Shanghai Uncle's Original Chinese-Style Coffee Extraction Method "Water-Bath Simmered Coffee"!

The Chinese Water Bath Coffee Innovation

What would coffee taste like if traditional Chinese water-bath soup simmering were applied to coffee extraction? That sudden inspiration led a Shanghai "uncle" (a middle-aged gentleman) to abandon his high-paying job and open a unique coffee shop in the city. Alongside conventional pressurized and drip extraction, the shop features the uncle's original "water bath coffee."

According to reports, the uncle turned to the water bath method because he believed that "although Chinese people started drinking coffee late, they shouldn't be without their own methods." Japan has flannel extraction, Italy has pressurized extraction, and China can have its own distinctive coffee extraction method too.

He used the water bath simmering method, placing coffee powder liquid at a certain temperature into hot water for long-term simmering. By controlling grind size and extraction time, coffee particles release pleasant, mellow flavor compounds into the water bath container. Although it's simmered at high temperature, the temperature inside the container stays within a certain range, effectively controlling the release of bitter compounds and ensuring the extracted coffee is rich and mellow with a smooth, non-bitter taste.

The coffee concentrate after extraction is extremely concentrated and requires filtering and dilution at a certain ratio. The uncle also created both cold and hot versions of this coffee incorporating unique Chinese culinary techniques, naming the cold version "Wuji" (Limitless) and the hot version "Furong" (Hibiscus).

The Journey to Create Chinese-Style Coffee

The reason he thought of creating Chinese-style coffee was that, having drunk coffee for over 40 years, he had never found a brewing method that suited his taste. When coffee entered Shanghai as an imported product in the 19th century, Shanghai residents had always drunk coffee made with foreign extraction techniques. So the uncle felt that since every method extracts coffee, he should create one with unique Chinese characteristics. He resigned from his position as chairman and opened this coffee shop, spending four years developing the water bath coffee.

A Menu of Shanghai-Flavored Coffee

Beyond the strongly Chinese "Furong" and "Wuji," the menu features coffee full of "Shanghai flavor," such as Shanghai Pure Coffee, Brown Sugar Pure Coffee, Alley Milk Coffee, Shanghai Milk Coffee, Rice-Aroma Milk Coffee, Wine-Aroma Milk Coffee, and Tangerine Peel Cappuccino. To cater to younger tastes, the shop also offers creative coffees like yogurt coffee, mocha latte, and Lychee Bailey. Through the uncle's continuous innovation, the shop's coffee and beverages have expanded from the original 10-plus varieties to over 100 today.

Innovation Beyond Boundaries

This Shanghai uncle's innovation not only promotes the inheritance and application of Chinese culture but also shows through his actions that coffee brewing isn't limited to changes in existing techniques, and creative coffee mixing isn't limited to changes in flavoring ingredients. Innovation requires stepping beyond existing frameworks and doing something distinctive to be considered truly innovative.

Image source: Weibo, video screenshots

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

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