Heartwarming Wuhan Lattes

by Zhou Chenliang

On April 8， 2020， after 76 days of lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak， Wuhan reopened. It lifted outbound travel restrictions， dismantled traffic control checkpoints， and gradually resumed normal operation of railways， airports， waterways， highways， and urban buses. The same day， the Guanggu branch of Wakanda Youth Coffee also reopened.

Free Coffee to the Last Drop

“Even if we went out of business due to delivering so many cups of free coffee to frontline healthcare workers， we would have been happy that we did the right thing，”declares Li Fei， one of the founders of Wakanda. “Rather than withering away powerlessly， we were making the right choice—thats what we thought when we decided to send coffee to nearby hospitals.” Although Wakanda officially reopened its door on April 8， the coffee shop never fully shut down during the Wuhan lockdown. At one point during Wuhans fierce fight against the coronavirus， Wakanda was the only coffee shop operating in the city.

More than two years ago， Li and six partners launched Wakanda as a coffee chain in Wuhan. In January 2020， the coronavirus spread throughout the city， causing fewer and fewer people and cars to venture out on the streets， and fewer customers to visit Wakanda. On January 23， the day the city of Wuhan was officially cut off from the outside world， two medical workers from a nearby hospital came to Wakanda to grab some coffee. Seeing their exhaustion after long hours of high-intensity work and hearing about the serious situation plaguing healthcare workers， the whole team immediately realized that they should stay open to supply free coffee to healthcare workers.

On January 24， the first shipment of free coffee was delivered. As of March 8， at least 20，000 cups of free coffee had been offered to medical workers. Along with the coffee， small gifts such as lip balms and toners were also sent. As the epidemic situation worsened， the team temporarily shut down several Wakanda stores in Wuhan for safety reasons and only kept the Guanggu store open. All available staffers were transferred to the Guanggu branch. Everyone agreed to do whatever they could to serve the medics. “We lost money， that much is sure，” admits Li. “But every time I saw the smiling faces of healthcare workers when we dropped off coffee at hospitals， it all felt worthwhile.”

Brighter Future

On the morning of February 11， Li discovered money transfers continuously popping up on his WeChat and Alipay apps. “At first， I thought someone made a mistake，” he recalls. “I sent back the first few， but transfers kept coming in， so I issued more refunds.” Li soon found that the coffee chains account on Dianping， one of Chinas most popular catering services listings apps， was also receiving money. Later， he discovered that the money was coming from netizens paying for “online orders” as a creative way to donate to business in need.

The amounts of payments ranged from several U.S. dollars to more than a hundred. The donations came from all over China， including from Wakandas peers in Taiwan. Seeing the online orders piling up and a wealth of encouraging messages， the team was moved profoundly.“Our pulses raced，” Li recounts.“We felt hundreds of thousands of people standing behind and supporting us.”

Media outlets were attracted to Wakandas story， and the resulting articles resonated with people across China. The publicity inspired netizens to spontaneously launch an online campaign to use existing methods to buy coffee for frontline doctors and nurses. After the cost of raw materials was deducted， the rest of the funds were used to make coffee until the day “we got the virus under complete control.”

The seven partners of the caférange from 20 to 40 in age. While most are Wuhan locals， one is from Zhengzhou City， Henan Province， and another is from Iran. Due to an acute attraction to China， two years ago， then 27-year-old Sina Karami ventured to Wuhan to work as a barista and teach coffee art at the newly-opened Wakanda. On February 2， 2020， he was notified by the Iranian Embassy in China that the Iranian government was arranging charter flights to evacuate their nationals from Wuhan.But Karami opted to stay. “When the coronavirus arrived， foreigners could leave Wuhan and China. But do Chinese people have a choice on leaving Wuhan and China？ They dont because it is their home. And Wuhan is my second home.”

Every morning， four baristas worked to make 300 cups of coffee to be delivered before noon. Another 200 cups were delivered by 5 p.m. by another three baristas in the afternoon shift. The team hoped the 500 cups of coffee would help exhausted medical workers on the front lines find a moment of relief and remember that “they are not alone.” To this end， the name of its signature drink was changed to the “Wuhan Latte.”

“Its the coffee for Wuhan people，” states Li. “We wanted to commemorate these difficult days with the best thing Wakanda does.” Staff scribbled handwritten messages of encouragement and thanks on each cup such as “Stay Strong， Wuhan，” “Respect to You”or “Thank You.” Even when the baristas became exhausted， no one abandoned this routine. Li recalled that one time when they delivered coffee according to an agreed contactless process， the healthcare workers picking up the drinks bowed to him and his colleagues in gratitude. The eye contact at that moment alone conveyed respect and thanks.

Several universities are located near the Guanggu branch of Wakanda. However， due to epidemic control and prevention measures， they remain closed， which has left the coffee shop almost empty. At present， the shop sells about 80 cups a day， less than a fifth of its sales volume before the outbreak in late January. But Li is confident about his city and business. “The ability to meet for a cup of coffee indicates that Wuhan is returning to regular life. Under intense stress， people would have no mood for things like this. It is absolutely the best thing right now. I have confidence in the future of the city.”