People's Daily reporter Li Liping
On the morning of July 14th, Lei Ming, the manager of Blackstone Coffee, walked into the examination room to participate in the judging training for the China finals of the World Coffee Brewing Competition. Only by passing the written test and practical assessment can one be qualified to officiate the national finals, "he said. This is not only a review of individual professional abilities, but also a collective appearance of the overall level of Guiyang Coffee.
Pineapple Special in Black Stone Coffee. Photo by People's Daily reporter Li Liping
This year, the top national coffee competition landed in Guiyang for the first time. The news came, and the local coffee manager couldn't sit still. Coffee enthusiasts were running around and eagerly anticipating it. Recently, the "Global Coffee Fragrance · Guiyang Gathering" coffee market in Guiyang MixC has been in full swing, with crowds of people and lingering aroma, showcasing the vibrant vitality of the city.
This heavyweight event not only brought a surge in attention to Guiyang Coffee, but also a valuable "industry open class". In the eyes of Lei Ming, top players from all over the country gathered in Guiyang, bringing cutting-edge concepts, new equipment, and exquisite brewing skills. Through face-to-face communication and practical exchanges, they built an efficient learning and upgrading channel for local practitioners, helping the entire industry to improve and upgrade.
Borrowing a cup of rich coffee aroma, Guiyang coffee takes root in fertile soil and grows towards the sun, advancing step by step through perseverance and innovation.
Rooting in, new development is just the right time
Passing through the narrow alleys of the old street that are less than two meters wide, climbing two flights of stairs at the corner, the black stone coffee is hidden among the residential buildings. There is no hustle and bustle of the bustling city, only a leisurely atmosphere. Many citizens frankly say that this place is like a friend's living room, comfortable and healing. Citizen Wu Luo Jingnan is not a resident of the surrounding area, but often comes specifically to enjoy this unique relaxed atmosphere.
Guiyang people have always preferred to stroll through the streets and explore the local flavors, and Lei Ming, who was born here, is no exception. No matter if the store is hidden in a deep alley or a residential area, as long as the flavor is authentic and the taste is outstanding, it can always attract citizens to visit and check in. The unique urban consumption temperament nourishes the unique and harmonious development style of Guiyang coffee.
Black stone coffee hidden in residential buildings. Photo by People's Daily reporter Li Liping
Coffee in Guiyang is not a sudden emerging industry, but a characteristic industry that has been accumulated for decades. As early as around 2000, independent cafes quietly appeared on the streets of Guiyang. The old coffee shop "Yesterday Returns" carries the memories of a generation of Guiyang people. At that time, the phrase "I don't return yesterday, I am on the way to return yesterday" became popular throughout the city and became a unique imprint of the city.
Decades of deep cultivation and accumulation have deeply rooted Guiyang coffee in the urban fireworks, accumulating a profound industry heritage.
After finishing the morning review training, Lei Ming rushed back to the store and led the cup testing exchange activity. A group of local coffee managers gathered together to taste premium green beans, exchange brewing techniques, and explore industry trends, creating a lively and intense atmosphere for communication. Park Mei ying, the head of quality control at Beijing Longbach Coffee Green Bean Company, admitted that the professional and communicative atmosphere among coffee practitioners in Guiyang has surprised her greatly.
George Coffee Peng Jinyang and the right coffee Hu Ying are the enlighteners of our group of coffee people in Guiyang, "Lei Ming sighed. Nowadays, Guiyang Coffee can break through the circle and steadily rise, which is inseparable from the generations of practitioners' persistence, deep cultivation, solidarity and professional cultivation.
Rooted in the local market and continuously innovating, it is the code of vitality for Guiyang coffee to thrive for a long time. Recently, Blackstone Coffee's newly developed "Milk Wash Cold Extract" has received a lot of praise during the promotion stage and is about to be officially launched. We insist on launching a new product every quarter to maintain the freshness and innovative vitality of the business, "Lei Ming said with a smile. Many old customers are familiar with all categories in the store and often actively urge for new products and beans. The expectations of consumers have forced local coffee shops to continue exploring and boldly innovating, unlocking diverse flavors and enriching business connotations through repeated attempts and polishing.
By seeking change and cultivating quality internally, and adapting to market demand externally, Guiyang Coffee has forged its own path of growth through the tempering of time.
Leaving the mountains and entering Guizhou to liven up the urban atmosphere
While deeply cultivating the local area, Guiyang Coffee actively ventured out of the mountainous city and headed towards a broader stage.
Peng Jinyang, the owner of the well-known coffee brand "Captain George", has built the "Flavor Museum" coffee shop in Shanghai, which is always popular and queued up. Many diners specifically check in to taste the authentic and unique Guizhou coffee flavor.
From local small shops hidden deep in the streets and alleys to distinctive IPs based nationwide, Guiyang Coffee is no longer limited to the local market, gradually establishing a foothold and reputation in multiple cities across the country. Cup after cup of Guizhou style coffee has become a vivid window to showcase Guizhou and promote Guiyang, allowing tourists from all over the country to understand the unique charm of this city through its rich and fragrant taste.
