Chinese Turning Over Tea Leaf, Switch to Coffee

BEIJING — Tea-drinking Chinese are turning to coffee for their morning jolt in growing numbers, an official report said Sunday.

Most of that coffee is imported, and agricultural officials worried about the country’s scarce foreign currency are scrambling to boost domestic coffee production, the China Daily newspaper said.

It quoted Yang Peisheng of the Ministry of Agriculture as saying Chinese now consume 21,000 tons of coffee beans a year, with all but 1,300 tons imported. He said China is seeking $2.6 million in foreign investment to start its own coffee plantations.

Coffee has become a popular gift among sophisticated urbanites due largely to television ads showing well-dressed couples beaming at each other over cups of steaming coffee, the report said.