Cafe' Du Village
30 January 2010 Â www.specialty-coffee.com W ith its hardwood oors, rustic patio and red-brick walls, CafĂ Du Village looks like a typical co eehouse in Portland, Ore., or Seattle. Here in Shanghai, China, it's a rarity. CafĂ Du Village is one of a small but growing number of western-style co eehouses appearing in China. Chinese people don't drink co ee at home, so it's like I have a very special lifestyle, says Crystal Yun, CafĂ Du Village's owner and operator. e earthy smell of freshly brewed co ee and the sounds of straight-ahead American jazz perfumed the air of her 450-sq. . co eehouse on a ursday in November. CafĂ Du Village sits in a row of restaurants at the quiet western edge of Shanghai, which, unlike the never-sleeping downtown, is home to mostly young families. e neighborhood is also one of the most cosmopolitan in the city. e English-language Shanghai American School half a block up the street attracts expatriates from all over the world. at's one reason she chose this location. Foreigners, they've been drinking co ee for years and they can taste the di erence, she says. Yun loves co ee, so she wants to focus on making the best cup in Shanghai, she says. But a western-style co eehouse would have a hard time staying open in the heart of the city. Most of the co eehouses in Shanghai are adapted to blend with Chinese culture. Some resemble the brightly lit, antiseptic-spotless tea shops that are popular in the city. Others seemed more like cocktail lounges with overly posh furniture, candles on the tablecloths and super-dim lighting; many like this even serve alcohol. Still others seemed more like snack shops with little or no seating, or hard, plain seating areas, and glass cabinets full of breaded items. When Yun conceived her shop, she was determined to stick with a western co eehouse model. I wanted the co ee smell, not the rice, not the vegetables, she says. e scent of freshly brewed co ee is only one thing that CafĂ Du Village BY PETER SUROWSKI Latte Art Fascinates Customers in Shanghai Coffee Shop in a r we pe sp an of 45 V of h in S a c t h co e