Literally Drink Your Face Off With Vase’s Selfie-esque Coffee Art

Forget snapping a selfie at a trendy café – one new Sanlitun shop is upping the ante in stylish java patronage by actually printing your photo in the foam of your beverage. Yes, if you’d like to truly get your Narcissus on, stop by Vase on Xingfuyicun. The barista counter on its ground floor features a unique roaster that can take a digital image and recreate it as coffee art, thanks to its affixed scanner, which works very much like the printer at your office.

When we popped in to give it a try (Vase has a pretty standard menu with Americano, latte, cappuccino and other such options all priced at around RMB 40), owner Lister Liu said he loves to encourage patrons to submit selfies on a piece of paper that can be scanned and printed onto their coffee. He said his patrons get a big kick out of the gimmick. Liu and his colleagues got their start in fashion design and decided to open Vase as a place pursue their love of coffee, among other things.

Yes, true to its name, Vase doubles as a florist shop, with plenty of vibrant petals and stems flourishing upstairs. If you poke your head up there, you’ll likely find Lister and his colleagues pruning roses. The décor follows suit, featuring Victorian England-ish flourishes that the target demographic will also flip for (you know, the sort of person who really wants to take selfies with coffee that looks like them).   

If you haven’t already guessed, the place doesn’t exactly cater to a guy like me, who’s more partial to sleeker cafés with boundary-pushing brews a la Big Small or Soloist. Yet, I can’t help but give props to Vase’s owners for committing wholeheartedly to such a flowery atmosphere in every sense of the word. Unabashedly posh patrons will find themselves stopping by again and again (and filling up their Instagram feeds accordingly). And while gruffer customers will scoff at Vase’s every facet at first, more than a few of them are sure to bring their dates on by once in a while, to charm them with the venue’s cutesy ambiance along with a fragrant bouquet from upstairs.

Vase (瓦舍)
Daily, 10.30am-9pm. 3 Xingfuyicun, Bldg 2, East Gate (8449 9877)
幸福一村3巷2号楼东门(世贸工三西门) (8449 9877)

Photos: Vase