Beijing, 4 April (ZXS) -- How are Eastern and Western drinks intertwined in China?
——Interview with Associate Professor of College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University
Written by Sun Gengting Yang Chengchen
After many years of introduction to China from the West, coffee has changed from a rare and unique imported product to a consumer product for the public, and a unique coffee culture has been formed in China. Recently, Lao Fei, associate professor of the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University and an expert in coffee product research and development, was interviewed by the "East-West Question" of China News Agency, explaining the evolution of coffee culture in China and discussing the integration and mutual learning between the Eastern and Western cultures represented by tea and coffee.
The 260th Lujiazui Financial City International Coffee Culture Festival attracted coffee lovers, and about <> coffee brands made a collective appearance. Photo by Tang Yanjun
The following is a summary of the interview:
China News Agency: What role does coffee culture play in interpersonal communication?
Laufei: The popularity of coffee around the world is inseparable from its unique flavor and buffering role in cultural exchange.
As a place that integrates functions such as eating, salon and performance, the café provides a public space for communication, which is not only casual and relaxing, but also reflects respect and equality in terms of seating arrangement.
In cultural exchanges, coffee has gradually become a symbol carrying the connotation of unrestrained freedom, simplicity and casualness, fast and convenient, and tasting coffee has also promoted closer contact between people. With the popularity of coffee around the world, it carries the connotation of Western culture while fully integrating local characteristics.
Tourists relax at an outdoor café in Beijing's Shicha Seaview Area. Photo by Tian Yuhao
China News Agency: As an imported product, why did coffee form its own coffee culture in China?
Laufei: When coffee was introduced to China, it first appeared in Shanghai as a representative of a Westernized, fashionable, elegant and sophisticated lifestyle. At that time, some groups pursued Western fashion culture as a trend, promoting the gradual spread of coffee culture in China.
In addition to coffee itself, cafes provide a public space for urban thinking collision, which often revolves around the target consumer group, closely combines the image of coffee with a specific lifestyle through decoration, and creates emotional resonance, identity and value identity, and coffee culture has emerged in these exchange and collision scenes. In addition, the pace of life in today's society is accelerating, and due to the need for efficient focus, some groups may have a physical or psychological dependence on coffee that can quickly refresh the mind, and the habit of drinking coffee has also spawned the development of coffee culture.
A trendy coffee shop in Wangfujing, Beijing. Photo by Hu Qingming
China News Agency: What are the characteristics of China's coffee culture?
Laufei: Although the history of coffee in China is not very long, China's coffee culture has quite a distinct era and cultural imprint.
When coffee was introduced to China at the end of the 19th century, drinking coffee was still a way to highlight identity and status, and coffee was a symbol of class and identity. Since the reform and opening up, coffee as a typical representative of "imported culture" has gradually been closely associated with tasteful, light luxury, foreign style, fashionable lifestyle, with the arrival of international coffee giants, Chinese's understanding of coffee has gradually deepened, and the attributes of coffee as a hobby drink have gradually been recognized. After the 21st century, with the upgrading of consumption and the rise of China's local coffee brands, drinking coffee has gradually become daily among the mainstream consumer groups of young and middle-aged people, and the cultural self-confidence of Chinese gradually plumped has also improved the tolerance and acceptance of coffee to a certain extent, and coffee may have become an indispensable existence in the lives of some urban people.
Citizens enjoy leisure moments at the café on Yuyuan Road in Shanghai. Photo by Yin Liqin
Chinese coffee culture has always had a highly open and inclusive background, and diversity is one of its key words. Driven by the innovation of coffee brands, channels, concepts, tastes and packaging that integrate brand co-branding, seasonal limited and Chinese elements, more Chinese coffee entrants are constantly looking for differentiated selling points. For example, adding black sesame, ejiao, etc. to coffee, and integrating chicken head rice and xiaolongbao elements into coffee, are all existences that other coffee markets cannot understand, learn, and understand, and also reflect the uniqueness of Chinese coffee culture trends to a certain extent. The soil of tolerance and innovation has also given birth to "explosive models" such as camellia latte, 5 yuan American style, fruit bubble coffee, and shared desk cafes, which stand out from the increasingly competitive coffee market.
A coffee shop in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, launched a fancy "Gaiwan Coffee" that is popular with local young people. Photo by Zhang Lang
China News Agency: In your opinion, why is coffee and coffee culture more and more accepted by modern Chinese? What elements does it fit into modern life?
