More than 510,000 people attended the fourth Jiangmen Coffee Culture Festival, with around 270,000 cups of coffee sold during the four-day event that ended on 8 March, according to multiple news reports.
The festival drew large crowds throughout its run, with visitors queuing at booths to sample a wide variety of drinks ranging from classic espresso and lattes to speciality brews and creative cold coffee beverages.
This year’s edition expanded significantly in scale, bringing together more than 330 coffee brands from 13 countries and regions. The event was held across venues, including Wuyi Overseas Chinese Square and Wanda Plaza in Jiangmen’s Pengjiang District.
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Organisers said daily attendance increased by more than 20 percent compared with the previous festival, underscoring the event’s growing popularity among coffee enthusiasts.
Visitors explored exhibitions on coffee culture, watched live barista demonstrations, and participated in interactive workshops that showcased the journey from coffee beans to brewed drinks. The programme also incorporated elements of Jiangmen’s overseas Chinese heritage, highlighting the city’s identity as a historic hometown for Chinese communities abroad.
Among the notable guests was 2022 World Barista Champion Anthony Douglas, who praised the enthusiasm of local coffee drinkers during the event. “The festival has been great. I feel that people here are very passionate about coffee,” Douglas said.
The festival’s popularity also helped draw visitors from across Guangdong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area, with many attendees using the trip to explore Jiangmen’s historic neighbourhoods, local food scene and cultural sites.
Beyond the public festivities, the event also hosted a coffee industry cooperation exchange that brought together businesses and producing regions, including Yunnan and Hainan in China, as well as Brazil, Ethiopia and Uganda.
Coffee consumption surges across China
The surge in interest reflects a broader rise in coffee consumption across China in recent years. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, China’s coffee consumption has increased by nearly 150 percent over the past decade, reaching more than 240,000 metric tons as café culture spreads in major cities and smaller urban centres.
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At the same time, China’s speciality coffee scene has expanded rapidly, with independent cafés and domestic chains introducing new brewing methods, experimental flavours and locally roasted beans to appeal to younger consumers. Market analyses also point to rising demand for roasted coffee as China’s urban coffee culture continues to mature.
Against this backdrop, large-scale events such as the Jiangmen Coffee Culture Festival are increasingly viewed as platforms for promoting coffee culture while linking consumers, cafés and coffee producers across the global industry.
