While this sounds like an April Fools Day joke coming from the Land of Make Believe, this really is true. In China, Mr Bean Coffee will go head to head with juggernauts like Starbucks and Costa along with numerous smaller competition by targeting those who like a laugh and don’t stand too much for any form of ceremony or ritual regarding their coffee-drinking habits.

Tino Wu, chief representative of Mr Bean Coffee, which opened in China last year explains, “If you are simply looking for a cup of coffee, you can go to an array of different coffee shops, or even a pastry store that hasn’t put coffee in their list until recently, but you don’t go to Mr Bean Coffee. What consumers can expect here is a totally different experience”. Wu added, “Mr Bean may be a comic masterpiece made in Britain, but everyone seems to have memories of him. We are not targeting a small group of comedy fans. What we promote is a Mr Bean lifestyle – to have a sense of humor in life, even when you are expecting a rather boring time. In a big city like Shanghai, where everything is go, go, go, Mr Bean‘s is a relaxing place full of humor, putting a pause on life.”

“I’m sure everyone at some point has a bit of Mr Bean in them” says Tino Wu

Word is, at Mr Bean Coffee, besides good quality coffee, you’ll be able to get a proper cup of British afternoon tea, and the opportunity to bring home a Mr Bean teddy bear, or his T-shirt. If Shanghai wasn’t over 7,000 miles away with a 13-hour time difference, I’d so be there. You?