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CafeDongsiWork-friendly
Fu 3 Coffee on Meishuguan East Street in Beijing keeps a quiet upstairs room with free Wi-Fi and sockets, and sells an apricot mousse made to look like fruit.
DrinkPear and Gardenia Flower Latte
TipOrder the apricot mousse, a cream dessert with a jelly centre shaped like a real apricot, and head upstairs if you need a quiet table to work.
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CafeGulou Nanluoguxiang
Still Water's Gulou East Street cafe in Beijing sits in a courtyard house, with a second-floor terrace that looks over tiled roofs and the trees outside.
DrinkWhite Flat
TipClimb the steep stairs to the terrace on a cloudy day; in strong sun the upper level turns warm, and the ground-floor room is the cooler choice.
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CafeGulou Nanluoguxiang
Fuding Cafe takes the second floor of a Wudaoying Hutong building in Beijing and has a rooftop terrace with a view across the hutong roofs to the Lama Temple.
DrinkFuding Latte
TipThe entrance is on the second floor at 26-2. Pair the Fuding latte with the Stone Lion Cake, or try the hand-brewed Kenya Kirinyaga.
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CafeGulou NanluoguxiangWork-friendly
Metal Hands, a coffee brand begun in 2016 on Wudaoying Hutong in Beijing, runs a concrete-and-wood shop with a skylight corner and a quieter second floor.
DrinkDirty
TipGo upstairs, where the second floor is quieter and has one large wooden table; the Dirty is espresso poured over cold milk.
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CafeQianmen Dashilar
Soloist Coffee Co. on Yangmeizhu Xiejie in Beijing fills a two-storey hutong coffeehouse with old lamps, globes and typewriters, plus a second-floor terrace.
DrinkCappuccino
TipSit at the ground-floor bar to watch the baristas, or take the second-floor terrace for sun and a view of the old houses; the ground floor is often crowded.
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CafeSanlitun
798 Coffee's Sanlitun shop in Beijing is its first outside the 798 Art District, with stripped grey walls, big windows and drinks named for factory codes.
Drink718 Americano
TipThe 718 Americano costs ¥22, the 706 Cafe Latte ¥33 and the 797 Coffee Mocha ¥38; the shop also sells mugs and limited artist collaboration pieces.