Though it’s a café by day, On Emotions is sure to soon be known as a cozy evening lounge. That’s because the low-key but steadily busy two-year-old Sanlitun venue is serving some of the best coffee cocktails in Beijing. Those booze-and-bean combos come courtesy of Yann Zhan, who honed her mixology technique at top-shelf cocktail joint Infusion Room before setting up shop at On Emotions.
Priced between RMB 80-85, her handful of new coffee cocktails boast gorgeous presentation, bold flavors and unique combinations. During a recent visit, we started with the Black Paoluda, which is named after a dessert that’s famous in Thailand and Dali, the latter locale being where Zhan’s girlfriend and On Emotions colleague Ryne Fu (a stylized way to spell “Ryan”) grew up. The Southeast Asian dessert that prompted this cocktail (called 泡鲁达 in Chinese) features milk and coconut meat spread on toast, so Zhan filled the drink with coconut, milk, and ice chips, while the toast comes on the side. Those ingredients accentuate the coffee and booze flavors, which in this case are Plantation 3 Stars Rum and Mandheling single origin coffee, which together make up this a light and softly sweet cocktail that won't leave you too tipsy.
From there, Zhan mixed us the cheekily titled No Starbx espresso cocktail. Featuring Mount Gay black barrel rum (famous for being aged in a bourbon casque), hazelnut liqueur, fresh double espresso, chocolate bitters, all topped with a thick layer of cream and dashed with salt, this drink amounted to dessert in a glass, and was far more potent and indulgent than the Black Paoluda. Like a fancy artisan cup of java, it also came with a thick cream topping of vanilla and salty cream that balanced out the drink’s sweetness, making it go down smooth before its plentiful buzz set in.
Lastly, Zhan readied a cold brew Negroni. Its Guatemalan cold brew beans gave it a hint of tartness, but rather than being overwhelmingly bitter (like so many Negronis are wont to do), there was also some chickory sprinkled in to give it a more subtle, smooth flavor that Zhan and Fu hope will make the cocktail more accessible.
All that, along with On Emotions’ softly lit, wood grain-lined interior, made for a relaxing evening. It’s the ideal spot for a nightcap with friends who enjoy creative cocktails with complex flavors, though the abundant amounts of caffeine (not to mention the booze) in these drinks are sure to give you enough energy to keep you up, sipping, joking and chatting away into the wee hours – and the time will certainly fly in such soothingly chic setting.
On Emotions
Daily, 8am-2pm
F1, No. 13 Workers’ Stadium North Road, Shimao International Center (5743 9548)
新东路海隆石油大厦北门一楼105(世茂工三)
Images: On Emotions, Kyle Mullin