Coffee versus Tea
By Alicia
Photos by Yao Fan

咖啡与茶分别代表不同的东西方文化. 9月30日在SPR咖啡厅举办的英语沙龙以此为话题展开讨论. 身处美式风格的咖啡厅, 品尝香醇的咖啡, 精致的西点, 与一群English Fans畅谈咖啡文化与东方茶道的奥秘之处, 岂不快哉?



On September 30, the CT English Salon was held in an excellent place, a very western style coffee shop, the Xiamen branch of SPR Coffee, near the Guomao Building.

It isn't a very spacious coffee shop, but it does give the mysterious feeling that every corner and view of the room could reveal some hidden beauty or appealing object. A whole wall full of European oil paintings makes the room very exotic.

Naturally, the topic was coffee and tea. Everybody came in with excited expressions on their faces. They were all inspired by the exotic environment and by an eagerness to speak English. Soon, the ground floor was stuffed with salon members. Everybody was sitting there relaxing or chatting with each other about the coming holidays in English, or reading the intriguing information about coffee culture on the handout. They were also all enjoying a cup of free tasty iced coffee.



As soon as Jack and Graham, hosts of the salon, started talking, good humor and laughter spread all over the room. When it came to the discussion part of the evening, the whole room erupted in furious argument over the pros and cons of coffee and tea. There was no shyness about opening their mouths or worry about making mistakes in this atmosphere. Everybody tried their best to express their own opinions, to make their English flow and be more polished. As the discussion progressed, one fashionable young lady was discovered to be an "expert" in coffee culture. Everybody listened attentively while she explained the curious stories behind the origins of coffee names. She was a confident speaker, and other participants could see she was enjoying the opportunity to show off her knowledge. Later on, Elven, the manager of the shop, was invited out, and that led to another highlight of the night. She told the guests the secrets of how to tell a high quality coffee from an average brew. Jack then asked everybody to try different kinds of coffee to see if they got the point.



All the members were so involved in talking and discussions that everyone felt reluctant to leave before ten o'clock. During the whole night they were immersed in an English-speaking environment, and everyone was left with a deep impression of the informative talk and the unforgettable aroma of excellent coffee.

Vocabulary
intriguing 惹人关注的
erupt 爆发
furious 热烈兴奋的
highlight 精彩场面
brew 冲泡饮料

Izakaya Promotion
日式美食居酒屋登鹭

厦门马哥孛罗东方大酒店秉承推动旅游文化的宗旨, 每年均举办多项美食活动, 今年继成功举办泰国美食节. 新加坡美食节后, 再次将久负盛名的居酒屋引入厦门, 厦门朋友足不出户, 即可体验地道的东瀛风情!

The Marco Polo Xiamen has a tradition of bringing fine exotic cuisine to Xiamen. From 13-22 October, the Shogun Restaurrant is holding an Izakaya Promotion to create a corner of traditional Japan in the heart of our city. Marco Polo - bringing Japan to you, so you don't have to go to Japan.