City perks up with coffee culture competition

Ti Gong

The first "Yangtze River Delta C9 Alliance Coffee Competition" began on Saturday during the 4th Yangtze River Delta International Cultural Industries Expo.

Huangpu District, the host of the competition, has a large number of specialty coffee shops.

The competition is part of the district's effort to enhance its influence and create a high-quality living circle characterized by a vibrant, comfortable, and slow-paced street life, the district government said.

It seeks to actively promote the integration of "urban coffee culture" and "regional coffee industry clusters."

The C9 Alliance was established in 2021 by central urban areas in major cities of the Yangtze River Delta region, initiated by Huangpu.

The alliance covers 0.5 percent of the Yangtze River Delta's area, harbors 4 percent of its population, and contributes 5.9 percent of its GDP. The competition's participants are drawn from across the C9 alliance region.

The competition consists of four stages. The first stage through December 11 involves recruitment and promotion through online and offline channels.

The second stage between December 11 and 26 will see the beginning of pre-competition activities, while the third stage, scheduled for December 27, will feature hand-brewed coffee and latte art competitions in Shanghai.

The final stage, the award ceremony, will be held on December 28. Throughout December, various coffee-related products will be promoted across the city.

Special selections of coffee beans from Pu'er City in China's southwest Yunnan Province will be highlighted in the competition.

During the event, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences will release two research white papers about the coffee consumption market in the central urban areas of the Yangtze River Delta and the coffee culture of Huangpu.

The competition also aims to provide career skill guidance for young participants, mapping out a career development path for coffee skill talents, the district government said.