Laofy: This is inseparable from China's more than 40 years of expanding openness, rapid economic growth, and increasing disposable income, and as the "Generation Z" who pay more attention to consumption trends and quality has gradually become the main force of consumption, they have also driven the public's acceptance of coffee. At the same time, the slightly addictive nature of coffee itself, helping to refresh the brain and reduce fat metabolism, more and more catering to the modern Chinese efficient and healthy pace of life and needs. In addition, in recent years, the price positioning of civilians and the increase in the selectivity of coffee at different price points have made coffee more and more able to accurately meet the needs of different groups of people, and more and more modern Chinese can effortlessly find a cup of coffee willing to pay for. Under the combined effect of various factors, modern Chinese are increasingly accepting coffee, and the coffee market continues to expand. According to iMedia consulting data, the size of China's coffee market in 2021 will be about 3817.3 billion yuan, and the number of consumers will exceed <> million.
Located in Dashilar Commercial Street, Qianmen, Beijing, the long-established Chinese cloth shoe store "Nei Lian Sheng", the "Da Nei Gongbao" café opened in the store attracts citizens. Photo by Hou Yu
China's coffee planting area and production account for less than 2% of the world's total, and the main planting areas are concentrated in the western and southern parts of Yunnan Province. Yunnan coffee planting area, output and output value account for more than 98% of China, planting varieties are mainly the world's mainstream small-grain coffee Arabica, in recent years the annual output of coffee beans are maintained at more than 10,<> tons.
Tourists photograph fresh coffee tree fruits at a coffee estate in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province. Photo by Li Jiaxian
China News Agency: Yunnan Pu'er tea is world-famous, and now Pu'er is also an important coffee producing area, what kind of collision and integration will two drinks with a long history bring when they meet in Yunnan?
Lao Fei: "Morning coffee afternoon tea, left-hand coffee and right-hand tea" has become a true portrayal of today's Pu'er leisure life. "Pu'er tea" and "Pu'er coffee" are both well-known GI products in China. For more than a thousand years, because of a magical oriental leaf, Pu'er has performed countless wonderful dialogues with the world; For more than 100 years, because of a magical shrub seed, Pu'er has been connected to the world and burst with infinite vitality. From Qiankun in a cup of Pu'er tea to a cup of Pu'er coffee, ancient and modern, traditional and fashionable, Eastern and Western cultures are intertwined and collided here.
The tea master shows the audience the skills of brewing Pu'er tea. Photo by Liu Ranyang
Pu'er, which has both top tea and coffee resource reserves, is the soil for the collision and innovation of the tea and coffee industries. In recent years, Camellia Latte and Da Hong Pao Latte have become popular because they meet the curiosity and exploration of diversified tastes at the consumer end, and also give tea and coffee a certain degree of reference and inspiration.
Baristas introduce Pu-erh coffee to visitors. Photo by Liu Ranyang
China News Agency: In ancient times, tea was introduced from the East to the West; In modern times, Western coffee culture has taken root in the East. In your opinion, how has the exchange of these two drinks affected Eastern and Western societies?
Laufey: Initially, Chinese tea entered the Western world by expanding its trade on the Silk Road, and with its fragrant taste and high status symbol from the ancient East, it was enthusiastically sought after at the social events of the European elite, and many Westerners still retain its afternoon tea culture today. Tea activities embody the moral character between China's philosophy and human ethics, and Westerners drinking Chinese tea can appreciate the Chinese tea-making technology and appreciate the charm of Chinese culture.
Cafes began to appear in China around the end of the Qing Dynasty, and the younger generation with more open-mindedness has been the main consumer group of this place. Chinese drinking coffee as an experience to feel the Western way of life, to feel the characteristics of Western culture from the grinding and brewing of coffee.
In a café in the small western-style building on Tianjin Fifth Avenue, citizens enjoy a quiet afternoon. Photo by Tong Yu
With the change of times and continuous development, coffee and tea have been integrated into the daily work life of Chinese and Western people. The cultural integration between China and the West has also accelerated the mutual penetration and integration of tea culture and coffee culture, enhanced the intimacy and comfort of people in different regions, effectively eliminated cultural barriers, and helped people in the East and West to develop more diverse friendly coexistence models based on the principle of mutual respect. (End)
Respondent Profile:
Associate Professor Lao Fei, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University
Lao Fei, female, Ph.D. in Food Science, Ohio State University, Associate Professor, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, was a coffee product R&D expert at Nestlé, mainly engaged in the research of new food processing technologies and flavor quality control.