3rd Store in China! Blue Bottle Coffee Opens Zhang Yuan Store in Shanghai!

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Blue Bottle Coffee Opens Third Store in Shanghai's Zhang Garden

As a highly anticipated sensation in the coffee world, Blue Bottle Coffee's expansion moves in the Chinese market have consistently drawn significant attention. Following the opening of its first store in the former Yutong Flour Mill dormitory in February this year, and its second location at Jing'an Kerry Centre in August, this third store has now landed in Zhang Garden, known as the "No. 1 Garden on the Sea." With the addition of this Zhang Garden location, all three of Blue Bottle Coffee's stores are situated in Shanghai's Jing'an District.

This morning at 8 AM, Blue Bottle's third store officially opened its doors. The store's design adopts the Shikumen style, continuing Blue Bottle's consistent commitment to localized design. While preserving the original building's façade, the design extends distressed brick walls into the interior space, combining the building's original wooden lattice doors and windows with the outdoor alleys to create a well-connected space.

Known as the "Apple of the coffee world," Blue Bottle Coffee was originally a coffee roaster and retailer. Its headquarters were founded in Oakland, California, USA, in 2002. It is one of the representative brands under the "specialty coffee" segment. After multiple rounds of financing, it was acquired by Nestlé in 2017 and currently operates over 100 stores in the United States, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and other locations.

Store Openings and Customer Enthusiasm

When the first coffee store opened in February this year, although not located in the central business district and some distance from the subway station, many dedicated fans still made special trips on opening day. Before the 8 AM opening, the queue at the first store already stretched over ten meters. Netizens posted comments such as "There were really so many people on the first day" and "I just couldn't handle the queue anymore..." The opening day of Blue Bottle Coffee's second store also saw a repeat of the first store's queuing phenomenon. However, as of now, there haven't been many reports of similar queueing scenes on various social media platforms for this third opening.

Limited Edition Products: The Scallion Waffle

Each time Blue Bottle Coffee unveils a new store, it combines with local culture to introduce limited edition products. Of course, this time is no exception! You've seen scallion pancakes, you've seen waffles, but have you seen a "scallion waffle" that combines the two? For this opening, Blue Bottle Coffee's Shanghai Zhang Garden store introduced the East-meets-West "scallion waffle." According to netizens who visited, a light bite reveals a texture that is both crispy and chewy.

The scallion flavor in the "scallion waffle" definitely dominates, with the aroma, saltiness, and oiliness all perfectly balanced. Paired with a sweet and soft latte or a slightly bitter iced cold brew coffee, it creates a unique flavor experience.

Other Limited Edition and Exclusive Products

In addition to the scallion waffle, Blue Bottle Coffee has also customized some limited edition and debut products for the Zhang Garden store. Among these, the limited edition blend coffee beans features rare specialty Robusta beans, Ethiopian beans with floral and berry notes, and Latin American beans with dark chocolate flavor, creating a deep, rich, slightly bitter taste profile.

Furthermore, the store's merchandise items, including a woven bucket bag and woven cup sleeve, are inspired by traditional household weaving elements. They are also part of the Zhang Garden store's limited edition merchandise series. Additionally, there are two products making their debut at the Zhang Garden store: Honey Sea Salt Latte and Caramel Date Paste Cake.

The Store's Treasure: Oji Cold Drip Coffee

The vintage Oji cold drip coffee maker on the Zhang Garden store's counter is the shop's crown jewel. Stepping inside to order a cup and savor this Japanese-style cold drip coffee, which carries the heritage of old times with its rich and mellow character, allows one to enjoy the slow tasting experience of the simple but uncompromising alleyway life of years past, achieved through ultimate extraction.

Blue Bottle Coffee expressed the hope of using a unique approach to trace back to Shanghai's bygone days and commemorate the imprint that coffee has left on this city. As a pioneering brand in specialty coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee has never ceased its pursuit of architectural aesthetics for each store and rigorous standards for its products. Each store brings us different surprises.

Market Strategy and Future Outlook

Blue Bottle Coffee entered the mainland Chinese market relatively late and has been opening stores at a slower pace. When Blue Bottle Coffee entered, especially Shanghai's coffee market, it was already filled with numerous brands, and competition has become increasingly fierce. However, Blue Bottle Coffee stated, "Although China's specialty coffee market started late, its development speed far exceeds other international markets. We expect Blue Bottle's store opening speed in mainland China to be faster than in other international markets we have already entered."

The Growing Coffee Culture in China

With the growing trend of breakfast + coffee nationwide, many brands have been experimenting with pairing local specialty foods with coffee. The emergence of these East-meets-West coffee combinations also indicates that China's coffee market is gradually maturing.

Image source: Internet

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