Kung Fu Cappuccino

“Each year I look for ways to raise money for charity to help needy people. Why? Because when I was young, I was very poor and many people had helped me get to where I am today. I am doing my part to repay their kindness to me,” said Chinese superstar Jackie Chan who recently opened his third coffee shop, Jackie Chan Café, in Zhongguancun, Haidian District.

At his store's opening party on October 31 he took time to personally serve coffee to guests and vowed to donate 2 percent of all profits to his charity, the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation, while his films flickered across four in-house tv screens (which will, as you might have guessed, show his films in repeated, non-stop loops).

Chan also announced plans to bring his coffee shop to the US, Australia and Europe, but downplayed any notions that he intends to compete against mega-franchises like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. "I just want to put the Jackie Chan style out there,” (by which we assume he means selling Jackie Chan souvenirs such as caps, T-shirts and cups).

The event also featured two hearing-impaired employees, whom Chan introduced to to illustrate his intention to create jobs for the disabled; so it's small wonder he has been deemed as one the most generous celebrities by Forbes magazine - a commendable shout-out, to be sure, but given Jackie's constant oh-so-slick self-promotion, it's hard not to take his generous overtures with a tiny grain of salt.

Hokiness asides, conscientious coffee drinkers can now sip away knowing that 2 percent of money they spent on their lattes (RMB 28 for a large, RMB 22 for a small) will go towards a good cause.

Links and Sources:
The Official Jackie Chan Website
http://www.jackiechan.com/about/about_charity_index.html
http://www.entertainmentwise.com/photos/38276/2/jackie-chans-coffeeshop-rush-hour
http://www.topnews.in/light/jackie-chan-opens-coffee-shop-china-help-deprived-kids-21558