Reality Equation

Città Espresso Club, Shanghai

Shanghai is an explosion of postmodern complexities, not entirely unlike Manhattan. It’s never the same for anybody, and its own identity is volatile, changing, ephemeral. When you have one, just one day to explore the city, your choices will reflect some fragment of your own splintered identity. You might choose spend your day at one of the many technology malls that dot the city, haggling with local vendors to get gadgets at half the quoted price, stroll around museums and parks, follow a guidebook and discover tourist hangouts, find a salsa club, just sit and people-gaze.

When you’re traveling in a group, fragmented identities become especially relevant. Would the city change depending on your own frame of mind, and the dynamics of a group where each person has varied interests? I thought so, so at around 11:30am, I split from the group to go explore specialty food and coffee in Shanghai. I hadn’t had breakfast yet, so I decided to find a café.

Città Espresso Club

Walking down Fuzhuo Road to get to the Nanjing W station to get to Bonna Cafe in Xinle Rd, weaving through the sheer madness of the city’s traffic (both vehicular and human), I stopped at the crossing in Shandong Rd and waited for the walk signal to turn green. And in a moment of sheer serendipity, I caught sight of a huge red circular logo with the words “Città” in white.

“Chittà!” Just last night I’d sent an email to Lee Spector about meeting him at Chittà Espresso Club in HuaiHai Rd, and here it was, right in front of me, logo and all. I walked in (which makes it sounds like there was some degree of free will; I have a feeling I was drawn to it in the sort of hypnotic trance that only the prospect of having a good shot of espresso can bring about).

“Do you have another branch at HuaiHai Rd?” I asked who I assume is the manager, as I walked into the massive, ultramodern café. He answered yes, confirming my grand theory that the reason the place was all shiny and glittery was because it was new, and not, as one might assume, because all espresso bars are run by neat-freaks who are secretly graphic designers. (Not that this alternative theory has been sufficiently disproved yet).

Stepping In

The interior has a decidedly European look to it: posh, minimalist furniture lit up with bright ceiling-to-floor wall windows on all sides, a dark red-noir color scheme and very spacious seating. There’s even outdoor seating on the patio, umbrellas and all, with a small sign telling visitors there’s free WiFi available.

A glossy brochure on the table explains, in Chinese with English titles accompanying (there’s also an English-only version, apparently), what each type of coffee drink is. The photography and layout is done very tastefully, a clear indication that they’re willing to spend considerably on the espresso experience, and that they’re serious about their coffee. (That, or it’s a clear indication I’m a sucker for good design).

I examined their counter (meaning, of course, that I scanned it very thoroughly at it with a raised eyebrow), and noticed that they had a semi-automatic La Marzocco Linea machine, with two double-spout groupheads that seemed to be clean and very well maintained. (And, again, shiny)

Espresso

I ordered an espresso (CNY 18). I had to.

It arrived about two minutes later, in a beautiful Città espresso cup with a distinct flat handle. The crema was thick and strong, the temperature pleasing (not burning, but warm enough), with the sort of consistency you want to drown in. It wasn’t over-extracted—the problem at a lot of coffee places, even ones with good machines—nor was it burning with acidity. I asked for water to clear my palate and took a sip. The taste was mild (medium roast, I’m guessing), with just a very, very slight trace of acidity that made it very pleasant. After a year of not having had good espresso, this was godly.

Duck Wrap, Breakfast

For breakfast, I ordered their duck wrap (CNY 24), a pretty standard wrap with what tasted like roast duck (although it’s true, I can’t tell my meat; it could just as well have been kangaroo and if it said duck on the menu, I wouldn’t know). It was quite delicious:

The free WiFi is great. After about an hour of just sitting, writing (this article) and calling friends, I couldn’t resist the urge to try their caffè-lattè. My expectations were high. And this time, I wanted to see how they did it.

Caffè Lattè

I asked the manager if I could take a video of their preparing my décaf espresso, and he agreed. So here it is, a barista at Città pulling a shot and texturing the milk for my lattè:

And the final product, a caffè lattè (with a resotta) at Città Espresso Club, Fuzhou Road, Shanghai:

I noticed they used whole, condensed milk. You’ll notice in the video that they stretch the milk quite a bit (maybe a little too much to my liking, but still done very well). The drink had a thick head, more like a cappuccino than a lattè, but they got the microfoam dead on. Not a single bubble broke the surface, and the milk blended perfectly with the espresso, forming a distinct rosetta shape.

The Verdict

With its minimalist architecture and interior design, soft jazz playing over the speakers, a very pleasant ambiance and, most of all, excellent coffee, Città Espresso Club in Shanghai is definitely a must-go for any coffee enthusiast. It’s 1:13pm now, I’ve spent over two hours enjoying great food, coffee and the WiFi (writing this article, taking and download photos) and I couldn’t be more pleased with the service.

The Follow-Up

I visited another branch, the one in HuaiHai Road, and talked to the manager there, who spoke good English and was very willing to talk about Città presence in Shanghai and the growing coffee culture there. He told me that Città is run by an Israeli owner by the name of Oriya Reuveny, and started in 2007 with its first café in ZhongShan Park. It currently has four branches, with the fifth on the way in the PuDong area.

When I mentioned that it was hard finding good coffee and, indeed, coffee culture in Hefei, he mentioned that there are “lots of coffee places in Shanghai”, but that most “young people are attracted to Starbucks because of their ice coffee drinks”. Most consumers of ‘hot coffee’, he mentioned, are still foreigners, but the number of Chinese consumers interested in good espresso is on the rise.

Città Espresso Club is worth keeping an eye on. I’m not familiar with the overall coffee scene in Shanghai, but based on what I’ve read on coffee forums, there aren’t too many great places; Città might just be the closest you’ll get to a the elusive god shot in Shanghai!