DavidoffCoffee – China’s new teaChina might be known for its tea traditions, but today, it’s brewing an increasingly sophisticated coffee culture. A growing number of Chinese develop a taste for the traditionally Western beverage and their knowledge of coffee is becoming more complex. Drinking tea goes out of date while coffee consumption is perceived as a lifestyle attitude. Nowadays, Shanghai’s business men spend their lunchtime in coffee shops drinking cappuccino, latte macchiato or café latte which they consider to be less bitter than pure coffee or espresso. Soluble coffee, which today accounts for about 90% of retail sales in China, is preferred for in-home consumption, as it is easier to prepare and more akin to tea making. Total volume sales of coffee in China grew by nearly 90% between 1998 and 2003 – an astonishingly development as Arabica first entered the Chinese market only a decade ago. Even though drinking coffee is not a habit yet in China, there is good reason to be optimistic about the coffee bean’s future in this particular country. |