The other day I was passing through Takashimaya Department Store (http://www.takashimaya.com.cn ; 1438 Hongqiao Road, Changning District) and found Dainty cup coffee (b1061; http://www.takashimaya.com.cn/tenant/453; Website for Suzhou in Mandarin and Japanese: http://daintycoffee.com). I was drawn in by their roaster and their wide selection of beans. I looked at the prices, and they seemed fairly reasonable. I elected to try another time, since I had already been to two coffee shops that day.
The next time I came, I opted for a latte, which was served in a large cup. The taste was slightly acidic, but it was not bitter. The barista made a standard latte flower – the presentation was nice, but nothing overly memorable. No lemon water and had to ask for a spoon. I also order a mocha, which was not overly sweet, despite using syrup, and not real hot chocolate. The memorable part is the beans, which are roasted weekly, have plenty of oils on them, which is different than most of the dry beans you will find in Shanghai. Overall a Decent coffee at a decent price – 5 locations in China (2 in Shanghai, other on 5F of some Nanjing Road shop which sells shoes, 7 employees; they prefer wholesale bean purchases).
On my next trip I found that the roasting machine is not actually used in this location and the beans are roasted and delivered from Jiangsu province each week. This time I received a cup of ice water with my latte, but still had to ask for a spoon. It was a good (if not overly caffeinated) latte and was a blend of six different kinds of beans. The barista was friendly and spoke fondly of his industry.