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The "third wave" of boutique coffee shops in the post-Starbucks era

Published: 2026-05-14 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/05/14, Boutique coffee shops are becoming more and more popular on the west coast of the United States. After the advent of instant coffee and the debut of coffee chain coffee shops, this high-quality coffee shop, which is particular about the purchase and brewing of coffee beans, is called the third wave in coffee history. IT investors in Silicon Valley are also attracted, and the influence of boutique coffee shops is gradually expanding. In the SoMa area of San Francisco, the newly developed ancient

Boutique coffee shops are becoming more and more popular on the west coast of the United States. After the advent of instant coffee and the debut of coffee chain coffee shops, this high-quality coffee shop, which is particular about the purchase and brewing of coffee beans, is called the "third wave" in coffee history. IT investors in Silicon Valley are also attracted, and the influence of boutique coffee shops is gradually expanding.

In the SoMa area of San Francisco, the newly developed old warehouse block is home to many stylish modern office buildings. In a coffee shop called Sightglass Coffee, employees of the nearby IT company are sitting around a large table for a meeting. The containers containing coffee beans next to the coffee roaster are stacked into hills and are about to be sent to the famous IT companies near Adobe and Dropbox.

Sightglass is very particular about purchasing source, baking method and coffee brewing method.

Sightglass devotes itself to the purchase, baking and brewing of coffee beans, and coffee with a unique sour taste using shallow roasted beans has become the shop's signature. It is hand-made by baristas with a wealth of knowledge of coffee, and the price per cup ranges from $3.50 to $5.50. Although the price is slightly higher than that of an ordinary coffee shop, there are sometimes long queues in front of the shop. The shop is crowded with tourists at the weekend.

San Francisco is indispensable when talking about American coffee culture. There are many bean bakers on the other side of Oakland Warehouse Street. It is said that espresso (Espresso) and Caff è Latte (latte) have become increasingly popular in the United States since the suburbs of San Francisco. In addition to Sightglass, there are also "Blue Bottle Coffee", "Ritual Coffee Roasters" and "Four Barrel Coffee" that have entered the Japanese market.

Blue bottle Cafe plans to operate a chain of stores around the world. Ritual, Four Barrel and Sightglass will strengthen their store operations and wholesale operations in San Francisco.

Most of the customers who patronize these coffee shops are employees of IT enterprises, and those who invest in them are also IT enterprises. Blue bottle Cafe is said to have received financing of about 4.7 billion yen, all from Google's investment company. The co-founder of Twitter became an investor in Sightglass.

"applications for capital injection are received almost every day," says Jeremy Tooker Touck, founder of Four Barrel. "there is still a lot of room for improvement in the quality of coffee in the United States," said Trish Rothgeb, a senior bean baker. Investors predict that new business type's coffee market still has a lot of room for growth.

(Hanoi Shinfan report from New York, Nikkei Chinese website)

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