Cult Californian cafe chain Blue Bottle Coffee has opened its first Mainland China store, drawing queues of up to 300 on its first day. 

The cafe opened inside a two-story historic building in Shanghai.

Besides opening its first store on Friday, the chain has also started selling coffee beans and merchandise online in China. 

Foreign coffee chains like Starbucks and Tim Horton’s are proving popular in Mainland China. For generations coffee has played second fiddle to traditional Chinese teas, however heavily urbanised communities – and especially many consumers in younger demographic groups – are switching to coffee in forms ranging from iced versions and brewed beverages to Italian-style espresso-based drinks.  

Blue Bottle has built a strong fan base in Asia, according to Nikkei Asia, opening stores in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. 

Nikkei quoted a private-sector survey that calculated Shanghai had 6913 coffee shops last year – more than Tokyo, London and other major cities.