Fire and ice! Jiaxing closes and opens a new batch of coffee shops every year.

For professional baristas, please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

Coffee, in the eyes of many people, is not only a drink, but also a symbol of quality of life. Baristas are also regarded as an elegant profession, and they are also spreading the sour and bitter coffee culture in the process of making coffee. Recently, the PCA2017 Coffee pull Competition, an authoritative competition in the coffee industry closely related to the two, was held in Jiaxing, attracting the attention of many people in the industry and the public, as well as turning everyone's attention to the coffee market in Jiaxing again.

The industry authority competition was introduced to Jiaxing for the first time.

The PCA Coffee pull Competition is an authoritative competition in the domestic coffee industry, and its first race this year is set in Jiaxing. According to Zheng Yudu, a staff member of PCA China, the PCA Coffee draw Competition is the first coffee pull competitive competition in China, which has been held for three years in a row. The competition mainly tests the players' technical difficulty and professional standard in coffee pull. During the competition, the players compete in pairs, integrating appreciation and competition.

It is understood that the competition in Jiaxing attracted more than 50 contestants from Shanghai, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and other places to participate in the competition. After seven rounds of fierce "fighting", Wu Wei, Jiang Zhongpeng, Wang and Lei finally won the first, second and third runners-up in the completion of the coffee pattern, the contrast of the color, the location of the pattern, and the creativity and difficulty.

"this is the first time that the PCA Coffee pull Competition has entered Jiaxing." Ren Zhijia, head of Jiaxing Menuo Food Co., Ltd., which is the organizer of Jiaxing, said, "in the past, this kind of competition was held in first-and second-tier cities. This time, we hope that more people can understand coffee and feel the unique charm of coffee culture. At the same time, it also provides a communication platform for local baristas in Jiaxing and excellent baristas in other provinces and cities to improve the professional level of coffee production."

The speed of market reshuffle intensifies

The domestic authoritative competition of the coffee industry was held in Jiaxing for the first time, attracting "onlookers" from many people in the industry. at the same time, it also made people focus on coffee, a rapidly rising emerging market.

In the era of experiential consumption, in the face of iterative changes in the young customer base, there has never been a new category that is so popular with young people like coffee. Coffee is not only a symbol, but also a kind of culture. since it entered the Jiaxing market in the 1990s, it has "occupied" the streets of Hecheng.

At the same time, the phased cost upside-down phenomenon in the coffee market, the particularity of the young customer group and the impact of new technology all make the imported product feel the imbalance and rapid iteration of the market ecology.

"the competition is fierce, the turnover is not high, and it is easy to open a shop but difficult to make money, which has become the common feeling of many coffee shop owners." Xie Yuangen, secretary-general of the Western Food, Coffee and Tea Industry Association in Nanhu District, told reporters that in recent years, the coffee market in Jiaxing has been repeating the same rule, closing doors almost every year and opening new ones.

The reporter learned that last year alone, two or three coffee shops in Nanhu District closed down, and with the rising rent and labor costs, the operation of some coffee shops is even more difficult, losing money almost every day.

Ren Zhijia, who has worked in the coffee industry for more than 14 years, has his own understanding of Jiaxing's coffee market. in his view, the coffee shop in Jiaxing has experienced at least three iterations, from the initial commercial coffee shop to the Korean coffee shop that was popular a few years ago. and then to the recent popular new direction of "coffee plus simple meals", the ever-changing market has accelerated the reshuffle of the industry. It also made higher demands on the owners of the coffee shop.

The worst and the best of times

This is the worst era of coffee, but also the best time of coffee.

Statistics show that in 2016, the number of coffee shops in China exceeded 100000, and the annual growth rate of its consumer market is as high as 16%, several times the world average.

Despite the fickle environment of the coffee market, entrepreneurs continue to jump in one after another.

"Coffee shops still have to constantly transform and adapt to the market, otherwise they will face the fate of being eliminated." Zhang Jie, director of Liangku Coffee, told reporters that they are also constantly groping to gain a firm foothold in the market. "after several years of operation, we found that if coffee shops want to gain a foothold in Jiaxing, there must be no way out to sell coffee alone. Traditional coffee shops upgrade to join simple meals, which is suitable for Jiaxing market and can open up a new world."

The reporter saw on the menu of this "Internet celebrity" coffee shop that in addition to traditional coffee products, the store also provides steak, salad, pizza, noodles, snacks and other delicacies, turning a simple coffee shop into a casual restaurant and being loved by people. "now the number of passengers per day is stable at around 200." Zhang Jie said.

Jiaxing coffee shops have sprung up everywhere in the past two years, and the competition is particularly fierce. In the view of Jin Biyu, deputy director of Blue Mountain Coffee Shop, practicing "internal skills" is the key.

"it is true that the service industry has been complaining in recent years, but no matter how great the external pressure is, our store still needs to do its part, practice its basic skills and serve its customers well." Jasper Jin said.

The reporter learned that it is precisely in the products, services and other strict requirements, while formulating stringent assessment system standards, this store has been standing in Wecheng for 10 years, and now its turnover is more than 10,000 yuan a day.

Excellent baristas are in short supply

For a coffee shop, the status of baristas is beyond doubt. However, the reporter found in the interview that Jiaxing coffee industry is still lack of excellent baristas.

Judging from the final results of the PCA2017 Coffee pull Competition, none of the top three contestants are from Jiaxing, which also reflects the lack of excellent local baristas in Jiaxing, at least at the technical level.

Of course, the coolness of baristas is not the same as excellence. According to Lisa, who is engaged in coffee training in Jiaxing Mano Food Co., Ltd., a good barista must first make a good cup of coffee.

"flower drawing is actually a basic skill in coffee making." Lisa said, "if it is an one-to-one teaching, you can master some basic patterns of flower drawing in 10 days."

"and learning the extraction technology of coffee is an endless process." Lisa said that good extraction is inseparable from the barista's grinding of coffee beans and coffee powder, as well as the control of water and brewing utensils. The time of extraction is related to the final taste of a cup of coffee.

In Europe and the United States, barista is a cool and popular profession, and in China, more and more young people devote themselves to the profession of barista. The reporter learned that at present in the Jiaxing coffee industry, baristas who know something about management earn between 3500 and 5000 yuan a month, while coffee trainers like Lisa basically earn more than 10,000 yuan a month.

Lisa told reporters that many people have chosen this career and dream of owning their own coffee shop one day, but many people may not understand the efforts and hardships behind baristas.

Zhang Jie also told reporters that at present, many baristas in Jiaxing still have a weak understanding of coffee, and the atmosphere of the whole coffee culture is not comparable to that of Shanghai and Hangzhou. "sometimes we go to Shanghai to participate in the exhibition." some local coffee lovers can't even answer the questions asked by us. " Thus it can be seen that if you want to be a good barista, hobbies alone are not enough, because "it is not only good baristas who attract customers to coffee shops, but good baristas must have the quality of wanting people to come again."