The last time I visited China, coffee was difficult to find. This time, six years later, coffee shops are everywhere. Unfortunately, they’re also generally pretty awful, worse than the UK (well, what do you really expect from tea drinking countries?!). Only about half of them offer espresso, which is my coffee, which is the basis of good coffee. Oddly, one of the chains that doesn’t offer espresso is Starbucks, which really did surprise me. WTF??
But there are honourable exceptions. By far the best espresso I found in Beijing was at the shop of the National Art Museum. I went in there to pick up some books on Chinese arts: yes, I can’t read the text, but I can look at the pictures, and when you’re interested in the visual arts, that counts for a lot! Their espresso was shockingly good.
If you ever visit Beijing, and like coffee, go there and treat yourself.