"Because it's such a new market here, there are no preconceptions about what coffee should be, so you find coffee served in very creative ways that you wouldn't see in the West," Eunson said.

According to the ICO, Chinese coffee culture is unique in that the Chinese often eat when drinking coffee, leading to a smaller take-away business than found in Western countries. The ICO also says that most Chinese coffee drinkers prefer cappuccinos or lattes to espresso, which they consider to be too bitter.

Today, "nearly every type of fine quality coffee is available in China's coffee bars," Osorio said. "However, much education is needed in the subtleties of taste and properties of different origins, which are alien to most Chinese consumers."

Eager to make headway in the Chinese market, the coffee industry is rising to the call.

In order to increase coffee awareness, the ICO organizes coffee exhibitions in the country, such as the 2007 Shanghai International Coffee Exhibition, which will run from March 16-18.

But Chinese such as Wang Ke, 27, of Central China's Henan Province, are skeptical about Chinese coffee culture's future.

Ke says her cynicism stems from her belief that most Chinese coffee consumers drink it to be fashionable, or because they work at foreign companies. "True coffee lovers," she says, are few and far between.

"Drinking coffee is not a habit yet in China," she says. "Even though there are more coffee shops popping up, it doesn't mean that the customers are going there to order coffee or truly appreciate the coffee culture."

Osorio, however, believes there is good reason to be optimistic about the coffee bean's future in China.

"Japan also a traditional tea-drinking country was at the current Chinese consumption level in the mid 1960s but now consumes more than 7 million bags," he said. "It is likely that China could follow a similar growth path."

(China Daily 03/02/2007 page18)