From Qiaoxiang to the world: Qingtian coffee brews its way into a regional public brand
Publisher: China Coffee Network / Oct 3, 2026
Zhongxin News, Lishui, October 2 (Zhou Jian, Chen Rouyu) — Qingtian County, the overseas-Chinese hometown in Lishui, Zhejiang, has a deep coffee culture. Early overseas Chinese brought coffee culture back to their homeland through years of travel abroad; after decades of accumulation, coffee has long been woven into locals’ daily lives. Currently, Qingtian has over 700 registered cafés countywide, with daily coffee consumption exceeding 20,000 cups and annual coffee sales surpassing 200 million yuan.
In recent years, Qingtian has kept strengthening the “Qingtian Coffee” regional public brand. Building on its overseas-Chinese advantages, it has implemented a “going out” brand strategy, deploying branded stores and co-branded “store-within-a-store” outlets across Zhejiang and beyond, turning coffee into a bright name card for promoting Qingtian to the outside world.
The Qingtian Coffee store in Hangzhou’s Hangsteel Digital Tower features elegant green stone bricks and warm wooden tables and chairs, full of overseas-Chinese charm. Beyond coffee drinks, it sets up a specialty-products display area showcasing Qingtian specialties such as salami and toffee, as well as imported goods from the hometown, bringing Qingtian’s good products and culture to Hangzhou.
Qingtian Coffee. Photo provided by Chen Rouyu
“After living in Qingtian for a long time, I grew used to the taste of hometown coffee; it’s hard to find authentic espresso elsewhere,” said Mr. Wang, a Qingtian native living in Hangzhou. Having learned of a Qingtian Coffee store in Hangzhou, he has made several special trips and often invites fellow townspeople to sit and share the hometown flavor.
Wan Yu, manager of the Qingtian Coffee (Hangsteel) store, said the outlet has won many loyal customers with its authentic flavor, producing 130 to 150 cups of coffee a day. Rice-fish rice latte, raw-coconut latte, Qingtian espresso, and bayberry Americano are among the favorites. “Our store is also a demonstration point for Hangzhou and Qingtian to explore common prosperity, and a window promoting the Qingtian Coffee brand,” he said.
Beyond business towers, Qingtian Coffee has also entered scenic courtyards, blooming with international flair. Since its launch at the end of September 2025, the Qingtian Coffee (Hangzhou Huajia Shan Villa) store has become both a check-in spot for citizens and tourists and a distinctive point for foreign-exchange activities, hosting visiting teams from Germany, Myanmar, and other countries and regions. “Foreign guests favor the osmanthus latte, which blends the sweetness of Hangzhou osmanthus with the rich flavor of Qingtian coffee—highly praised,” said barista Chen Yuexin.
Qingtian Coffee (Hangzhou Huajia Shan Villa store). Photo provided by Chen Rouyu
Moreover, backing from Qingtian’s local leading enterprises keeps widening the brand’s reach. Inside an Yierkang shoe store in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, shoppers can taste Qingtian Coffee while browsing, unlocking a brand-new “shopping + coffee” consumption experience. Five Yierkang shoe stores have already launched Qingtian Coffee “store-within-a-store” outlets. Next, Yierkang will keep expanding its footprint, introducing the Qingtian Coffee format into more stores and leveraging its brand influence and offline traffic to keep promoting the distinctive Qingtian Coffee IP outward.
A relevant official from Qingtian County’s Western-Cuisine Industry Development Center said that in recent years the county has kept deepening the “Qingtian Coffee” regional public brand, adhering to the brand’s outward development and achieving a leap from “county-specific flavor” to “national public brand.” Next, Qingtian will keep enriching coffee formats, broadening cooperation channels, using a distinctive small industry to leverage big cultural-tourism growth and activating new momentum for shared prosperity. (End)
Reprint notice: This article is reprinted and translated from China News Service (Zhongxin News), Lishui dispatch. English version compiled by coffeeyo.com for overseas readers. Copyright belongs to the original publisher and author.
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