Partway down a gentrifying hutong is this exquisite coffee roaster and cafe, born here as a pop-up during Beijing's annual Design Week, and now a small chain. Supposedly once a public bathhouse (the building is decades old), the cafe these days deals out liquid relief of the caffeinated kind, hawking a gourmet selection of coffee-based drinks, including cocktails such as 'cold brew gin tonic'.
Inside it's all industrial-chic decor and vintage furnishings, while the 2nd-floor balcony affords a fine view of the muddle of Republic-era and late-Qing architecture along the alley. Food offerings include salads, sandwiches and cheesecake.