理想与现实间，咖啡车青年“边跑边找答案”Between ideal and reality, coffee truck youth 'run and find answers'

初秋的昆明，滇池的风里还飘着咖啡香。那是半个月前，主题为“滇咖聚 万物生”的第三届滇池国际咖啡文化嘉年华（以下简称“嘉年华”）留下的余味。8月1日至9日，200余辆咖啡车从全国52个城市驶入滇池东岸、西岸，9天里交织出646万人次的热闹，又在散场后，把这份香气一路带往各自驶向的远方。

来源：中国青年报

In early autumn in Kunming, the scent of coffee still lingers in the wind of Dianchi Lake. That was the aftertaste left by the third Dianchi International Coffee Culture Carnival (hereinafter referred to as the "Carnival") with the theme of "Dian Coffee Gathers All Things to Live" half a month ago. From August 1st to 9th, more than 200 coffee trucks drove from 52 cities across the country into the east and west banks of Dianchi Lake, weaving a lively atmosphere of 6.46 million people over the course of 9 days. After the show ended, they carried this aroma all the way to their respective distant destinations.

As a benchmark cultural and tourism IP created by Kunming for three consecutive years, this year marks the third edition of Carnival. Coffee trucks are currently a quietly growing emerging commercial form. So, why do these young people galloping on the road reunite year after year, at the same time and place as promised? What kind of belonging, dreams, and entrepreneurial resilience do they have behind their long journey?

A mobile car also needs to be professional

Jiangshan drove 1300 kilometers from Changsha to the conference for three consecutive years, and this year brought 10 coffee carts along.

In his opinion, the reason why coffee trucks with a relaxed atmosphere and suitable for the lifestyle of young people can become a commercial form is not only because they are convenient and lightweight, but also because car owners integrate passion, creativity, and professionalism into their operations.

His coffee cart is called 'Not Doing Business', but it happens to be his most serious side job. As someone who runs a cultural company, he combined his wife's love for camping and his own obsession with coffee, and personally turned his family car into a mobile coffee shop. From the first car to the fifth one now, each car has been built from scratch, pouring emotions into it like raising a child. The "favorite" that drove to Kunming this time took 9 months to complete, and the car was equipped with commercial coffee machines, dual refrigerators, ice makers, etc. "Like home decoration, how much it costs depends on what lifestyle you want

In front of Lang Baowen's "Full Cup Green Bean Paste" stall, the huge green bean doll is a striking tool. Since drawing lots to find the booth for this carnival, he has been studying the surrounding layout and redesigning two sets of highly recognizable mung bean shapes. All visual designs revolve around the photography and communication needs of young people. Last year's record of selling up to 8500 yuan in a single day at the carnival has made him even more determined to follow the "standardization" route this year: all products are labeled with dates and expiration dates, business licenses and health certificates are displayed on bulletin boards, employees wear masks and hats with logos, ingredients are classified and sealed according to raw and cooked, ready to eat, and non ready to eat, and even the back of the stall is elevated to prevent water pollution. Mobile vehicles should also be operated in a standardized manner, "said Lang Baowen.

Van der Zhang's' Passion Coffee 'car is a mobile coffee school. Several young people sat around carefully injecting water and observing the extraction process, which was a 1.5-hour hands-on teaching experience they had exchanged for 99 yuan. Fan Dezhang's hometown, Baoshan City in Yunnan Province, is the birthplace of China's coffee industrialization. The coffee planting area is 150000 mu, with an annual output of 24000 tons. The coffee quality rate is over 70%, and the deep processing rate is over 85%, both ranking first in Yunnan Province. Van der Zhang's more than 10 varieties of coffee all use Baoshan coffee beans. He uses coffee trucks as carriers to promote products at exhibitions, coffee festivals, and other events. The most eye-catching design of him, who holds a senior barista qualification certificate, is the "99 yuan handmade brewing teaching experience". "Allowing customers to make a cup of coffee by themselves is far more memorable than simply selling a cup." He said that this course has won him many customers.

The investment and creativity of coffee car owners have transformed coffee cars from a single vehicle into distinctive commercial forms and brand personalities, and also upgraded them from 'roadside stalls' to a micro commercial entity recognized by the market and consumers, "said Jiangshan.

Life on the AB side of a coffee cart

But behind every recognized coffee truck, there is a not so easy account. This account contains emotions, time, body, products, and sometimes even the tug of war between ideals and reality.

Lu Yixin (pseudonym) is participating in the carnival for the second time. This doctor, who works in the laboratory department of a hospital in Hunan, has taken his annual leave and specially drove a coffee cart to set up a stall. In his opinion, when the heavy pressure of work required an exit, the coffee cart happened to catch him.

Ma Zhiyuan is the owner of the "Black Bubble" coffee truck, and his main job is a street dance teacher. Last year, when he traveled to Yunnan with his family and went to the coffee festival, the relaxed feeling of coffee trucks gathering in various places made him yearn for it. He met Jiangshan and became a coffee shop owner under his influence. I open a coffee shop during the day from Monday to Friday and close at 7 pm to attend classes at the dance studio. Sometimes when he sets up a stall and sees a beautiful sunset, he dances alone by the car. He couldn't bear to throw away either coffee or dance.

