Sea Breeze Along the Embankment, Coffee Aroma Fills Jimei

Gentle waves kissed the beach as the sea breeze carried the rich aroma of coffee and spread it slowly outward. The setting sun melted into gold, spilling across the coastal promenade of the Ten-Li Embankment, where more than 130 coffee stalls stretched along the shoreline like a string of pearls. Water dripped from pour-over kettles, milk foam hissed in cups, and singing mingled with the lapping waves — together weaving a romantic overture unique to this moment. Since its launch on September 5, the 2026 Xiamen·Jimei Coffee Season has rolled out a series of coffee-themed events, sparking a citywide coffee craze. On the afternoon of October 30, the main venue officially opened, and the youthful energy of Jiageng’s hometown was ignited by cup after cup of specialty coffee.

Over 130 Brands Gather

One Coastline, Coffee Flavors from Around the World

This year’s coffee coastal market along the Ten-Li Embankment scaled up once again, with over 130 domestic and international brands lining the embankment — far surpassing last year. Strolling along the coast, visitors can sample coffee flavors from around the world in one stop, as the sea breeze and rich aroma blend into a romance unique to Jimei’s seaside market.

Mr. Liu, a coffee shop owner from Hangzhou, traveled far with his signature specialty drink: “The seaside ambience of Jimei’s Ten-Li Embankment is one of a kind. Setting up a coffee stand by the sea, the beans’ aroma is amplified by the sea breeze. This time I created a Jimei-limited edition, infusing the flavors of an island sunset into the coffee, and many young people took photos and checked in right after tasting it.” Coffee professionals from both sides of the strait sat together to exchange ideas — discussing bean roasting and store operations — turning the embankment into a platform for industry exchange.

Ms. Huang, a visitor from Jiangsu, walked the market with her family, a Geisha pour-over in hand: “I’d seen short videos of the Jimei Coffee Season long ago and made a special weekend road trip just for it. Tasting specialty coffees from all over while watching the sea — plus the market’s cultural-creative products and food — this coastal leisure plus coffee experience made the trip so relaxing.” Visitors came and went in an endless stream, taking photos, tasting and chatting, as the market stayed lively from afternoon into the night.

Guidance from the Masters

Professional Competitions Build an Industry Event

Beyond the market’s bustle, this Coffee Season featured hardcore professional content. Anthony Douglas, the 2022 World Barista Champion, made a surprise appearance at the Red Dot Design Museum to share industry insights, breaking down coffee extraction and flavor logic. Three major professional competitions — cupping, brewing and latte art — kicked off in succession: the FJCC Cupping Competition, the Brewing Championship and the Jimei Latte Art Competition took turns on stage, with contestants competing side by side and letting the audience witness the birth of a great cup of coffee up close.

Mr. Chen, who came all the way from Shenzhen to compete in the cupping event, was earnestly recording flavor scores at the venue: “The Jimei Coffee Season’s competitions are high-caliber, bringing together many top players in the industry. Held by the sea, you compete in professional skill while enjoying the sea breeze — the experience is fantastic. I come to Jimei to compete every year; its strong coffee atmosphere is perfect for practitioners to learn and grow.”

Ms. Lin, a local resident, watched the competition with her child, completely absorbed: “I used to only know how to drink coffee. Today, watching the baristas sketch patterns live — milk foam swirling into the shapes of hearts and leaves — was so visually captivating. Beyond the competition, there were seaside hands-on workshops where kids made soap from coffee grounds, learning about environmental protection through play. The activities were incredibly rich.”

Youth Empowers “Coffee+”

Unlocking Jimei’s New Trendy Lifestyle

As the Xiamen district with the highest share of young residents, Jimei has made coffee part of young people’s everyday life. This Coffee Season, closely tied to youth trends, built a “coffee + culture-tourism + dating + low-carbon” multi-format offering. On-site marriage registration services were offered, where newlyweds could collect exclusive coffee benefits with their marriage certificate — a cup of coffee marking young people’s romantic moment; “lock-of-love” gift packs, beauty experiences and consumer-voucher benefits also rolled out one after another. As night fell, the Coffee Music Night began on schedule, with the sound of waves accompanying the music and lighting up the embankment’s night economy.

Low-carbon sustainability became a new highlight of this Coffee Season. The event promoted a zero-waste concept throughout, collecting coffee grounds on-site and sending them to farms for composting, with six waste-sorting recycling stations set up across the venue. The seaside workshops were a huge hit — citizens turned sea glass into fridge magnets, repurposed flour sacks into storage baskets, and made scrub soap from coffee grounds. These immersive hands-on sessions brought green-living ideas to life. A coffee sommelier delivered a “Coffee Without Carbon” themed talk, weaving low-carbon thinking into the coffee industry.

A relevant official said: “Jimei is home to a university-town youth resource, giving coffee consumption a natural grassroots foundation. By continuously building the Jimei Coffee Season IP, we aim to deepen the ‘coffee + industry + culture-tourism + universities’ integration model, binding the Ten-Li Embankment’s coastal resources with coffee culture. This both builds a stage for coffee professionals to exchange and creates a coastal leisure check-in spot for residents and visitors, continuously activating the district’s consumer vitality and forging a new Xiamen coastal culture-tourism brand.”

One cup of coffee, embracing the embankment’s sea breeze; one grand event, igniting the city’s earthly warmth. The main venue of this Coffee Season will run through November 2, and the citywide coffee-tasting program will continue until November 14. While the autumn air is crisp, come to Jimei’s Ten-Li Embankment and, between the blue sea and the setting sun, keep a date with rich aroma.

Photo: The main venue of the Jimei Coffee Season bustles at night. (Photo: organizer)

(Reporter: Shuai Hao    Source: Jimei News)