STORY: Reigniting Tradition: Savoring China's Xizang over a cup of coffee

SHOOTING TIME: recent footage

DATELINE: Jan. 21, 2026

LENGTH: 00:05:00

LOCATION: LHASA, China

CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:

1. various of Lhasa

2. various of a Nindo Coffee store

3. various of Tarab Yonten Tsomo brewing coffee

4. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

7. various of customers at a Nindo Coffee store

8. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): WANG SIWEN, Tourist

9. various of Tarab Yonten Tsomo and her team at the 2025 London Coffee Festival

10. SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

11. SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese): NGOIZHUB LHAMO, Staff member at Nindo Coffee

12. various of the 2025 Xizang Coffee Culture Festival

13. SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): QIANG HUA, Judge, China Coffee Brewers Championship

14. SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

15. various of young people in China's Xizang

16. various of Lhasa

17. SOUNDBITE 9 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

STORYLINE:

An innovative coffee culture is quietly taking root on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In Xizang, a new generation of entrepreneurs is blending tradition with modernity while bringing Tibetan flavors to coffee lovers around the world.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

"Coffee is a wonderful bridge, because it's a beverage that people all over the world are familiar with. Coffee, as a medium, can carry so many different stories and cultures."

Tarab Yonten Tsomo is the founder of Nindo Coffee. After working in finance and hospitality, she made a life-changing decision in 2018: to start over and learn coffee-making from scratch. Just two years later, Tsomo passed the Q-Grader exam and became Xizang's first international coffee grader. Now, she runs six Nindo Coffee stores in Lhasa.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

"We chose 'Nindo' because it means 'intimate friends' in Tibetan. We hope that, through coffee, we can build long-lasting friendships with our customers."

Nindo Coffee offers a cultural experience that makes it more than a cafe. Here, Xizang traditions meet modern coffee culture. Guests can enjoy unique brews served in wooden bowls and cups decorated with Tibetan script, infused with flavors of highland barley, yak milk, or milk curds.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

"The cups we use in our cafe are printed with old place names in Lhasa, offering an easygoing way for people to get to know the city. We also serve a drink in our wooden bowls, where we provide the milk curds and butter separately in the lid. Guests can taste these ingredients on their own first, and then gradually add them to the coffee according to their preference. Through this little interactive experience, we hope to give people a better sense of the traditional Tibetan wooden bowl."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): WANG SIWEN, Tourist

"This cafe is housed in a traditional Tibetan residence, and having coffee in such a courtyard is truly a delightful experience. It feels as if time in Lhasa slows down. You don't just taste the coffee itself, but also get a sense of the carefully thought-out concept behind it."

In May 2025, Tsomo and her team took their Tibetan-style coffee onto the global stage at the London Coffee Festival.

SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

"When foreign visitors chose to buy a cup of our Tibetan-style coffee at our booth, we would tell them that it was blended with the yak milk curds from Xizang. And they would say they had never tried anything like it before. After tasting it, they would say, 'This is so unique. The flavor is amazing.' In moments like these, we felt that the purpose of our journey had truly been fulfilled."

The team describes Tsomo as a visionary leader who is practical, determined, and deeply inspiring.

SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese): NGOIZHUB LHAMO, Staff member at Nindo Coffee

"She is very strong at problem-solving. From her, I've learned the importance of staying true to your own ideas and developing a strong sense of independence and self-reliance."

As her Tibetan-style coffee gains wider popularity, Tsomo has taken on a new challenge: brewing coffee using beans grown right on the plateau. She has been experimenting with beans cultivated by agricultural scientists.

SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese): QIANG HUA, Judge, China Coffee Brewers Championship

"After visiting Lhasa several times, I've noticed that the number of coffee shops here is growing rapidly and their level of professionalism is improving as well. I look forward to tasting more and better Lhasa coffee in the future."

Tsomo, who shares this vision, has seen her coffee venture fueled by an ever-supportive ecosystem.

SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

"I would not make it this far without the strong support of local government. I believe that every era comes with its own opportunities. I think if you focus on doing well in whatever is in your hands and earn others' trust, you will gradually find your own direction along the way."

Driven by love for Tibetan culture, Tsomo aims to build a meaningful bridge and invite people to know her hometown better over a cup of coffee.

SOUNDBITE 9 (Chinese): TARAB YONTEN TSOMO, Founder of Nindo Coffee

"What I want to do is to infuse Tibetan culture into coffee, blending the two together, and present a new Xizang to people across the world."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from LHASA, China.

(XHTV)