and outdoor seating.

“Element Fresh (Lido and Saniltun locations)

“I think the coffee at Element Fresh often gets overlooked in favour of its (quite rightly) popular fresh juice, smoothies, and even cocktails.  Worth checking out the caffeinated part of the menu, especially as their organic house blend is a really decent cup of plain old North American style brewed coffee. Plus, the mug is bottomless if you get it with one of their breakfast specials, which are excellent value for money.

“As for the espresso options, they’re tasty and huge! Regular espresso-based drinks like lattes or cappuccinos have two shots, large ones have three, giving you more kick for your money. I find the milk a little sweet here (UTH perhaps?) and usually stick to the brewed coffee. Nice design even if the restaurants do get loud when they are full, and the patios at both locations are gems. Indoor and outdoor seating.

“Costa Coffee (various mall locations)

“If coffee has to be takeout, this is the place.  Their tag line is “Italian About Coffee” which I translate to mean “We serve really really good coffee and just happen to put it in a paper cup 80 percent of the time.” Sure, when it comes right down to it, Costa offers the same features of the infamous green chain from Seattle, but it’s the little things that make a huge difference. They use organic Wonder Milk rather than UTH packs, the staff appears to actually know quite a bit about coffee, and best of all, they hand deliver. Not cheap, but the quality is there.

“Parting shots:

“Best value for money on coffee is the weekday FREE bottomless cups of coffee at Ikea in Wangjing. Show your Ikea Family Card (also free), and then go to town. If this place had wifi I would never leave. Even without the card, it’s just RMB6. The coffee is passable, just like the atmosphere, and hey, the place is non-smoking!

“When all else fails, I hit Starbucks just like everybody else. I don’t really like their coffee, but it’s easy to find and very consistent. They also sell the best steel mugs anywhere. Get yourself one, then feed your addiction on the go with home brewed or decent takeout coffee.

“Local Chinese coffees are fine and sometimes even fantastic. Mostly grown in Yunnan, or roasted here using imported beans, they offer lots of tasty ways to feed your habit without shelling out for imports. Here are some to try:

• Arabica Roasters
• Uganda Crane Coffee
• Shangri-la Farms
• Jade Emu

RandomK(e)’s “Waiting” cover

Locally based band RandomK(e) recently released its first CD “Waiting” with a launch party at Mao Livehouse. According to the band’s MySpage page, “RandomK(e) was formed in 2004 and has been bringing its unlikely combination of spacey soundscapes, noise-funk-pop experimentalism and pummeling force that’s spelled R.O.C.K. to Beijing’s masses for over four years.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. Actually, I couldn’t have come up with that description if I tried. Anyway, I asked each member of the band to list his favorite drinking hole in Beijing. Here they are…

Jon Campbell (drums)

While it’s obvious because we had our CD release and fourth anniversary extravaganza there on March 21, we feel more than a lot of love for Mao Livehouse (map). Nobody will mistake it for a good place to get a drink (many tell me it is difficult, though I personally can’t complain because the bartender knows me well enough that I don’t have to even order, and sometimes, instead of giving me whiskey, he might pour a complimentary paper cup of Chinese apple cider-ish stuff masquerading as Champagne – OK, only once). So… forget your rules. I’m choosing two, one for the rock and one for the drink.

First, the rock: 2 Kolegas (map). The guys are so committed to music that how can you not revel in the love and the general vibe, despite the grime of the joint. For playing or watching music, this place rocks harder than anywhere other than Mao, even though this is rarely recognized. For almost four years they have managed to walk the fine line between eliciting the nostalgia of the so-called ‘good old days’ (when there was a small rock scene that wasn’t tainted by international media attention, where the music and venues sucked, but because it was small, everyone was happier), and bringing up the standards enough to make you believe that we’re in the good-now-days. And I haven’t even mentioned the grass area or the kebabs or the stiff drinks they pour.

Second, the drink: Jazz Ya (map). Every time I go back I catch myself not believing that they’ve been doing what they do for all these years – and are still doing it better than so many others. Sure, the Long Island is rave-worthy, but to delve into their cocktail menu is to be rewarded with well-crafted and well-presented treats. They could use a third CD for their stereo, but then again, it’s nice knowing exactly what you’re going to get, even after, what is it, 15 years?

Jackson Garland (upright bass, laptop, samples,
sounds, knobs, buttons, vox)

For music and drinks: 2 Kolegas. I second everything said earlier by Jon about the place. Yeah, it’s grimy, but so is Beijing and everything I love about it. We’ve played some great gigs there, and I’ve seen and heard some great music there, occasional sound issues not withstanding. Dos Kolegas can’t be beat for both a late-night, borderline-sloppy drunken hangout and a music venue that could be called “daring” in its embrace of live music sporting all shapes, colors, and odors. Throw in a totally surreal location and regular evenings of cerebral joy and sonic assault in the form of Yan Jun’s Waterland Kwanyin series (hosted there on most Tuesday evenings), and you’ve got a winner in my book. I dig most of the live venues in town, but I always find myself coming back to the lawn.

Richard Todd (guitar/vox)

Cafe Zarah (map). Because it has a drink called The Swimming Pool in which it is possible to become lost for days on end. And a toilet into which several peering cats watch you pee.

Adam Pillsbury (bass)

Salud (map): Friendly, festive and effortlessly cool, this is a neighborhood joint worth traveling across town to frequent. As is the case at sibling establishments Ginkgo (map) and Cafe de la Poste (map), the good vibes here originate with French manager Nico, whose smile is unperturbed by thirsty crowds or, during a RandomK(e) set, visits from the local constabulary. He and his staff have good reason to grin, for they offer arguably the best pours in Beijing – wine glasses are filled to the rim – at prices more than fair. In the afternoon and early evening, Salud’s vaguely Mediterranean design – warm woods and terracotta paint – and the semi-privacy of its second story tables make it a fine spot in which to catch up with friends or recharge after a hutong adventure. But once the sangria and house spiced rum start to flow, or when a band takes the stage, things get raucous and the party goes late, often spilling into Nanluoguxiang. Yes, Salud has become enormously popular in the past year, but the crowd it draws is invariably amicable, and it has hosted some of the most memorable gatherings this bassist has attended in Beijing.

Andy Birch aka Rh1n0t10n (video)

Underground pool halls: In the concrete rabbit warrens that exist under most of the new Beijing high risers, department stores and restaurants, can be found a thriving pool and snooker community. If you’re willing to stick with one place, eventually the staff will come to realise that beer should be served cold and they might even turn the fridge on for you. Often a quick phone call 10 minutes before arrival ensures the beer is put into the freezer and the nine ball table is dusted off.

It’ll even remind you of your favourite rock club as the hall fills up with smoke and your clothes smell like a packet of Zhongnanhai, although the TV in the corner blasting out canto pop takes a little getting used to.

If you are lucky some of these halls will serve stronger stuff – a bottle of vodka will usually be found hidden behind those red boxes of Baijou if you dig around enough. There are no queues for the pool table, the beer is cheap, and after three hours of playing pool it’s rare if you spend more than 100 kuai.

And best of all, they are open 24 hours.

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Top fives:

• Andrew Schorr & Ellis Rahhal
• Pete Demola
• Shane Crombie
• Ben Shaw
• Kaiser Kuo
• Bjorn Stabell
• Phoebe Wong
• Diane Fermin
• Badr Benjelloun
• Elisabeth Tchoudjinoff & Katrina Arndt
• Paul Adkins
• Chandler Jurinka
• Kevin Shen
• Steven Schwankert