Tourists taste the "Yelangguo" flavored coffee infused with local ingredients. Photo by Yang Qian from People's Daily Online.
The road to success for Guiyang coffee has been steady. In February of this year, Lei Ming led the "Life Fermentation Festival" in Beigan Street, Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, bringing the rich Guizhou flavor to the land of Jiangnan. At the event, tourists flocked to the Guizhou style handmade coffee table, where the hot and steamy Qiandongnan sour soup and eye-catching "Village T" showcased Guizhou's fireworks and trendy atmosphere from all angles.
Featured Guizhou snacks such as Huangba, potato chips, and washed sand mooncakes were carefully arranged and paired with coffee, appearing at the Blackstone Coffee Hangzhou store, creating wonderful flavor sparks. Originally, I was just trying to pair it with coffee snacks, but I didn't expect Guizhou snacks to be widely loved by diners and have considerable sales. Lei Ming said that he always hopes to use coffee as a link to promote Guizhou's "Five Classics" characteristic formats of boutique coffee, craft beer, exquisite catering, exciting cultural and creative industries, and exquisite travel, so that more people can see Guizhou's good products and experience Guizhou's charm.
We need to go out and expand our circle, as well as bring in and empower. Nowadays, the coffee industry has become a new entry point for the integration of culture and tourism in Guiyang, injecting new vitality into the city's development. Starting from 2024, more and more tourists from other places are specifically heading to Guiyang, not for the scenery of mountains and rivers, but for a coffee gathering and checking in at various unique independent cafes. Many coffee enthusiasts stay in the city for a few days and unlock the Guiyang coffee shops that have become popular on social platforms one by one.
Riding on the trend and taking advantage of it, Guiyang has steadily caught the new flow of coffee, culture, and tourism. The Yunyan District Cultural and Tourism Bureau has launched the "Coffee Maze – Exploring the Taste of the Old Town" urban walking theme route, connecting the unique independent cafes and core cultural and tourism nodes in the jurisdiction, extending the single short-term coffee consumption into an immersive, all-weather urban cultural and tourism experience.
A cup of coffee boosts the popularity of a city, and the gathering of people drives consumption and industrial linkage, revitalizing the old streets and towns and making the entire city more vibrant and lively.
Relay, deep cultivation and tempering of industrial resilience
For the long-term development of the industry, talent is the core foundation. In the September semester of this year, Guizhou University will add coffee elective courses to precisely fill the gap of professional talent shortage that Guiyang's coffee industry has long faced.
Coffee practitioners are not simply service personnel. Coffee extraction, flavor adjustment, and quality control all require solid professional knowledge support. In Lei Ming's view, the lack of systematic and specialized learning not only limits the growth space of practitioners, but also restricts the standardization and branding development of the entire industry.
Talent cultivation has become a necessary question for the quality upgrading and long-term development of Guiyang's coffee industry.
The coffee culture event of the third season of Yunyan in 2026, titled 'You Can't Stop Gathering Coffee'. Zhao Wushu
For this reason, local coffee practitioners take the initiative to take responsibility and work hard. Last year, Lei Ming founded Blackstone Coffee Academy based on its own coffee roasting factory. As of June 30th this year, it has offered 7 courses and trained 12 students, providing practical grassroots talents for the industry.
But training practitioners alone is not enough. Only by introducing high-level talents can the industry take root firmly.
Last August, Guiyang Coffee Industry College was officially established in Guiyang Vocational and Technical College, building a full chain talent training system. The course covers the entire industry chain of coffee planting and processing theory, extraction and blending practical operations, coffee tourism product planning, etc., and is fully adapted to the development needs of the industry in all aspects.
At the same time, the college collaborates with well-known coffee brands such as "Nectar One" and "Captain George" to jointly build a smart coffee laboratory training base, promote the "diploma certificate+vocational skills certificate" dual certification integration model, and open up the connection channel between campus training and market practice, so that professional talents can apply what they have learned.
The technology of Guiyang Coffee has also been honed through repeated industry exchanges, "Lei Ming said. Local top brands have formed a tradition of" competition for training and combining competition with training. "" The landing of the national finals in Guiyang is a touchstone
Nowadays, a multi-level and all-round talent cultivation system has gradually taken shape, including the promotion of characteristic courses in universities, the cultivation of vocational college systems, and the support of industry independent training, which continues to solidify the development foundation of Guiyang's coffee industry.
From a single green bean to a cup of premium coffee, more and more young talents are rooted in the track and deeply cultivating the industry, injecting a continuous stream of new energy into the iterative upgrading of Guiyang's coffee industry.
From small shops in the streets and alleys to national competitions, Guiyang Coffee has settled in perseverance and grown in openness. The landing of top national competitions in Guiyang is a recognition of the local coffee industry's strength by the industry, and also provides new opportunities for the integration of urban culture and tourism, as well as the improvement of industry quality. A cup of mellow coffee, hiding the inclusive and open urban background of Guiyang, also allows the flavor of Guizhou to go further and further.
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