★ Rights Sold: Thai!
★ A heartwarming, detailed, and thoughtfully human "sanctuary" management guide, presented in beautiful watercolor illustrations.
★ Shares the author's insights and reflections on running an independent cafe: from starting from scratch with location scouting and design (including detailed interior layout plans) to equipment selection, the secrets of the cafe's soul—the counter—and how to create an irreplaceable ambiance using music, lighting, and even a cat.
★ The book also documents touching real-life stories that happened in the cafe: from art salons and proposal destinations to a healing place for a heartbroken girl late at night...
★ The author, Wang Jue, is a cafe proprietor and brand founder with over 20 years of hands-on experience, as well as a freelance watercolor illustrator and art teacher.
★ If you are a coffee lover, enjoy visiting cafes, or dream of running your own independent cafe, this book will warmly resonate with you like meeting an old friend.

This is a beautifully watercolor-illustrated collection of insights on running a cafe, from a veteran proprietor with 20 years of experience. Using brushstrokes and words, it blends practicality, artistry, and a deep love for coffee.

The book is clearly structured into six progressive Parts:

Part 1: "Coffee Journey" takes readers on a visual feast, visiting five legendary century-old European art cafes, inspiring a macro perspective on cafe aesthetics and culture.

Part 2: "I've Decided to Open a Cafe" is the core practical section. It starts with fundamental coffee knowledge, delves into the business model question of "What is a cafe really selling?", and then details step-by-step how to build your dream shop from zero. The content is extremely thorough, covering storefront design, space planning, furniture selection, atmosphere creation with lighting and music, down to the "devilish details" like the restroom. It includes detailed diagrams of counter equipment and valuable interior design plans.

Part 3: "Stories of My Cafe and Me" compiles ten true stories from the author's cafe. This place is not just for selling coffee; it's a community living room, a venue for art, and an emotional shelter. These heartwarming stories reveal the deeper logic behind a successful small independent business—forging genuine emotional connections with customers.

Part 4: "A Cafe Without a Cat Has No Soul" playfully introduces the antics of three generations of feline "masters" in the cafe, showing how pets become part of a shop's character and warmth.

Part 5: "Afternoon Tea" turns attention to coffee's supporting cast: creative drinks, collectible coffee cups, handmade pastries, and convenient drip bag coffee, enriching the imagination about a cafe's product offerings.

Part 6: "Easter Eggs" candidly shares the lesser-known trivialities and hardships behind the scenes, from logo designs revised a hundred times to the awkwardness of DIY renovations, making the entrepreneurial dream feel more tangible, real, and human.

Wang Jue

Founder of the OLD TIMES coffee brand, coffee connoisseur, freelance illustrator and art teacher. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Watercolor Department of the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts.

Part 1 Coffee Journey
I. Prologue
II. Visiting European Art Cafes
1. Caffè De Flore, Paris, France
2. Caffè Florian, Venice, Italy
3. Caffè Antico, Rome, Italy
4. Caffè Leroi, Athens, Greece
5. Caffè Central, Vienna, Austria

Part 2 I've Decided to Open a Cafe
I. Preparation: The Longer, The Better
1. To Be a Cafe Owner, Arm Yourself with Coffee Knowledge
1.1 Coffee Beans Are Fruit
1.2 Coffee Beans Gain Value After Roasting
1.3 What's the Best Way to Make Coffee?
1.4 How Exactly Do You Make an Espresso?
1.5 Does the "Oscars of Coffee" Really Exist?
1.6 What Is the World's Best Coffee?
1.7 Little-Known Coffee Facts You Probably Don't Know
2. What Is a Cafe Really Selling?
2.1 The Cafe That Sells the Owner
2.2 The Cafe That Sells Coffee
2.3 The Cafe That Sells Ambiance
II. Starting from Zero to Open Your Own Dream Cafe
1. Where to Sell Coffee?
2. Cafe Storefront Design Is More Important Than You Think
3. The $15,000-Worth Cafe Interior Design Plan
3.1 Arranging Cafe Space Is Like Painting a Watercolor
3.2 The Cafe Style Must First Be Something You Love
3.3 The Unspoken Rules of Cafe Tables
3.4 Cafe Chairs Shouldn't Be Too Comfortable
3.5 Have You Noticed the Music?
3.6 Cafe Lighting Needs to Have Warmth
3.7 The Restroom Leaves the Deepest Impression
3.8 The Prime Real Estate by the Window
3.9 The "Make-or-Break" Details
4. The Most Important Part—The Counter Explained
4.1 Where to Place the Counter
4.2 Follow the Diagram—All Those Things on the Counter
4.3 Counter Material and Design
4.4 The Espresso Machine: The "Honored Guest" That Demands Respect
5. To Have Outdoor Seating or Not?

Part 3 Stories of My Cafe and Me
I. The Little Moments in the Cafe
II. Interesting Stories from the Cafe
1. Turning the Cafe into an Art Salon
2. The Little Ballerina Who Was a Cleanliness Inspector
3. Insights from a Celebrity's Visit
4. Unbelievable That Three Camera Crews Fit In to Film a TV Drama
5. Breaking a Leg Means It's Time to Come Paint!
6. A Cosplay Feast
7. The Magically Charmed Proposal Spot
8. At Christmas, the Busiest One Is Me, Ms. Christmas
9. How Things Have Changed Over a Dozen Years
10. The Heartbroken Girl Who Visited at Night Became My Good Friend

Part 4 A Cafe Without a Cat Has No Soul
I. I'm Xiao Bai
II. I'm Da Da, I'm the Most Clingy
III. I'm Pang Di, I'm the Chubbiest, but Also the Smartest

Part 5 Afternoon Tea
I. Misconceptions About Coffee Latte Art
II. Interesting Coffee Drinks
III. A Myriad of Curious Coffee Cups
IV. Heart-melting Little Pastries
V. The Wonderfulness of Drip Bag Coffee

Part 6 Easter Eggs
I. New Shop Renovation, A New Look for the Old Face
II. Design Trivia in the Shop
1. The Logo Design Revised 100 Times
2. From the "Human Skin Menu" to the Pen-and-Ink Hand-drawn Menu
3. The Interesting Guestbook
III. You Only See the Glamour, Not the Hard Work Behind It
IV. I'm the Owner and Also the Artist: Stories That Are Both Funny and Embarrassing