China Coffee Baristas Learning to Make the Perfect Cup of Joe

Even though China is typically known for its myriad¹ of tea varieties, slowly but surely, Western coffee culture has been brewing² its way into China's big cities and even into smaller ones as well.

So much so, that coffee barista training schools are popping up. Both younger Chinese and older coffee enthusiasts³ and coffee-holics are joining in to learn about how to make the perfect cup of Joe.

Andrea Hunt has more:

 
The second you walk in the door of China Barista Coffee, it smells like freshly brewed⁴ espresso... There are huge, bar sized, metal espresso makers⁵. And smaller, silver Italian segmented pots. There's even a bubbling, Brazilian coffee siphon that resembles something out of a mad scientist laboratory.

China Barista Coffee training school is located in the heart of Beijing's 798 Art District and churns out around 200 coffee baristas every year.

Vice⁶ president of the Training Center Ji Ming says he's learned that after working in the coffee business ten years, often the Chinese customer isn't familiar with coffee.

"They give you the coffee, they give you the milk and they mix together and they think, 'that's coffee. Bitter.' And sometimes, you cannot drink it. So, I decided⁷ to open a coffee shop to let people know what is really good quality coffee without milk, without sugar, only the really good quality coffee."

But slowly, Fu Yu, the manager at CBC says that Chinese colure is finding a love for coffee.

"After the 1990s, coffee entered the public eye in Beijing, but people then usually drank coffee when they had business matters or parties. It wasn't until the 2000s that coffee became more of a pastime on a relatively⁸ small-scale and it was still considered petty bourgeoisie. After the Olympics when many foreigners came to China, young people and even the middle aged⁹ in Beijing starting learning about coffee, Now, sitting around drinking coffee is seen as a good way to relieve the pressures of work."

Twenty-one year old student like Nick, whose Chinese name is Wu Bin¹⁰ Xiang, have come all the way from Qinghai to study coffee here. Nick is also the winner of last year's coffee barista competition.

"Well, about six years ago, I really was exposed to coffee for the first time and I was fully¹¹ attracted by the glamour¹² of it, the taste and the aroma¹³. From then on, I fell in love with coffee, and all the jobs I've had since have been associated with coffee."

He definitely knows his coffee now and hopes to one day make a shop.

Here they learn about coffee bean varieties, aromas¹⁴, machines, preferences by country and the like.

One of the teachers, Li furong, explains that the course here is much more intense than what the student would learn just working in a coffee shop.

"Here, we can provide all kinds of coffee makers, different types and flavors of coffee beans, and we have different recipes for making coffee. Students can learn to make different flavors of coffee to satisfy different needs of their future customers. Learning to make coffee in a coffee shop is different because it means using the same types of beans and recipes. It's very limited. Studying here at the coffee barista school teaches students the basics plus professional knowledge so they can work anywhere, even other countries."

For some, like Zhao Yazhou, it was a good career move. Only one month after graduating, he found a job working at Hi Café in 798 Art District. Zhao had always liked the rich aroma of coffee. The first time he tried a bottled coffee drink, he was hooked.

"I think the things that I've learned from CBC coffee school will benefit me a lot in the future. Especially when I'm starting to operate my own bakery. The Chinese society is continually progressing and coffee is becoming more important in a bakery while people are sitting and savoring¹⁵ their cakes."

What's more, almost one trained CBC coffee barista graduate a month starts a café in Beijing or around China. This is indeed a turning point for a culture deeply rooted in tea. Seems the timing¹⁶ is as good as ever though in Beijing. So, maybe it's better to stir while the coffee is hot.

For CRI, I'm Andrea Hunt.

1 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

2 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

3 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

4 brewed   

调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic. 这种啤酒是在捷克共和国酿造的。
• The boy brewed a cup of coffee for his mother. 这男孩给他妈妈冲了一杯咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

10 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

13 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

14 aromas   

n.芳香( aroma的名词复数 )；气味；风味；韵味

参考例句：

• Intoxicating earth aromas induced lassitude and ethereal calm. 泥土的醉人的芳香叫人懒洋洋的，感到一种远离尘世的宁静。 来自辞典例句
• Nose and elegant nose with attractive fruity, floral and citrus fruit aromas. 芳香：优雅、馥郁、迷人的柑橘属水果的果香及花的清香。 来自互联网

15 savoring   

v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的现在分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝

参考例句：

• Cooking was fine but it was the savoring that he enjoyed most. 烹饪当然很好，但他最享受的是闻到的各种味道。 来自互联网
• She sat there for a moment, savoring the smell of the food. 她在那儿坐了一会儿，品尝这些食物的香味。 来自互联网

16 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。