How Intellectuals Helped Launch Specialty Coffee Culture

Ever wondered why so many historic cafés are tied to famous writers, artists, and political movements—not just great coffee? The truth is, specialty coffee culture didn’t start with baristas or roasters. It began in places where ideas mattered more than espresso technique. In 1930s Shanghai and 1880s Tokyo, the first dedicated coffee spaces became intellectual meeting points long before third wave coffee arrived.

In short: Intellectuals made cafés matter. Shanghai’s Gongfei Café hosted left-wing literary meetings in the 1930s—even though Lu Xun never drank coffee there. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s 1888 Kahi Kan aimed to blend Western coffee with Japanese literary life. Both places became iconic not for the brew, but for who gathered there.

The Shanghai Intellectuals and Their Green Tea in a Coffee Shop

Lu Xun—the renowned Chinese writer—famously avoided coffee. He drank only green tea. Yet he still visited Shanghai’s Gongfei Café near his home to attend key meetings for the League of Left-Wing Writers. Though he never touched the house coffee, he always ordered tea. Fellow writer Wei Mengke recalled that while others drank coffee, Lu stuck with tea; sometimes Xia Yan joined him. Despite skipping the signature drink, Lu’s frequent presence helped make Gongfei Café legendary. The café sat close to the North Sichuan Road tram terminus, opposite the Inouye Bookstore. It wasn’t Shanghai’s first or finest coffee shop—but it became known as “that era’s most famous café,” thanks to Lu and his peers.

Cafés as Safe Havens for Leftist Writers

Yang Qianru remembered that in the 1930s, Yang Hansheng often brought them to Gongfei Café for Left-Wing Writers Association gatherings. Its foreign ownership meant less police scrutiny, offering a relatively safe spot. In 1934, Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun arrived in Shanghai from the northeast, manuscript in hand. They first visited Inouye Bookstore to see Lu Xun, who then took them to Gongfei Café. Similarly, Zhou Yang’s wife would meet Lu Xun at Inouye’s, then bring Zhou to Gongfei’s second-floor private room for long talks over coffee or tea. For aspiring writers, the path to Lu Xun usually led through Inouye Bookstore—and then Gongfei Café.

Tokyo’s First Coffeehouse: A Scholar’s Experiment

Japan’s coffeehouse culture also began with intellectuals. On April 13, 1888, Tokyo saw its first coffee shop open in Ueno Nishikurogane-chō. Alternatively, some claim Tokyo’s earliest was “Senchūtei” in 1886. Whichever the case, the city’s first notable café was Kahi Kan, founded by Cheng Yongqing. Born in 1859 in Nagasaki, Cheng was the adopted son of Zheng Yongning—a descendant of Zheng Chenggong’s brother. He studied at Yale University in the U.S. and was fluent in Chinese, English, French, and Japanese. A well-educated intellectual, Cheng wanted to promote coffee as a intellectual pursuit. He named the shop “Kahi Kan” , playing on a pronunciation similar to “coffee” (kōhī), and styled it like a traditional teahouse. Inside, he served Western coffee but surrounded it with books, newspapers, and even writing materials—blending bookish atmosphere with coffee aroma. His shop offered many whimsical translations for coffee: “kěfēi,” “kěfēi,” “gǔfēi,” “gǔxǐ,” “jiāxǐ,” and even dubbed it “Tang tea” or “fragrant soup.” Patrons had curious habits too: some brought geisha for readings, while others—like Lu Xun—frequented without drinking coffee. What mattered: sitting in a high-backed chair, a literary magazine open, drink irrelevant.

Kahi Kan’s Legacy and the Rise of Coffee Chains

Though Kahi Kan folded after four years due to highbrow aspirations and financial losses, it sparked a wave of imitators. By 1890, “Houseki Coffee” opened in Asakusa. Then, in 1909, Brazil-born immigrant Mizo Ryūrō launched “Café Paulista.” Backed by free Brazilian coffee beans, it expanded nationwide. Its Tokyo branch, founded in 1911, still stands near Ginza’s Hakuhinkan Toys store. Advertising touted coffee “black as a demon, sweet as love, hot as hell”—just five sen a cup, plus another five for a doughnut. This drew students and young writers, including World Esperanto Association member Akita Ujaku, who bought one coffee but used ten seats weekly for meetings. The original Paulista even had a women’s lounge upstairs. Launched in 1911, the magazine “Seito” (“Blue Stockings,” named after the 18th-century British feminist literary group) held editorial meetings there. Though the women’s section no longer exists, blue-stockinged female customers still get free coffee. Rumor says John Lennon and Yoko Ono drank Paulista Old (still on the menu) for three nights during a Tokyo visit. Whether Yoko wore blue stockings remains unknown.

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