Don't talk to me until I've read Capital Caff: Your guide to the latest in coffee happenings around Beijing.
Much to the chagrin of the neighboring Starbucks, Taikooli’s hottest spot over the May Day break was Ralph Lauren – but the crowd wasn’t gathering round to gawk at the latest Polo shirts. Rather, curious tourists and well-dressed locals encircled the shop to test out its new coffee shop, dubbed Ralph’s Coffee. What exactly coffee has to do with fashion is anyone’s guess, but the stunt has so far proved a roaring success, as it was quite impossible to land a seat at the shop’s sizable patio when we visited.
As is custom for a new café these days, they’ve got to get experimental. RL isn’t the first in town to offer an orange americano, but at RMB 45 it’s become one of their most-liked drinks, along with the jasmine cloud latte (RMB 46) and matcha tea latte (RMB 42 – with a cute bear face in the foam!).
But all of the above are seemingly seasonal options, as they do not appear on the menu hanging over the counter. The selection of hot chocolates (“by Valrhona”) appear to be permanent, including the coconut hot chocolate and chocolate affogato (RMB 48 each). Best of all, the chocolates come with a huge toasted marshmallow plopped in.
In terms of grub, there’s nothing particularly healthy on the menu, but the signature carrot cake (RMB 58) at least offers some vitamin A. There are also macaroons (RMB 35), New York cheesecake (RMB 38), and five-layer chocolate cake to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Ralph’s Coffee
Taikooli South, S6-10a
太古里南区一楼S6-10a
Despite its name, the Dawanglu window-counter to-go café that is Creeper Coffee gives off cool vibes and shells out cool drinks.
They’ve hopped on the ubiquitous trends of Oatly oat-milk lattes and soda-water americanos, and they’ve launched a couple of seasonal cucumber specialties as well, but the most unique item they serve (which, for some reason they’ve declined to advertise on their menu) is iced coffee that replaces the ice cubes with ice cream cubes.
The little shop has already become quite popular on waimai delivery platforms, perhaps due to their very reasonable prices – nearly everything is priced under RMB 25, with the exception of the Eisbock (German beer) latte, which will set you back a full RMB 28.
Creeper Coffee
8 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区光华路8号
For some coffee drinkers – namely those who treat the café like a personal office – the atmosphere of a shop carries as much import as the shop itself. In recognition of that fact, Moocoffee in China World Mall (where it faces big-name competitors like Peet’s Coffee) has added little to the city’s repertoire in terms of utilizing the fruit of the coffea tree, but it has styled its walls with cartoony and upbeat paintings as well as intriguing sculptures that give the space something just short of an Alice in Wonderland mood.
Moocoffee
China World Mall (north), B1
国贸商城北区地下一层
READ: Capital Caff: The Newest Shops in Sanlitun, Wangjing, and Jianwai
Images: Dianping, Joey Knotts
wThe little shop has already become quite popular on waimai delivery platforms
I unabashedly wish a swift and painful death to all of those so-called drivers.
Waimai drivers are the grooviest, coolest people going. They have to bust their ass all day navigating purblind pedestrians, stumbling about with their cell phone glued to their brains. Waimai and kuaidi drivers rule. They get shit done. I know. I used to be a taxi driver. I drove like a bat out hell.
If you call eating cake "hearty" then ok.
"In terms of grub, there’s nothing particularly healthy on the menu" (unquote)
Gawd, boy, you write like a diabetic, HIV-positive, Corona-wracked septuagenarian. Eat healthy and live long; or eat hearty and die happy. Stop fretting over the menu.
