Brewing new experiences in a Beijing cafe

He was trained in South Korea and has professional accreditation from the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), becoming a "licensed Q grader." They roast the green beans in-store. In other words, he takes his caffeine very seriously.

Ma, 35, is also a photographer and draws comparisons between the two passions, explaining that the need for technical know-how goes hand-in-hand with creativity, though he says coffee also makes him feel "connected to nature."

"In photography, you need to practise certain required skills and buy appropriate equipment, but people have different approaches. The coffee is just like that."

"Also, the photographer has to have a good eye, to know the different effects of different light and so on. With coffee, you have to develop a good palate to tell the difference between different beans."

His attention to detail stretches to the decor, the carefully handpicked antique furniture and very particular industrial look. "The environment and coffee have something in common: craftsmanship. The style is 1930s, the age of industry. In that era, people put equal emphasis on industrialization and craftsmanship."

Choosing a time of huge development as inspiration is apt, however while he acknowledges the style as Western, he is polite but firm that he is not trying to ape Western culture or solely attract foreign tourists and expats, and is reluctant to agree that the growing popularity of coffee shops in China could be down to Western influence.

"To some extent," he says. "But looking at the whole history of coffee, in Western countries coffee is also a relatively new thing. Coffee shops like us are few in China, but I think will gradually become more widespread."