Temple Pour-Over Coffee Hospitality! Monks Personally Brew Coffee with Freshly Roasted Beans

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Famous mountains produce fine tea, and renowned temples cultivate famous tea.

Since most temples are built on famous mountains, in ancient times, temples were best positioned to research tea and improve its quality. Besides their spiritual practices, temple monks were responsible for planting and processing tea. Therefore, whenever people visited temples, they would always think of enjoying a cup of fine tea and assume that monks only drank tea.

However, in recent years, in temples across various Asian regions, some monks have developed a keen interest in coffee, in addition to studying and tasting tea. Coffee shops have gradually begun opening within temple grounds.

Zenko-ji Temple, Japan

In 2020, within the grounds of Zenko-ji Temple in Japan's Nagano Prefecture—a temple with over 1300 years of history—Starbucks drew inspiration from Zenko-ji Shoin, creating a harmonious blend of foreign culture and the temple's historical significance.

The two-story lacquered building seamlessly integrates with the surrounding temple landscape. The store's interior design features extensive patterns of Hollyhock (タチアオイ), corresponding to Zenko-ji Temple's emblem. Meanwhile, the interior preserves the original beams from the Meiji period building, striving to respect local history and tradition within a modern, vibrant design.

Yongfu Temple, Hangzhou

In 2021, a café quietly opened within Yongfu Temple in Hangzhou, an ancient temple with 1600 years of history. The coffee shop is situated at the entrance of Yongfu Temple, requiring visitors to purchase tickets for the Lingyin scenic area to reach it.

In other words, this café exclusively serves worshippers entering the temple for prayers and visitors. To better integrate coffee with traditional culture, the café's product names carry profound Zen-like meanings. For example, latte is called "Ting Xue" (Stopping Snow), Americano is called "Di Fan" (Cleansing Worries), and coconut latte is called "Zen Chu" (Beginning of Zen).

Longhua Temple, Shanghai

By 2022, Shanghai's Longhua Temple, with its 1700-year history, also began selling "vegetarian coffee." However, Longhua Temple didn't establish an independent café but chose a more down-to-earth approach—selling vegetarian coffee in their vegetarian restaurant.

Concerned that people might debate whether milk is vegetarian or not (milk is actually neutral in this regard), Longhua Temple thoughtfully provided both milk and oat milk options, also catering to those with lactose intolerance.

Monks and Coffee Culture

One might assume that temples sell coffee to attract more young people, creating opportunities for the next generation to learn about traditional culture. However, monks in temples are also genuinely fascinated by coffee.

A few days ago, when guests on a South Korean variety show visited a temple monk, the monk not only brewed tea for them but also prepared coffee.

The show host remarked: "I thought monks only drank tea." The monk smiled and replied: "It seems you're still living in the past. Monks need to keep up with the times." He also mentioned that the monks purchase green coffee beans themselves and have even bought coffee roasting equipment for the temple.

Cultural Integration and Modernization

As we can see, whether in temples, among monks, or among visiting guests, coffee is gradually becoming an essential modern social practice. Some might view this as foreign culture invading traditional culture.

Here, I'd like to quote a netizen's comment:

"The past glory of temples wasn't solely due to faith. Before the Qing Dynasty, monks were intellectuals with education above the average population—the entrance examinations for becoming a monk in the Ming Dynasty were more difficult than those for scholars. Moreover, temples provided medical care for the poor and disaster relief during famine years. In an era of widespread illiteracy, temples were cultural leaders. Today, regardless of whether you have several hundred or several thousand years of history, what matters is whether you are a cultural leader in the present moment.

This culture includes artistic creations like painting and poetry, architectural sculptures, or broader expressions... Ancient temples had no shortage of poets, calligraphers, and great physicians... and so it is today. If people need coffee, selling coffee, selling coffee with cultural creativity, selling delicious and affordable coffee—all are perfectly acceptable... A team that cannot bring blessings to the people won't gain their support, let alone their trust and admiration. Today's temples no longer have temple properties to rely on for survival; they also need to create value to maintain the temple's operations... A cup of coffee that is beautiful, delicious, and has Zen-like qualities is all good..."

"Drinking coffee in the sacred grounds of Buddhism, do not judge others for their coffee."

Image source: Internet

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