Sumerian Coffee

Sumerian is one of the roaster cafes that put Shanghai on the third wave map, and it has been roasting its own coffee since 2012. The deep blue shopfront on North Shaanxi Road folds open onto plane trees and passing scooters, with long wooden tables, white brick, exposed beams, and shelves of coffee bags leading back to a warm counter, a room that fills with light by day and glows after dark.

The house roasts, with Yunnan among the origins, run through espresso, hand drip, and cold brew, and the team rotates blends and single origins rather than fixing one profile, so it is worth asking what is on. The shop stays open until half past nine, which makes Sumerian one of the few places in the neighborhood for an unhurried evening filter coffee, and bags of the roasts are on the shelf to take home.