Coffee drinking finds a home in the land of tea

Drinking coffee is quickly becoming popular with Chinese consumers.

The land of tea, has slowly but steadily welcomed a new brew---coffee. Drinking coffee is quickly becoming popular with Chinese consumers. It's now a 3 billion US dollar a year industry and is growing by 25 per cent annually. And many businesses believe, this pot of coffee could in fact be the pot of gold they are after.

The future in a pot. These men prepare a hot drink with all the care and attention usually taken when making tea, to gain maximum flavor and enjoyment. And even though this is China, the elaborate ritual is not for a cup of tea - it's for a cup of coffee.

"I think coffee tastes very good. It's quite different from Chinese tea. I find that different kinds of coffee have a different taste. My father loves drinking coffee very much - we have a coffee machine at home." said Zhou Lin, Coffee Drinker.

Coffee drinking is relatively new in China, but it's quickly becoming a popular one. The China Coffee Expo is being held in Beijing to capitalise on that interest. It has drawn dozens of exhibitors from around the world, plus thousands of visitors and spectators. Coffee is now a 3 billion US dollar per year industry in China, and one that's growing by 25% every year. According to some estimates, China may become the world's largest coffee market within 10 years.

"We really believe that, given the rise of places like Starbucks and Pacific, where from our perspective it's coffee but perhaps not the best quality coffee. We do believe that the consumer's tastes are starting to change, and they're starting to accept more and different kinds of coffee flavours, from different origins." said Peter Radosevich, Asia Sales Manager, Royal Coffee.

In the past, it was tea houses that lined the streets of cities like Beijing, but now they've been replaced by local and international chain coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa Coffee. More and more Chinese companies are turning to this market. Pu'er is famous in China for tea, but Xu and his company specialise in growing and exporting coffee instead.

"As a coffee trade and manufacturing company, we find that Chinese-grown coffee doesn't yet have any special price advantage. So, if Chinese coffee beans aren't of a good quality, it will be very difficult to compete and achieve success in the international coffee market." said Xu Lianming, Director, Pu'Er Jiangcheng Coffee Co.

With over a billion potential coffee drinkers in China, the rise of China's coffee culture is something that's given coffee growers, manufacturers and sellers alike, a reason to smile.