Before, we have been simply talking about beans, brewing methods and techniques, but rarely talking about coffee shops.

This time we will talk about 5 internationally renowned coffee shops that are worth visiting and buying coffee beans from. But before that, we need to understand a concept, what is the "third wave of coffee"!

The so-called "third wave of coffee" was first proposed by Trish Rothgeb, a roaster at the Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters in the United States in 2002. The condition that a coffee shop must meet to be classified as this type is that it must make coffee with fine craftsmanship like brewing wine.

Some characteristics of the third wave of coffee:

Transperency

Traceability

Sustainability

Seasonality

Stumptown Coffee

Stumptown Coffee - Founded in 1999, Stumptown Coffee is an iconic boutique independent coffee brand in the United States. Stumptown Coffee is headquartered in Portland and has a store area of ​​nearly 40,000 square feet. At Stumptown Coffee House, you can taste all kinds of high-quality coffee from all over the world.

The coffee in Stumptown Café is purchased directly from excellent coffee growers at reasonable prices, without any resale or third-party channels. The coffee is pure in variety and quality is guaranteed.

"The purpose of establishing Stumptown Coffee House is to trace the origin of coffee," said one of the operators of Stumptown Coffee in an interview with Time magazine. "This is our business philosophy and the message we want to convey to every customer."

Stumptown Coffee is the same as many popular independent coffee shops in the United States, insisting on roasting its own coffee beans. Unlike the general coffee category made from espresso, consumers at Stumptown Coffee drink coffee made with hand-brewed tools such as French presses and hand-brewed filter pots. Stumptown Coffee's most popular product is a light-medium roasted coffee bean "curler".

What needs to be explained most is that Stumptown Coffee and Intelligentsia, which will be introduced next, are the leaders of the third wave of specialty coffee, while the leaders of the second wave of coffee, which they correspond to, are Starbucks and Costa. This can be seen as a competition between two different coffee concepts, and also a competition between specialty coffee shops and Italian coffee shops represented by Starbucks and Costa.

Intelligentsia

This coffee brand, founded by Doug Zell and his wife Emily Mange in 1995, has only opened more than 10 stores in the United States to date. In terms of store opening speed, "Intellectuals" may not be a good role model, but it has produced four champions of the United States Barista Championship, and their pursuit of quality makes them undisputed!

Black Cat Classic Espresso, a very famous Italian coffee bean of Intellectuals, breaks the previous heavy roasting style of Peet's or Starbucks. It adopts medium to medium-dark roasting, with clean and bright taste, fruity tone and viscosity. It can be used for espresso or hand brewing, perfectly interpreting the original flavor of coffee beans.

"Intellectuals" has its own coffee training mechanism, covering various aspects such as production technology, green bean roasting, product control and coffee trade. It is the control of these links that directly guarantees the quality of "Intellectuals".

And in October 2015, Peet's Coffee & Tea announced the acquisition of Intelligentsia and Stumptown as a way to expand into the third wave of coffee.

% Arabic

% Arabica originated in Hong Kong and rose in Kyoto. It has stores in Japan, China, the Middle East and other places. It is a famous coffee shop on the IG platform.

With its unique decoration style, concept and good coffee quality, % Arabica has opened 45 branches around the world in just 4 years and has a large number of loyal fans! Recently, a branch was opened in Sanlitun, Beijing. % Arabica continues to expand into the mainland market.

In order to realize his dream of waking up with a cup of good coffee every day, the founder Kenneth Shoji bought a coffee plantation in Hawaii. Later, he invited world latte art champion Junichi Yamaguchi and architect Masaki Kato to create the current % Arabica.

% Arabica has always been pursuing a pure world of coffee, so the Shenzhen store, like other stores, only sells four types of freshly ground coffee: Espresso, Macchiato, Latte, and Americano.

There are two types of coffee beans to choose from, one is blended beans and the other is SOE. Both have different flavors.

The blended beans are made from Ethiopian and Brazilian coffee beans. They are roasted darker, have a heavier taste, are bitter, and have flavors of dark cocoa and buttery nuts.

