[Shanghai] Sumerian Specialty Coffee

Sumerian Specialty Coffee

Add: 415 North Shan Xi Road, Shanghai 陕西北路415号
Tel: +86 135 6475 5689
Website: sumeriancoffee.com
Hours: Mon-Sun 7:30am-7:00pm
Price: [coffee] RMB24-48; [bagelwich] RMB40-65
Visited: February 2016
Will return: Definitely!

Sumerian is a specialty coffee shop on North Shan Xi Road brought to us by the same owner as Boom Boom Bagels. Sumerian offers all of Boom Boom’s food items – including bagels, bagelwiches, salad bowls, and cookies – but Boom Boom only offers a fraction of Sumerian’s coffees. So I try to go to Sumerian whenever I can, even though it tends to be more crowded.

Sumerian has a cozy and laid-back vibe and very warm service. Love the cheerful blue windows…

…and the colorful planks of wood used to panel the counters.

Apart from traditional espresso drinks, Sumerian also has a crafted latte menu, with combinations like maple+sage and coconut+cayenne. Wanna try them all!

I tried the Muscovado Butterscotch (42), with muscovado sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Heart-warming, rich, nutty, and wonderfully balanced. I loved how boldly the salt came through, making this taste exactly like butterscotch. So good! I can think of nothing better than this for a cold winter afternoon.
Recommend: definitely

I enjoyed the Muscovado Butterscotch so much that I couldn’t resist trying another cup. This time I went with the Lemon Peel Lavender (42), with lavender infused honey syrup and lemon peel garnish. The fragrance was incredible – I couldn’t stop breathing it in. The first sip was less of a “wow” moment than the Muscovado Butterscotch, but the aftertaste was amazing, with subtle but lingering floral and lemony notes. A very refreshing drink sure to lift your spirits.
Recommend: definitely

Notice anything interesting about the cup? No handle! That’s right, Sumerian serves their crafted lattes in a large bowl.

The menu of single origin coffees looked very intriguing. Perhaps next time I’ll get one of these and try to identify the “lemon drop sweetness” or the “deep body notes of dried fruits and spices”.

After whiling away an entire afternoon, I ordered a Sailors Legs bagelwich (65), with smoked salmon, red onion, green olives, hummus, ricotta, and cream cheese. They ran out of plain bagels, which was my first choice, so I got this on a sea salt bagel instead – and I’m so glad I did! The salmon was not very salty at all, so the sea salt worked incredibly well. The bagel was toasted really well – crispy on the outside, warm, soft and slightly chewy in the center. The hummus was a rather untraditional topping, but it added more richness and complexity to the sandwich.
Recommend: definitely

A table next to me ordered what I think was the Supergrain Salad Bowl. It looked… well… way too healthy. But I guess that’s the whole point…

Sumerian used to serve cookies from Strictly Cookies, but Boom Boom Bagels recently started making their own cookies, so of course that’s what Sumerian serves these days. On the day of my visit they had a chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie. So tempting! But I didn’t think my stomach could handle these with the sweet lattes I was drinking. Next time I go (which will be very soon), I’ll get these with the single origin coffee.