Visitors enjoy a coffee and music night event at the 2026 Xiamen Jimei Coffee Season. [Photo/Jimei district]

The 2026 Xiamen Jimei Coffee Season, which began on Sept 5, turned Jimei district's coastal promenade into a bustling coffee market, with the main venue opening on Oct 30 and running through Nov 2. 

More than 130 brands from China and overseas took part this year, up from 110 last year. They included a world-champion cafe from Australia, a Malaysian roasting brand and specialty coffee from Pingtung in Taiwan, offering visitors a one-stop taste of global coffee along the Chinese coast.

A barista makes coffee on site. [Photo/Jimei district]

Beyond the market, the festival featured professional programming. The 2022 World Barista Champion Anthony Douglas gave a talk at the Red Dot Design Museum on extraction and flavor. Three competitions — a cupping contest, a brewing championship and a latte art competition — were also held, giving audiences a close-up look at how a good cup of coffee is made.

Sustainability was a new focus this year. The event followed a zero-waste approach, collecting used coffee grounds for farm composting and setting up six sorting and recycling stations. In seaside workshops, residents made fridge magnets from sea glass, turned flour sacks into storage baskets and crafted coffee-ground soap. A coffee taster also hosted a session on low-carbon practices in the industry.

Citywide coffee tasting events will continue through Nov 14. The season also hosted the annual awards for "J Beautiful", a city branding campaign that has drawn more than 163 million views and over 3.48 million interactions over the past year.