The original Manner Coffee on Nanyang Road in the Jing’An neighbourhood was one of my finds from my first visit to Shanghai, part of my first round-the-world trip in October 2016. When I returned at the end of 2017, I discovered that a second branch of Manner Coffee had opened on Fengxian Road, just a couple of blocks to the east of the original. Naturally I had to check it out.

Whereas the original is a hole-the-wall, literally a window in the side of a building, opening onto the street, the new Manner Coffee is much bigger, although it’s still tiny. This time it occupies the front half of a shop, with the rear section home to a small restaurant. The operation’s very similar though, with a window at the end of the counter opening on the street, where you order.

The offering’s also very similar, Manner roasting all its own coffee, with a blend on espresso and up to seven single-origins on pour-over through the V60. Naturally, all the beans are available to buy.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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Manner Coffee’s second branch isn’t far from the first, Fengxian Road effectively providing an eastern extension to Nanyang Road, home to the original. Simply walk east from the original, cross Shaanxi Road (home to Sumerian Coffee, my first-ever Shanghai speciality coffee experience), which separates Nanyang and Fengxian Roads, and you’ll find the new Manner Coffee a few doors down on the north side of the street (if you really need the landmark, directly opposite a Starbucks).

I first visited Fengxian Road on my return to Shanghai in 2017, although, despite taking some photos, I didn’t have time for coffee on that visit, so couldn’t write it up. I therefore made a beeline for it this time around, once I’d gotten over my jet lag, that is.

As I’ve said, Manner Coffee occupies the front half of a shop, with a restaurant at the back. It consists of a long counter, running along the right-hand wall, with a narrow corridor on the left, which leads past the counter to the restaurant. Just as at the original, you order at the window at the narrow end of the counter, which opens onto the street. Here, however, you get a much better view, including the ideal vantage point, when standing at the window, to watch the espresso extract. Plus, if you really want to, you can go inside and stand at the far end of the counter, where the pour-over is made.

Whenever I come to Shanghai, I like to try Chinese-grown coffee, so I selected the washed Yunnan from the selection of seven pour-over options, handing over my Therma Cup (Manner Coffee is takeaway cups only, so don’t forget to bring your own). This got me a five Yuan discount on the already generous price of just 15 Yuan (under £2).

I was offered the ground coffee to smell while I stood at the end of the counter.  Described as a medium roast, it smelled pretty good, which was a relief, Chinese coffee sometimes being over-roasted. Interestingly, when my coffee was ready, the barista first poured a little into a glass with some ice in it, before putting the rest into my Therma Cup.

I tried the iced coffee first, when it was still luke warm, and it tasted pretty good, but by the second sip it was cold and all I could taste was cold. I’m still not sure what the point of this whole iced / cold coffee thing is…

In contrast, the pour-over was a little too hot, so I wandered off and, a few minutes later, it had cooled down and was much better. Reminiscent of the medium and medium-dark roasted Yunnan coffee that I’d had on previous trips, it was a solid, drinkable coffee, with plenty of body, a great example of the type, one of the best I’ve had in Shanghai.

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