Home Grounds Refreshes Drinks Menu With Coffee Courtesy of Master Barista Marco Santelli

Beijing's coffee scene has been on the rise for the past few years and there are some great cups to be had out there, but there is always room to improve. In order to take their coffee to the next level, Aussie-style café Home Grounds recently invited master barista Marco Santelli to revamp their coffee menu. 

Marco was born in Milan, the son of restaurant and coffee shop owners. He grew up around coffee, mastering the art of coaxing the best cups out of a coffee machine at a young age. At the age of 17, he moved to London to expand his hospitality skills, before eventually moving to Sydney, Australia, one of the countries leading the revolution in coffee quality in recent years. In Sydney, he worked his way up from barista to supervisor to manager, learning new skills and absorbing new information about coffee. Fast-forward 10 years, and he was behind the scenes, going to coffee warehouses, learning about roasting techniques and getting to the real heart of coffee. It was also in Australia that he met Home Grounds' owners Gary and Cassie. 

Marco's first order of business was servicing and cleaning Home Grounds' 15-year-old coffee machine. He says that the explanation for many a bad cup of coffee in Beijing is poor machine maintenance and the lack of availability of quality servicing and replacement parts. "A coffee machine has to be left on all day, even when the restaurant is closed, so it needs a lot of care and attention," he says. Home Grounds is considering working with a company that will provide them with a machine as well as beans, which will allow for a smoother overall coffee making experience for the staff and coffee drinking experience for customers. 

I enjoyed a beautifully textured and richly flavored macchiato (RMB 30) on my latest visit. There is a full selection of espresso-based coffees (RMB 20-30), as well as a piccolo latte (RMB 30), which is basically a small latte served in an espresso cup – a good choice for those of us looking to cut down but not cut out our dairy consumption. All the coffees can also be served iced upon request.

Not that most of us will need an excuse to have another coffee, but if you head to Home Grounds on a weekday from 8-10am or 1-3pm you can get one of Marco's excellent coffees for just RMB 22 or RMB 20 if you bring your own coffee cup. 

Coffee is not the only thing on the Home Grounds drinks menu that has had a makeover. They have completely revamped the drinks menu with new smoothies, juice blends, cocktails, and a New World-leaning wine selection. We liked the Fire Storm smoothie (RMB 42), with papaya, red dragonfruit, and mint, and the Slim Forever juice (RMB 36), a blend of cucumber, apple, and celery. Since it was the middle of the day when we visited, we didn't try the cocktails (not that that has stopped us in the past) but we'll be back to try the J.B Tonic (premium gin, fresh peach purée, Thomas Henry tonic water) and the lychee and lemongrass martini (both RMB 80). Note that all cocktails and wines by the glass are buy-one-get-one-free from 5.30-8pm on weekdays.

More stories by this author here.

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Photos courtesy of Home Grounds, Robynne Tindall