IT'S NOT that Manchester’s Chinatown, with its plethora of restaurants and bakeries and big name chains within hopping distance, was crying out for a coffee shop.
“Funnily enough, before I opened the coffee shop I didn’t enjoy coffee. I always found it to be too bitter. That’s until I was told I was drinking the wrong coffee."
But now, thanks to the cult of coffee worship, you can follow a coffee bean trail from one end of the city centre to the other through Chinatown and on to the city's nearby certified brew capital, the Northern Quarter.
Coffeehouses are not the norm in Chinatown, so much so that Sinty Leung, co-owner of the one-week-old Chris' Coffee on Princess Street, is fairly sure she and her partner are the first to bring a coffeehouse to the area. 'Fairly' is the operative word here.
“Next door does Bubble tea (tea base mixtures with fruit or milk) and Wong’s Bakery does a standard filter coffee but yes, I’d say we’re the first dedicated coffeehouse,” said Sinty Leung. “I think in Chinatown many don’t see a need for a coffee shop as there are many big chains close by.”
Chris' Corner
Interestingly, while China may be the homeland of tea it has an ever growing coffee culture. After the US, China is the second-largest market for Starbucks. Still, here in Manchester's Chinatown, coffee tends to be an after thought.
“In Hong Kong the coffee business broke through years ago. You have your Starbucks but there also a lot of new independents appearing,” explained Leung as she showed off her impressive collection of Far East sourced coffee pots and coffee-makers.
Sinty Leung of Chris' Corner
Chris’ Coffee is a charming pint-sized coffee venture from Leung and her partner Chris, based within an unassuming ground floor location, directly across from Yang Sing on Princess Street.
It's a spin-off from the couple's popular hairdressers next door (aptly named Chris' Salon), conjured up after Chris saw a route for expansion when the space was made available.
“Funnily enough, before I opened the coffee shop I didn’t enjoy coffee. I always found it to be too bitter. That’s until I was told I was drinking the wrong coffee,” laughed Leung. “So I went on a course and was taught about timing and types of coffee beans. Before I could never drink an unsweetened Americano, but now it’s my favourite.”
Sinty Leung’s developed a keen palette for beans and brews after she was taken under the wing of a coffee expert. Now, when it comes to coffee, she’s a purist and has chosen to have her own branded Brazillan and El Salvadorian beans hand roasted in Yorkshire – any further away from Manchester and she believes the coffee would have been too bitter.
Inspired by trips to Rome and Florence Chris’ Coffee specialises in only coffee. Making use of the incredibly small space (seats just 13 people) she serves cakes (Chocolate & Seville Orange cake, Cherry & Almond cake, and Carrot & Orange cake) ordered in from a specialist baker, imported and locally made snacks and Italian Affogato coffee ice cream. Although, Chris' won't be selling any sandwiches. Quelle horreur.
“We wanted to concentrate on the coffee. After visiting Italy we realised we didn’t have to provide everything. The coffeehouses I visited were small and catered just the coffee. In the UK there is usually a demand to provide more, but that’s where your big chains come in," Leung said.
Not that Chris' Coffee has stuck entirely down the traditional coffeehouse route. It's a sugary sweet and prettied up boutique coffee shop – with a whole lot of white furniture. It’s undeniably feminine, but Leung isn’t too bothered.
“I did consider choosing the traditional warm, walnut tones. I gathered my friend’s opinion on design and they did say it’s incredibly feminine and suggested I add more masculine features, but I decided to go for what I like: turqouise finishings, clean white furniture and a statement pink wall.”
The coffee (£2)
It’s hard not to like Leung and her passionately run business - even sans sandwiches. The proof of the pudding (or the coffee) resided with my latte. For £2, it was a strong, smooth and a comforting balance of bitterness and sweetness – to Leung’s credit it was definitely not too bitter as Starbucks can be.
“Without sounding overconfident the coffee here is good, really good. We want to offer something different to all the other big chains nearby. It's unfortunate that people may miss us because of our location, but I hope people who do spot us will like the coffee and spread the word."
You can find Chris' Coffee on 83 Princess Street and on Facebook.
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For decorative purposes: coffee maker from Hong Kong
Another from the far east
Chris Corner
Feminine
