Dueling Starbucks and Peet’s coffee shops are located directly across the street from each other in the town of Alameda, CA (Bay Area). I’m sure it’s not the only corner in the area with multiple coffee shops. When two huge coffee chains open shop so close together, it certainly shows the presence of coffee culture.

Coffee culture and cafes are growing in Beijing. In certain areas there are multiple cafes in the neighborhood, particularly in the university area of Wudaokou (五道口). I’ve spent my share of time in these cafes and it’s not much different from the ones in the States: friends gather and chat, spend hours using the wifi and doing work, or running in for a quick snack and drink. I must admit that the food and coffee quality could use improvement, but knowing that the cafes are easily accessible and growing in numbers shows a definite demand for the service and atmosphere.

星巴克和Peet’s Coffee 在互相对面。在旧金山能看到咖啡文化是很重要， 当然有别的路口也有多种咖啡店。在北京五道口也有非常多咖啡馆，我自己花了很多时间在这里的咖啡馆。北京的咖啡馆好像美国的：朋友在聊聊天，上网，做工作，或者快吃或者喝东西。但在咖啡馆的西菜能 能更好。有真么多咖啡馆，我们知道这样的商店能有多.