China to train 10,000 coffee makers to slake nation's thirst

By Peter Goff in Beijing

For centuries, the Chinese have delighted in the simple rituals of making and serving tea. Now they are having to learn a new skill: the intricacies of producing a state-of-the-art cup of coffee.

So many of China's middle classes have begun drinking cappuccino and caffe latte that the country's labour ministry has declared an official skills shortage.

About 10,000 trained coffee makers and servers are needed in Beijing and Shanghai alone, according to a government survey.

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