Sample Beijing's Best Specialty Coffee at GREYBOX

Beijing is on the crest of a wave of great coffee and GREYBOX COFFEE is riding the top of that wave. GREYBOX has four locations in Beijing, in the Kerry Centre, China Central Place, Season's Place, and soon Wangjing Capita Land Mall, as well as a strong presence in other first-tier cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Nanjing. Back in Beijing, the location in the Kerry Centre is a sleek shrine to coffee, designed to be a meeting place for both coffee connoisseurs and those who want to expand their knowledge. 

GREYBOX aims to introduce a new generation of Chinese consumers to an affordable specialty product that they can add to their lives. Through passion and dedication to the art of third wave coffee, from bean selection to roasting to brewing, GREYBOX aims to offer curious Chinese consumers their “first cup of specialty coffee” at an accessible price point. The store’s Apple Store-like minimalist interior with its extra-long metal bar is more like a workshop or a laboratory than a cutesy coffee shop, fully playing into their passion for discovery and innovation.

GREYBOX COFFEE's dedication to caffeinated perfection was amply demonstrated recently when they started working with 2016 World Brewers Cup champion Tetsu Kasuya. Tetsu regularly visited all of GREYBOX's stores around China, where he shared his passion and carefully honed techniques with GREYBOX's baristas. 

Testu Kasuya (2016 World Brewers Cup Champion)

Originally hailing from Japan, Tetsu took home the title thanks to his self-designed brewing method, known as the 4:6 method. This meticulous pour-over brewing method uses exacting proportions of coffee and water (15 times the weight of beans to water, to be exact). The water is poured over coarsely ground coffee beans in strictly measured portions, the first 40 percent of which is used to control the flavor of the beans and the second 60 percent used to control the strength. This method allows the barista to explore and extract the true flavor of each variety of coffee, which is a bonus for Chinese consumers exploring single origin coffee for the first time. In fact, one of Tetsu’s main aims is to encourage fledgling coffee drinkers to experiment with and taste different coffee beans and discover their own personal preferences, just like he did after he left his job as an IT consultant and started working with coffee full time.

GREYBOX's talented team of baristas work their magic on a selection of exceptional single origin coffees. GREYBOX's only selects beans that have scored more than 80 to out of 100 on the grading scale created by the Specialty Coffee Association. Beans of this quality account for less than 10 percent of annual global coffee production. GREYBOX's current roster includes beans from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, El Salvador, and Colombia, and even renowned Geisha coffee, a favorite of champion baristas around the world. All the beans are freshly roasted and used within 48 hours of roasting, to preserve their unique flavor and character. The coffee beans take pride of place on the counter alongside accessible tasting notes.

In addition to brewed single origin coffees, GREYBOX offers a full range of espresso-based coffees, which have attracted a loyal following among visitors to GREYBOX for their precision preparation. 

Building on this popularity, they have recently released two exclusive flavors of espresso: Nordic and Australia. The Nordic blend is made from fresh medium roast coffee beans and boasts notes of fresh flowers. The Australian blend uses medium heavy roast coffee beans, giving it a more nutty flavor. 

GREYBOX’s baristas have also carefully selected a brand of milk that pairs perfectly with the coffee beans used for their espresso — even though it must be imported fresh from Australia every seven days. 

All of the above adds up to make GREYBOX COFFEE a must-visit destination for Beijing’s coffee lovers. 

【北京嘉里中心店】

1/F, Kerry Center, 1 Guanghualu, Chaoyang District

朝阳区光华路一号嘉里中心南楼转门旁(6500 6757)

【北京金融街店】

B133, B1/F, Seasons Place, Xicheng District

西城区金融街购物中心B1层B133 (66216391)

【北京华贸店】

L134，L1/F, China Central Place, Chaoyang District 

朝阳区北京华贸购物中心1层L134 (1871 006 8224)

【北京望京凯德Mall店】Coming soon

16, 1/F, Capital Land Mall, Guangshun North Road, Wangjing District

朝阳区广顺北大街33号凯德Mall1层16号

For more information, visit GREYBOX COFFEE's official website (www.greyboxcoffee.com) or find them on Weibo (GREYBOXCOFFEE) and WeChat (GREYBOXCOFFEE).

This post is paid for by GREYBOX COFFEE

Photos courtesy of GREYBOX COFFEE