A Nation of Tea Drinkers Falls for Coffee

China grew up on tea, so the speed of its coffee adoption has startled everyone. Shanghai alone is often credited with more cafés than any other city on Earth, and nationwide the market has grown into one of the world’s largest — by cups, by stores and by revenue.

Much of the growth is digital. Luckin Coffee, a homegrown chain that takes orders almost entirely through its app, overtook Starbucks in China by store count and sales, and kept prices for a decent latte around the equivalent of a couple of dollars. Coffee became an affordable habit for office workers rather than a weekend luxury.

Local taste is shaping the drink list. Tea-and-coffee fusion drinks, jasmine lattes and drinks built around Yunnan — the southwestern province that grows most of China’s own coffee — appear on menus next to the classics. Independent roasters in big cities compete on beans and craft, pulling China’s specialty coffee scene up to global standards.

Visitors will find coffee remarkably easy: chains are dense around metros and malls, mobile payment works everywhere, and there is no tipping. Whether it is a nine-yuan americano from a kiosk or a hand-poured single origin from a boutique roaster, China’s cafés have made room for every style of coffee drinker.