Café
Latest articles, industry insights and brewing guides
How to Start a Coffee Shop: Essential Pre-Launch Planning
Learn the 7 key steps to prepare for opening a specialty coffee shop, from customer targeting to financial planning.
How to Design a Specialty Coffee Shop Space That Sells
Learn how lighting, layout, display, and branding shape customer behavior in a coffee shop. Key insights for designing a space that boosts coffee sales.
How to Manage and Operate a Specialty Coffee Shop
Learn key strategies for lighting, staffing, leadership, and competition analysis to successfully run a specialty coffee shop.
How to Become a Coffee Connoisseur: 4 Key Tasting Skills
Learn the four essential tasting principles—acidity, body, aroma, and flavor—that help you understand and appreciate specialty coffee like a pro.
What Brand Identity Really Sells: Beyond Coffee
Starbucks isn’t just selling coffee—it’s selling lifestyle. Discover how top brands market identity, not products, and what that means for coffee culture.
How to Choose the Best Location for a Coffee Shop
Find out why commercial streets are top picks for coffee shops and how B-level areas or smaller towns can also work with the right strategy.
How Chain Restaurants Build Brands by Securing Key Resources
Learn how successful chains like McDonald’s and dominate markets by securing cultural resources, creating category-first brands, and leveraging strong visual symbols.
How to Open a Small Brew-and-Sell Coffee Shop
A low-cost coffee shop selling brewed coffee for 3–5 RMB can work with the right location and customer focus. Here’s what to know before opening.
How China’s Spice & Beverage Industry Turned Research Into Tourism Profits
Since 1997, China’s spice and beverage sector shifted to a research-tourism-development model, boosting annual tourist growth by 27.8% and creating 35 tropical product lines.
Finding Your Blue Ocean in China’s Crowded Coffee Franchise Market
Discover how China’s latecomer coffee brand, Daxishi, carved a niche among grads by targeting a unique underserved demographic in a saturated market.
Why 90% Profit Margins Don't Save Most Coffee Shops
Coffee shops in Shenyang see 90% gross margins, yet one in ten fails. We break down costs, closures, and why high profits don’t guarantee success.
How Specialty Coffee Shops Operate Across China’s Big Cities
Explore how coffee shops in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Lanzhou thrive through culture, fashion, service, and community engagement.
How McDonald's and Starbucks Build Legendary Brands Through Details
Learn how McDonald's and Starbucks achieved global brand dominance through hyper-focused details—from straw thickness to seat height—and what coffee businesses can learn.
How to Choose Your Coffee Shop Style When Investing
Explore three distinct coffee shop styles—mainstream, leisure, and cultural—with investment scales, target markets, and design tips for success.
How Starbucks Chooses Store Locations — 4 Key Steps
Former Starbucks exec Arthur Rubinfeld shares the exact 4-step process used to site over 4,000 stores globally, from traffic counts to neighbor picks.
Chu Family Garden: A Historic Xiamen Coffee House
Discover Chu Family Garden, a 1932 villa turned cafe on Gulangyu Island, once home to the 2013 China World Barista Champion shop.
Why Capsule Coffee Machines May Take Over Commercial Cafés
Capsule coffee machines offer a low-skill, cost-effective alternative to hiring baristas, solving staffing issues while maintaining consistent coffee quality.
Dante’s House: A Cozy Specialty Coffee Spot in Beijing
Discover Dante’s House, a small but charming Beijing café with rustic decor, a spiral staircase, and a welcoming vibe in a quiet hutong alley.
Hidden Gem: Yu Cafe in Nanjing’s Quiet Alley
Discover Yu Cafe, a cozy, minimalist spot in Nanjing’s Gulou District perfect for quiet chats over desserts and coffee.
August 2015 First Week Specialty Coffee Bean Pricing
Find the exact price list for specialty coffee beans from Coffee Workshop’s August 2015 first-week update. Contact details included.