Blind baristas grind out great coffee

Their coffee-making has been made possible by the donation of a specially customized coffee machine developed for the twins. The machine, made by Italian coffee equipment brand Rhea Vendors, features buttons in different shapes in order to help the blind navigate its operation.

"The customized coffee machine helps me a lot, otherwise, there may be few cups of good coffee," said Yin Tianbao.

According to statistics of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the total number of people with disabilities nationwide has reached 85 million, including 17 million people with visual impairment.

Wang said that despite there being many people with visual impairments wanting to work, there are very few opportunities for them out there apart from work as massage therapists or phone operators.

"Therefore, I wondered if I could help them find a job or start up their own business to give them more options for employment," Wang said. So far, about 80 percent of his employees across nine stores have disabilities.

According to Wang, the new cafe was developed through discussions with Yin Tianbao, aiming to provide a convenient environment and suitable equipment for employees with disabilities.

According to Wang, the Seed Shop can be used as a template for others and potentially rolled out at other locations across the country.

If there are blind people who want to be baristas, Wang and his team are willing to give free training here in Shanghai and then produce identical stores and transport them to other cities where the blind baristas want to start their businesses.

"Most of the designs were based on my ideas. They had many discussions with different teams and designed the store specifically to meet my needs," Yin Tianbao said.

The Yin brothers and their new shop have already won the hearts of the neighborhood, with locals regularly lining up for a fresh cuppa.

"A cup of coffee doesn't do justice to the amount of effort they have to put in," said customer Li Xiaoxing.