SOE is a sun-dried bean from Yirgacheffe Konga. It has a more prominent sour taste, a soft taste, and a flavor similar to tropical fruits.

BlueBottle

Blue Bottle originated in Oakland, California, USA. In 2002, it was just a coffee stall at the farmer's market. The first store was set up in a garage without even a seat. The first physical store was opened two years later.

Founder Friedman grew up in California and learned to play the clarinet since childhood. He is a romantic musician rather than a numbers-oriented operator. He is deeply influenced by Japanese culture and has always admired the Japanese craftsman spirit. Therefore, in the first decade after its establishment, although Blue Bottle gradually began to operate in a chain, he did not want to replicate and expand stores quickly, and only slowly opened a dozen stores in the Bay Area of ​​California, New York and Los Angeles. As of 2019, Blue Bottle has 90 stores worldwide.

Friedman transformed his passion and focus on coffee into Blue Bottle's operating procedures and product features. He not only pays attention to the quality and flavor of coffee, but also pays great attention to every detail of coffee drinking and serving. No matter which branch, he insists on using coffee beans that are carefully selected and roasted by himself, and only sells coffee beans roasted within 48 hours. It is stipulated that coffee powder must be used within 45 seconds after grinding. These many details are only to ensure that the personality and deliciousness of coffee can be fully tasted by customers.

In addition, he also personally plans and designs each store. Whether using the space of a factory, a seaside warehouse, or an old theater, he can integrate it with the architecture and local culture to present Blue Bottle's unique minimalist and bright style.

His dedication and management style have created a kind of charm for Blue Bottle and an emotional connection between the brand and people. This charm fits perfectly with the consumer awareness and humanization trend that has emerged in the high-tech industry in recent years. As a result, it has won the favor of many celebrities in the American technology industry. They are not only loyal customers of Blue Bottle, but also rush to become its shareholders.

Perhaps influenced by Japanese craftsman culture since childhood, Blue Bottle Coffee chose Japan as its first overseas store. After successfully opening the first store in Kiyosumi Shirakawa, the second store was soon opened in a two-story house surrounded by greenery in the alleys of Aoyama, Tokyo. The third branch was opened in the form of a coffee kiosk in Log Road, a new landmark in Daikanyama. The Blue Bottle craze continued to spread in Japan, and the sales volume also rose rapidly.

Their beans can be purchased in the store and are divided into two categories: blends and single origin.

In September 2018, Swiss Nestlé Group announced that it would acquire a 68% stake in boutique coffee brand Blue Bottle for US$500 million.

VERVE

Verve has become a relatively niche brand. Although it is a niche brand, it is still very popular. It is not only favored by coffee fans, but also loved by Hollywood stars. It was once named one of the Most Important Drink of Your Day by GQ.

In 2013, the brand won the "Best Roaster in America's Best Food Awards", an award known as the "Oscar of the coffee industry".

Verve's two founders, Colby Barr and Ryan O'Donovan, were college classmates. Because they shared a passion for outdoor and water sports, in 2007 they moved from the cold downtown San Francisco to Santa Cruz, a surfing paradise in the northern Bay Area, and opened the first Verve.

As of September 4, 2018, Verve has only 11 stores worldwide. Why is it that every store it opens is so popular and every one of them amazes its fans?

The most significant feature of Verve's coffee is its dedication to the original coffee spirit. Customers can directly taste the coffee directly from the farm where it is produced. Paying attention to the source of coffee production can get the flavor they want. Verve advocates a street coffee culture, and each store it opens has its own brand culture and characteristics. This is conducive to further expanding the global market. So far, Verve has developed 11 stores in total, including 4 in Santa Cruz, USA, 1 in San Francisco, 3 in Los Angeles, and 3 in Tokyo, Japan.

They have a wide range of beans to choose from, including drip coffee, single-origin beans, blended beans, and even several types of ice drip beans specifically launched for ice drip.

These coffee chains are well-known on the Internet, but they are worth checking in, and their beans are also worth tasting. They all have their own characteristics. If you have the opportunity to travel abroad and happen to be in the place where these stores are located, don't forget to check in, you will definitely not be disappointed~!