One CAtFE in Beijing - Faith Coffee offers specialty coffee and something that melts your heart.  胡同裡的喵咖啡

That night in Beijing. We went to different places. This cafe was the last place we visited. It was a little bit late so we actually just wanted to have a look and maybe come back the other day. It was deep inside a very very dark alley (hutong if you prefer). The store was quite dark too and there was only two men inside. There were a few people just outside the store. But they were all local residents, collecting trash, passing by or just sitting in a chair and stare.

We walked in. The owner, we supposed, was talking to the other younger guy. He wasn't too enthusiastic but kept the basic politeness and asked what we needed. Later we knew that the younger guy seems to be the employee.

那一夜在北京，其實就在幾天前，嘻嘻。這裡給大家賠禮了，我撒了個小謊，說是去年的照片。我到北京一週，明天就回台北了，不說只是不想給這裡的朋友帶來困擾，想說要接待我什麼的（難道我多慮了？嗚嗚~~~）。其實我也不知道誰在北京，但是總之事情多，我也沒太多空檔的。原諒我了，那咱們繼續看看這間有趣的咖啡館。

那天晚上我們的最後行程就是去看一眼這間所謂的手沖咖啡廳 Faith Cafe。聽說在北京，這種咖啡廳也才剛剛流行不算太久（上海早一點）。這間店在胡同深處，胡同入口你可能會懷疑裡面真的有店嗎？因為整條巷子都很暗的，路燈幾乎沒有。我們信任地圖而走到底終於看見這店昏暗的招牌，店內隔著玻璃看也不怎麼亮。店裡有兩個人，店外多一些居民正在倒垃圾什麼的，不像是個有咖啡廳的巷子呵呵。進門後，看起來像老闆的人停止跟另一個年輕人說話，也不熱情地，問我們需要什麼。

Let me show you around first. It's got some styles.

先看看環境吧！蠻有個人特色的裝潢風格。

There are two sentences at both sides of the door. Basically saying that you may have both coffee and wines here and Boss Zhang welcomes all ladies and rich customers ... Okay, you should know that this only tries to be humorous. :)

咖啡與美酒可以兼得，既走腎，又走心。
妞子與錢子統統都來，張老闆，陪你聊聊。

This was what we originally ordered - a Dutch Coffee to go (cute little bottle right?) but the owner was quite happy to chat with someone who knows quite a lot about specialty coffee so we stayed longer and eventually ordered another cup to enjoy there. That someone of course is not me. I am the kind of guy who can only tell if the liquid is coffee or not. It will be a waste to let me drink specialty coffee as they are usually more expensive (sometimes very expensive). Still I drink a lot of specialty coffee because the expert and lover of this is my wife and I get to drink anything she wanted to taste but cannot finish. Yes, that way it is not a waste. It is environmentally friendly. I love planet Earth and my wife too. lol.

時間已晚，原本就是來看看的，但沒啥客人，老闆似乎也認為沖了咖啡就應該在現場喝，所以我老婆決定帶走比較可以保存風味的冰滴咖啡。但手沖咖啡專家跟老闆聊開後，老闆變得很熱情，結果就是留下來喝一杯手沖咖啡再走，然後繼續聊。那專家想當然，不是我。我可以分辨咖啡跟可樂，除此之外，給我喝不同手沖咖啡都是浪費，因為這種咖啡通常比較貴。是，我老婆頗有鑽研，這種店老闆通常很酷，但碰上同好，就變成大媽等級。我坐在沙發上，整理我的手機照片，讓他們聊去。我的One Night in Beijing那一帖的照片，基本上就是在這裡整理完畢的。：）

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Okay, here is the CAT part. They did not mention or stress that this is a cat friendly cafe or anything. But you will know it when you come. A beautiful yellow hair cat sitting on the counter. See how poised she was? This is her place and you are the quest. Be nice.

好了，為什麼說這是個貓咖啡廳哪？這裡沒特別強調貓，但你進店裡就知道了。看看這隻美麗的褐色毛的貓咪，在櫃台上看著你們，似乎在說這是我家啊，規矩點！

Oh there was another black and white one on the box! She was more needy for love as she meowed me and rubbed her head against my leg again and again...

不只一隻呢！這隻黑白毛色的貓在旁邊箱子上看著。但牠後來到我身邊磨蹭，看來是需要關愛，或是頭很癢吧？哈哈...

Oh My Goodness! There is still a little one I missed! Such a tiny and adorable kitten hidden under the sofa around the corner. I got to see her because she happened to climb up the sofa clumsily but OMGly cute.

哎呀！還有一隻呢！不，是 0.1 隻！太太太口愛了！看起來是剛出生不久，應該只有2-3週大吧！我沒看到是因為牠躲在角落沙發下邊睡覺吧，後來醒了，使勁兒爬上沙發，樣子太可愛了啦！所以我開始狂拍牠。

Ouch! The B&W cat rushed here and seemed to want to attack me. Okay she is the mother! I did not get bitten and stepped back a little bit and watch them get all kissy and rubbing. I was gonna melt and suddenly missed my son back home.

啊！黑白貓突然衝過來要咬我狀，我趕緊退後，知道是媽媽來了！所以拉開點距離，他們倆開始蹭蹭蹭，親親親，寶寶咪還不懂事，但媽媽咪實在是太愛牠了，愛不釋舌啊！<<<<3

Then mother left (knew that I wasn't a threat?) and the kitten was having fun all by herself. My heart ached a little bit. *_<

後來母貓走了，大概是輕視我的戰鬥力吧！小貓咪寶寶自己在沙發上舔啊，走啊，爬啊，不亦樂乎。我盯著看不停拍，儘管光線讓相片品質不佳也無所謂。實在是太可愛啊~~~ 嚴重犯規的！

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I was there sorting photos in my phone, watching this tiny kitten and enjoying the atmosphere. I was very happy to see such a delicate and vibrant specialty coffee store here. Somehow this makes me feel that even such a formidable capital city of a huge empire with thousands years of history, there are still new things, new lives (in this case, a kitten) bourgeoning in the remote corners of it, then there will always be good things happening to people here and to the whole world as long as lives know how to adapt and grow. No, I did not drink any alcohol, at least not* before* I came back to the hotel . Thanks for asking.

後來我回想起這間咖啡館，總是替北京人感到高興。在這樣偏僻的角落，有人在這裡為著夢想奮鬥著，想提升自己，想提升文化，想提升生活，讓世界更好。還有那隻小貓咪，誕生在這樣的地方，似乎象徵著生生不息的力量，在這有著千年古老歷史的帝國權力頂峰的城市裡，只要有人的地方，人們總是生生不息地，適應環境，一點一滴地改變著，就像是手沖咖啡一般地滴落，朝向更好的方向 ....

噢對，他們有賣酒，但我沒點啊，你問這幹嘛？

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For the cafe's location, please refer to the following map. Be careful if you go at night, there is hardly any light inside the alley. :)

咖啡廳在鼓樓附近這裡的胡同裡，地圖在此。

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