The mainstream “coffee” image was still instant coffee

The mainstream “coffee” image was still instant coffee
For many Chinese urban consumers in the 1990s, coffee meant Nestlé instant coffee, not espresso, hand drip, or café latte.
A Chinese retrospective on Starbucks’ China entry says that when Starbucks opened in Beijing in 1999, many Chinese people’s understanding of coffee was still basically Nescafé instant coffee.

instant coffee was the first form of coffee to become truly mainstream

During China’s reform and opening-up era, instant coffee was the first form of coffee to become truly mainstream.

Before that, coffee existed in a few older urban settings such as Shanghai, but after 1978 it was reform-era consumer opening, foreign-brand entry, supermarket distribution, and mass advertising that turned coffee from a niche curiosity into a recognizable everydayproduct.

Coffee producing regions

Coffee is produced in China in Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan. However, Yunnan is currently the largest coffee-producing region.

Because Yunnan combined the right ecology for Arabica with the right political-economic buildup, while Hainan fit Robusta better and Guangdong evolved into a trade/industry/consumption hub rather than a major farm base.

Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening-up policy began at the end of 1978, leading to the construction of numerous Western-style hotels, such as the Jianguo Hotel in Beijing. These hotels began selling Western cuisine, coffee, and cola.

Meanwhile, Shanghai, with its long-established coffee culture and numerous coffee houses even before World War II, saw almost all of its coffee shops disappear during the Cultural Revolution, with only one exception. However, after the reform and opening-up, coffee houses gradually revived.

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, China shifted its policy to reform and opening up, actively attracting foreign companies. Coffee was served in hotels and restaurants catering to foreign dignitaries, tourists, and businesspeople, becoming a valuable means of earning foreign currency.

This year, 2026, marks the 60th anniversary of the start of China's Cultural Revolution.

And during this Cultural Revolution, China also had a unique coffee culture.

■ The Beginning of the Cultural Revolution
After the end of World War II, China, under a communist regime, implemented the "Great Leap Forward" in the late 1950s. This rapid industrialization and agricultural policy, spearheaded by Mao Zedong, ended in a catastrophic failure, resulting in tens of millions of deaths from starvation due to unrealistic production increases and natural disasters.

The First Coffee House on the Chinese Mainland around 1836, a Danish man, Peter Ostrovsky opened the first coffee house "North Wind and the Sea" near the Thirteen Factories(Shisan Hang) trading district in Guangzhou.
Guangzhou was China's only trading port with the West at the time.
In 1757, Emperor Qianlong closed the foreign trade functions of other coastal ports, leaving only the Yuehai Pass in Guangdong as a trading port with the West.
In other words, Guangzhou was the only legitimate foreign trade base open to the West by the Qing dynasty.

EDIYA COFFEE, a low-cost coffee rival to Starbucks, has raised its coffee prices since its founding, reaching around 3,200 won as of 2026.

Mega MGC COFFEE, on the other hand, has emerged as a representative of low-cost coffee.

Starbucks is currently priced higher, EDIYA is mid-priced, and MGC is mid-priced.

MEGA MGC COFFEE is a coffee franchise with roots in Princess Cafe Anhouse, founded by Ha Hyun-woong, and shaved ice chain Pasiya.

Starbucks opened in front of Ewha Womans University in 1999 and was a huge success.
This sparked a cafe boom in Korea as well.

The first Starbucks store opened in Seoul in 1999.
The man who drove Starbucks in Korea was Jeong Yongjin, current Chairman of the Shinsegae Group.