“咖啡+窑烤面包” 茶小亭一炉窑火烤热茶亭四季游｜湘村赶潮Coffee+Kiln Baked Bread "Tea Pavilion - Hot Tea Pavilion Four Seasons Tour - Xiangcun Catching the Tide

长沙晚报全媒体记者 朱华 范宏欢

与电烤箱的精准恒温不同，窑烤是一种起源于几百年前欧洲的传统烘焙工艺，主要依靠果木柴火燃烧的余温进行烘烤。10时许，第一炉面包出炉了，仅仅因为慢端出来几十秒，第二盘的面包色泽明显更为金黄。“我们的面包采用进口麦粉，零添加，经长时间低温发酵和果木窑烤，每一次出来的面包都是独一无二的。”吴霞边说边切，让大家品尝。

“我家孙儿特别爱吃她的面包，每周我都会买。”专程带朋友从长沙赶来游玩的刘阿姨要了一份现吃，又打包了几个。记者好奇地取一小块嚼了起来，浓郁奶香和丰富的口感充斥唇舌间，别有一番风味。

Editor's Note

Going to the countryside to market in the past, now going to the countryside to catch up with the trend!

With the mountain breeze as the air conditioner and rice paddies as the background, more and more specialty businesses such as cafes, tea houses, bookstores, and even bars and bakeries are appearing in the fields, becoming a new phenomenon of rural cultural tourism integration. The local style of Hunan is thus revitalized and charming, attracting waves of urbanites to enter the countryside and enjoy the ultimate relaxation. Starting today, Changsha Evening News will launch the "Xiangcun Rush" column, sending all media reporters to visit various characteristic villages, search for diverse and trendy rural cultural and tourism sites, excavate the stories of entrepreneurs rooted in their hometowns, record the vivid practice of collision and integration of traditional rural areas and trendy consumption, promote rural scenery and local characteristic industries, assist in the integration of agriculture and tourism, and empower rural revitalization.

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Cha Xiaoting Cafe: specializes in freshly ground premium coffee and kiln baked bread, allowing visitors to experience the joy of baking firsthand. Sitting on thousands of acres of rice fields, with rapeseed flowers blooming in the wild in spring and golden rice ears in autumn, adjacent to the millennium old Xizi Pagoda, one can feel the profound cultural heritage.

Changsha Evening News Full Media Reporter Zhu Hua and Fan Honghuan

In early autumn, the wind is clear and refreshing. Entering the first floor of the Tea Pavilion Flower Sea Tourist Center located in Wangcheng District, the aroma of freshly ground coffee bar is lingering, and the neighboring kiln is emitting hot steam. Several tourists who drove from the urban area of Changsha patiently waited for freshly baked bread while drinking coffee.

Looking through the large french window, the green paddy field dances with the wind. When bending down, the newly grown rice ears occasionally appear. On the winding walking path, three or two tourists are taking photos and punching cards. In the coming spring of March, this fertile field will turn into an endless sea of golden rapeseed flowers. The rice fields have a youthful season, the flower sea has a blooming period, and the tea pavilion that brings out coffee and bread gives people a reason to come all year round.

Kiln baked bread leaves the urban stomach in the countryside

At around 7 o'clock in the morning, the Cha Xiaoting Kiln Bakery was already bustling with activity. The manager Wu Xia and the bakers put on aprons, started the day by lighting the fire, preheating, and preparing ingredients.

Unlike the precise constant temperature of electric ovens, kiln baking is a traditional baking technique that originated in Europe hundreds of years ago, mainly relying on the residual temperature from burning fruit wood and firewood for baking. At around 10 o'clock, the first batch of bread was baked, and just because it was served slowly for a few seconds, the color of the second batch of bread was noticeably more golden. Our bread is made with imported wheat flour, zero additives, and undergoes long-term low-temperature fermentation and fruit wood kiln baking. Each time the bread comes out, it is unique, "said Wu Xia as she sliced it for everyone to taste.

My grandson loves to eat her bread very much, and I buy it every week. "Aunt Liu, who came from Changsha with friends to play, ordered a fresh meal and packed a few more. The reporter curiously took a small piece and chewed it, with a rich milk aroma and rich taste filling his lips and tongue, creating a unique flavor.

At present, we have built two kilns, one black kiln and one white kiln. They can meet the supply of bread during different periods of daily and holiday peak periods. Wu Xia said that there is a DIY activity here, where tourists can knead dough and make bread, adding an unforgettable interactive warmth to their rural journey. Since its opening, this place has received thousands of study tours, and many study institutions have become repeat customers.

