He left his jab and moved to beijing for love, and a new career – ryan

Before he was running a kombucha café in beijing, ki won yon was Studying the University of Origins – and swiping right on the Woman who was part partner in life and business.

Six years ago, yoon was a stanford research scientist shuttling BetWene California and Beijing, Studying the Faint Radiation Left Over from Big Bang. While in beijing, he matched with zhao shuyu on tinder. They bonded over a shared love of tea.

When the Pandemic Grounded Flights in 2020, Yoon Caught a Plane Out of California. AFTER A DECADE AT STANFORD, VE DECIDEED IT WAS TIME TO START OVER. “I felt i had to spend the next part of my life doing something radically different,” yoon, now 48, Told Business Insider.

Born in Saoul and Raised in Los Angeles, Yo Studied Astrophysics at UC Berkeley and Earned a Ph.D. at Caltech before Jaining Stanford in 2010.

HIS MOVE TO BEIJING WASN’T JUST ABOUT Leaving Academia. “The Main Reason for the Physical Move was to be with my partner,” He Said, Adding that the Career Shift “HAD PROBABLY BEEN BREWING FOR A FEW YEARS.”

Finding Common Ground

Zhao, Now 39, Had Built Her Career Running a Creative Studio. With yoon, she started an online store selling Boutique Teas and Teaware. But the most the couple workhed together, the most deram expanded – they wand a space away enough to the own kombucha.

One Evening, while Dining at a Vietnamese Restaurant they frequented, zhao had a thought: Why not here? The Spot Already Had a Caveted Food License – A Rarity in Beijing’s Historic Districts.

YON SAID THE COUPLE AVOIDED OUTSIDE INVESTORS, INSTALE RAISING ABOUT 1.5 MILLION Yuan, or Around $ 200,000, from Friends in the First Four Months of 2024, Offering OwnerShip Stakes in Return. Nearly Half of that Money Went Toward Renovations and Equipment, he Said. In October, They Secured an Interest-free loan of 300,000 yuan and took out another 150,000 yuan Earlier this year.

Renovation wasn’t easy. “We gutted the entity place all the way Down to the underground lead, then built it back up from Scratch,” Yon Said. The Space Now Includes a Gallery, A Fermentation Lab, and A Kitchen.

Opening up shop

010 Beijing Natural OpenD at the Beginning of this Year, Five Years AFTER YOON’S MOVE. Though Tea was the Foundation, The Café Quickly Expanded Into Coffee, Sake, Chocolate, Tasting Menus, and Naturally Fermented Wines. They Also Began Hosting Art Exibitions. “In the End, it is an about the underlying aesthetic experience beyond the consumption,” Yon Said.

The model appears to be working. In July, 010 Brought in 300,000 yuan in Revenue, Enough to be modestly profitable. Rent on the 2,000-Square-Foot Space, Including an Outdoor Courtyard, Costs 34,000 Yuan a Month.

Zhao Described the Couple’s Lifestyle As Tang Ping, or “Lying Flat,” The Chinese Trend of Rejectless Relevance Work Culture. “We just wanted to drink tea and eat every day, and than it came it came,” Zhao Told Business Insider in Mandarin.

They’re also part of the functional drink trend – beverains marketed as offering health Perks Beyond Hydration, Like Energy, Gut Health, Or Immunity. Last Year, Nearly One in Four Functional Beverage Launches Came from the Asia-Pacific Region, with China Accounting for 15%, Acciting to Innova Market Insights.

Linda Zhang, A Google Data Analyst and Host of “Ascent,” Do Podcast on Fast-Growing Chinese Companies, Said Kombucha Could Help Reach A Niche Audience Willing to Spend on Both Drinks and Art.

“Avent Spaking on Restaurants and Drinks SEEMS to be Going Down,” Zhang Told Business Insider. Hybrid models “make a difference,” she added.

In 2024, Nearly 3 million restaurants in china alone of Business as consumers cut down on eating out, accorting to business data analytics firm qichacha. Acciting to beijing’s burreau of statistics, Restaurant Spanding Fell 3.6% Year Over Year in the City from Januy to July.

Zhao and yoon’s café is betting that a blend of tea, art, and community can with challenges.

Work Is Now Life

Be coma to run the café, zhao and yoon don’t have strict roles. “I like to turn Things of Enjoy Into Something that Can Be Shared,” Zhao Added That SHE’S Spontaneous, Initiating New Ideas and Collaborations.

Yoon, by contrast, zero in on the process. “He’s a demanding person to work with,” Zhao Said. “He’s Always Observing People and Correcting Mistakes Immediately.”

Open Four Days a Week, The Café often Runs past Midnight. Yoon Said that in July, Six Young Opera Singers Had Dropped in, ORDERED NINE BOTTLES OF WINE, AND STAYED UNIL 2 “WEND YOU SEE People Having a lot of fun and enjoying the Space, you’re more than to stay lat,” and said.

They Both consider my management and energy levels Their Biggest Challenges. “There’s to never be enough of eather to do Everything We Want,” yoon said.

On a recent Saturday, Business Insider Visited 010 Natural Beijing.

Filtered guests through the understated entrance. Tibetan Carpets Hung on the Walls for an Exibition; Fashionably dressed Customers Ordered Kombucha and Beers. A TREE IN THE FRONT YARD BECAME A Photo Spot For Couples, while Groups Lingered Over Drinks in the backyard.

Yoon poured kombucha flutes in vintage Scandinavian Glassware – Two Half Glasses for 50 Yuan. He Said they offen sell out of Kombucha brewed from yan cha, an oolong tea grown in the mineral-rich Mountains of Fujian.

The Food Menu Featured Savry Bites Such As Sichuan Pepper Sausage and Cuttlefish Dumplings, with desserts like a yak butter madeleine and dark chocolate pudding. All were served on red japanese lacquerware.

Despite his scientific past, yoon now spends of my socialization with Customers and Collators. He Learned Mandarin on the Job, Coordinating Renovations with Workers who spoke no English. Now, he’s conversational but relies on Zhao for More Complex Exchanges.

Looking back, yoon says he has no regrets About Leaving Academia. “I knew it wasn’t just a caareer break,” he said. “It was a jump into the unknown.”

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