MUMAMOO at the Qiantan Coffee & Dessert Carnival - Three Days on Qianjiatan Road

The street had been closed to traffic and opened to people for the Qiantan Coffee & Dessert Carnival - four days of coffee and pastry, more than 150 brands gathered from 21 cities across China, running from eleven in the morning until nine at night. Part of the wider Qiantan Life Carnival that takes over this stretch of riverside Shanghai every autumn.

We came with a bench, a lineup of brewers, and a menu board. Our spot was booth 108 - kettle on one end, a row of cones in the middle, and a sign that said, in Chinese, Shanghai specialty coffee.

On the bench, the brewers stood in a row - glass cone after glass cone, each one set over its own server, waiting its turn. Anyone walking past could see exactly how their cup was going to be made. Nothing hidden behind a machine.

We poured. Panama, Yunnan, Jamaica, Colombia - the range we take everywhere, brewed slowly, one cup at a time. And for the people who wanted something warmer and quicker, we pulled espresso too.

What we noticed, over and over, was how people drank it.

Not in a hurry. Not walking away. They stood at the counter, lifted the cup, and stopped for a moment.

Some leaned in and just smelled it first, nose almost to the rim, before they tasted anything. That small pause - taking in the aroma before the sip - is one of our favourite things to watch. It means someone is paying attention.

And then they asked questions. Where is this coffee from? How is it processed? Why does this one taste different from the last?

That is the whole point for us. A cup of coffee is not just a drink to hand over - it carries a place, a season, a process, and a person who grew it. When someone leans in to smell it and then wants to know where it came from, the coffee has done its job.

Three days on a closed street in Shanghai, with the National Day crowds drifting past, a dog or two stopping by the counter, and a steady line of cups going out. Tiring in the best way.

Thank you to everyone who stopped, leaned in, and tasted something new.

Drink Coffee. See The World.