Nowadays, sitting in a 200 square meter caf é facing the beautiful scenery of the rice fields, sipping coffee while enjoying kiln baked bread, has become a must-have activity for many tourists visiting the tea pavilion.

Talented people returning to their hometowns to start businesses are becoming increasingly popular

It's hard to imagine that over a year ago, Wu Xia was still an outsider. She is a villager from Tanjiayuan Village, Chating Town. She used to work in the building materials business with her husband in the city. "In recent years, my hometown has changed a lot and there have been more tourists, but everyone left after seeing the Xizi Pagoda and rapeseed flowers. At that time, I just wanted a place for tourists to stop

Last year in the first half of the year, Chating Town invested tens of millions of yuan to build a tourist service center and sent out invitations to the talented people in her hometown. Wu Xia was inspired: "I want to bring something different to the village. After preliminary research and repeated weighing, Wu Xia decided to introduce coffee and kiln baking, which are common commercial categories in cities, to the countryside.

So, both sides hit it off right away. Last August, Cha Xiaoting Cafe opened to the public; In October last year, the Cha Xiaoting Kiln Bakery Workshop operated as scheduled.

We invested a total of 600000 yuan and have fully recovered our costs during this year's flower season, "Wu Xia said with satisfaction." I thought business would be quiet after the flower season, but I didn't expect the store's revenue to steadily increase, selling over a hundred breads per day and thousands during peak periods

Nowadays, there is a continuous stream of customers coming to drink coffee and make bread, and the store's revenue is steadily increasing. Wu Xia has also accumulated a stable customer base through Xiaohongshu and her social media, covering many places such as Changsha Zhuzhou Xiangtan and Yueyang. "Because many customers also want to eat our bread after returning to the city, now I post delivery route maps on my social media every week. When the combined order reaches 300 yuan, the goods will be delivered

New business models resonate with rural development at the same frequency

Village cafes and kiln baked bread are all forms of expressing people's longing for the countryside. In Wu Xia's opinion, kiln baked bread sells a sense of relaxation. The coffee in the city, people rush into their workstations after buying it, while the coffee in the village is used for emptying, and has a similar soul to the kiln baked bread that needs to slowly wait for the dough to ferment, the firewood to heat up, and the aroma to fill the air, "she said.

The emergence of Cha Xiaoting Cafe and Bakery is inseparable from the mechanism innovation of Cha Ting Town Government, "she admitted. The project adopts a "town led+corporate operation" model, which replaces fixed rent with revenue sharing, effectively reduces operating costs, and enhances the self generating ability of the scenic spot. It is reported that the project is expected to create more than 150 jobs and attract over 50000 tourists annually.

The rapid development of Chating Town continues to inject momentum into Chating Cafe. Since the beginning of this year, Tea Pavilion Flower Sea has focused on upgrading its 3A level scenic spots to version 3.0, with the construction of new ecological parking lots, wooden boardwalks, and distinctive scenic walls; The second phase of the comprehensive renovation of the Shizhu River includes dredging and revetment, as well as the addition of a scenic corridor for the walking trail; The cultural and creative exhibition in the tourist center and the interior decoration of the Xizi Academy have been completed; The comprehensive supporting buildings on the east side of the tourist center and two newly added tourist public toilets have completed project preparation... A batch of new, ongoing, and planned projects are promoting the transformation of the Flower Sea from a seasonal flower viewing hotspot to a comprehensive cultural and tourism demonstration area that can be visited in all seasons and has rich formats.

From a construction worker to a small courtyard manager, Wu Xia found her own rhythm of life in the tea pavilion. The gentle breeze brushed over the small courtyard, and the residual warmth of the kiln fire still lingered. This small shop hidden deep in the countryside is still writing warm stories about love and ideals. Wu Xia plans to continue introducing the Hetian Chicken project, allowing tourists to taste another fresh and delicious taste at the tea pavilion.

Practical Guide to Check ins

Address: 1st Floor, Chating Flower Sea Tourist Center, Chating Town, Wangcheng District

Business hours: Monday to Sunday 9:00-18:00

Per capita consumption: around 40 yuan

Travel tip: Drive north along Furong North Avenue in Changsha city, taking 40-60 minutes by car. Navigate directly to the "Tea Pavilion Flower Sea Tourist Center", which is equipped with free parking. During weekends and the Flower Sea Culture and Art Season, there is a high volume of traffic and limited parking spaces. It is recommended to arrive as early as possible or choose to travel during off peak hours in the afternoon.