Although coffee carts are a mobile vehicle for young people to pursue freedom and love, they are also a micro entrepreneurial practice full of uncertainty. Life on a coffee cart is not all poetry and distant places.

Peng Xushun, who came from Xinjiang to Kunming to participate in the carnival, had multiple tire blowouts due to the complex road conditions of over 3000 kilometers. He spent half a month on the road, including 10 days repairing cars. When crossing the Qilian Mountains and entering the plateau, he experienced altitude sickness and could only maintain a speed of 30-40 kilometers per hour.

Climate can also affect business operations. This year, during the carnival period, it was the rainy season, and heavy rain fell as soon as possible. Fortunately, Lang Baowen learned to make egg waffles in advance to compensate for the loss caused by the decline in sales of mung bean paste on rainy days. This timely and pragmatic adjustment stems from the experience of attending a coffee festival in Qujing last October. At that time, the weather turned cooler and he stopped selling mung bean paste and instead promoted cheese turkey noodles and grilled cold noodles, causing a long queue at the scene. This made him realize that 'products must dynamically adjust with the seasons'.

In this industry, everything starts from scratch. If you don't have a background as a barista, you won't be able to recoup your investment in the first week. It takes a long learning process from hobbies to stable production, and these barriers make many people give up in less than a month. Those who can continue to operate must learn to find a balance between their dreams and livelihood. Wang Leilei (pseudonym) is learning this balance.

He is the owner of the "Wang Jiao Skinny Coffee" car and used the transitional period after resigning to operate the coffee car. He participated in various activities to find more job opportunities. Participating in large-scale events such as coffee festivals with dense stalls, he initially insisted on only selling coffee, believing that "adding other things would be unprofessional and would ruin the brand". But the reality is that the single product limits coffee sales. This year, he added grilled sausages, and the fireworks from grilled sausages have driven coffee sales. He learned to shout loudly by the car and plan ahead for routes to participate in activities across the country. As long as we can continue to operate, we should keep running. Maybe we'll turn to the right people and projects someday, "he said.

Although I have to handle all the processes and anxieties on my own now, Wang Leilei really likes this state of free time, being able to control the whole situation, and responding quickly to changes. In his view, life does not necessarily have only two options: "sprint" and "lie flat". The coffee truck is like a buffer zone, allowing people to find a way to both settle down and continue exploring beyond the nine to five routine.

Connection born from the Coffee Festival

This year, Peter Brothers' coffee manager Jiang Du came to the carnival again. When he first participated last year, the brand was facing a survival crisis, but the customer feedback and peer encouragement he received at the carnival helped him regain confidence. Afterwards, they traveled to more than 10 cities including Xi'an, Chongqing, Qingdao, etc., and polished 6 brand new specialty coffees. This time, some old customers walked over from the other end of the exhibition area, specifically to taste our new products. "Having traveled through many cities, Jiang felt that returning to Kunming always gave him a feeling of" going home "." The atmosphere here is relaxed and sincere, unique in the country

Every time I come to Kunming, Jiang will visit the coffee producing areas in Yunnan. Last year he went to Baoshan and Pu'er, and this year he went to Lincang and other places, hoping to find more flavors of Yunnan beans among different microclimates and varieties.

This deep identification with Yunnan coffee beans is a tacit understanding shared by many coffee car owners.

For three consecutive years, Jiangshan participated in the carnival, exchanged ideas with local bakers, and then brought the beans back to Changsha for repeated testing, "establishing an understanding of the flavor spectrum of Yunnan's production areas". Nowadays, Yunnan beans have become the main base in his menu.

Peng Xushun, who came from Xinjiang, has a deep understanding of Yunnan's multicultural tolerance. He has been using Yunnan beans all along. "As a coffee practitioner, since I come to Yunnan, I have a responsibility to promote the beans here

What makes coffee car owners value more is that Carnival brings together more than 200 coffee cars from 52 cities across the country, creating opportunities that are difficult to reach alone. This year, it attracted 6.46 million passenger flows in 9 days, with a total direct consumption income of over 55.25 million yuan. Van der Zhang's turnover exceeded 20000 yuan in 9 days; Lang Baowen's green bean paste and egg waffles were sold out at 5 pm on the first day, and restocking took over an hour.

Coffee trucks not only generate revenue, but also gain market validation and brand exposure. Xingye Boutique Coffee is an example. When Kunming first held the Dianchi International Coffee Culture Carnival in 2024, Xingye's green coffee truck was one of the 100 coffee trucks participating in the event, with an average daily turnover of nearly 10000 yuan, which showed the founder the potential for consumption; When participating in the exhibition again in 2025, a 40 square meter temporary store of Xingye formed a long queue, and the baristas were so tired that they posted notices and rested for 30 minutes before accepting orders. This year, Xingye officially settled in the "Diancui Coffee Complex" on the east bank of Dianchi Lake.

Carnival embeds personalized and scattered entrepreneurial behaviors into the upgrading of urban cultural and tourism industries and youth entrepreneurship support, "said the relevant person in charge of Kunming Cultural and Tourism Group." What they find here is not only business, but also growth paths, calibration standards, exchange of cognition, social identity, and future possibilities

Source: China Youth Daily