By Zhao Yu, Jin Lu

Traveling from the historical town of Cicheng to Maoli Village and passing by Maoli Reservoir, you will come across Bamboo Coffee Roasters, a café nestled amidst a field of blooming gerberas. This unique establishment has a story as rich as its brew.

Two years ago, Frank, a German man who married a Chinese woman, came to his wife's hometown in Ningbo: Maoli Village.

Enchanted by the green hills, babbling creeks, bamboo groves, and meandering paths, Frank instantly fell in love with the area. "The environment is unique," he told our correspondent. Last year, with the birth of his daughter, Frank decided to leave his well-paid job to start a business in Maoli, allowing him to spend more time with his family.

"We eventually decided on an old house as the location of the café, and spent a whole year restoring it," said Niuniu, Frank's wife. She said that Frank was committed to preserving the original features of the structure as much as possible.

"Except for the green flagstone on the floor by the counter, which was too worn out to be preserved, everything else, including the façade and the roof, has been meticulously restored. The village officials were very supportive of our effort to preserve the house's original integrity. They even helped us find old bricks from demolished houses that matched our house," said Niuniu.

The logo of Bamboo Coffee Roasters was designed by Frank himself. During his daily morning jog, he enjoyed snapping photos of the Cicheng landscape and was particularly taken with the large bamboo groves near Maoli. Using these photos, Frank created a simple yet memorable drawing that became the café's logo. The name of the café, needless to say, also reflects his love of the local sights.

Bamboo Coffee Roasters opened in mid-June this year, much to the delight of the couple's friends and local community. In just two weeks, word-of-mouth attracted numerous visitors who spent entire days at the café. "My vision is to offer an escape from the city's hustle and bustle, where people can sit and sip a cup of coffee made from beans I roasted and brewed with care," said Frank.

A cup of aromatic coffee, a piece of homemade cake, the sound of rain outside—such is the ambiance Frank wants to create.

Bamboo Coffee Roasters is the first coffee shop in the village. Even the elderly residents, who are unfamiliar with coffee culture, come in to order their first cup.

The café also carries a significant selection of homemade marmalade and waxberry wine. "These are all made with locally-grown fruit. Frank noticed that the elderly villagers were still manually carrying heavy loads of their homegrown fruit to sell, so he wanted to help them in his own way," Niuniu told our correspondent.