Wang Lianfen, a 61-year-old barista, makes coffee at the Eco Coffee Bar in Jiulonghu, Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang Lianfen, the 61-year-old owner of a minsu (a Chinese-style breakfast-and-bed establishment) in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, never thought she'd be a barista.

In 2017, Wang and her three sisters renovated their old house in Jiulonghu town and started a business – Alice's B&B.

Wang said that her youngest sister has many foreign friends who are regular customers. Gradually, Alice's B&B became popular among the local expat community and attracted people from a variety of countries, including Russia, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Canada.

Along with this increasing popularity came a challenge – expats like coffee but Wang knew nothing about it.

"I was born and grew up in the village and had never drunk coffee before. For me, it's much easier to prepare a full table of Chinese dishes than make a cup of coffee," said Wang.

She still remembered her first sip of coffee, "It tastes bitter. But learning how to make it was even bitterer. I spent almost all my time making coffee. All that I was thinking about was how much coffee beans and milk I should add. I even dreamed about perfecting my coffee-making skills as I slept.”

All her efforts eventually paid off. Wang is now a skillful barista and opened a cafe in the minsu. The "Eco Coffee Bar" that she runs was one of the first cafes in the town.

Soon she faced another challenge – how to communicate with expats. "I cannot speak English. It's difficult to understand what they need." But she eventually started using a translation app on her phone.

Each year, Alice's B&B receives nearly 10,000 visitors and around 700,000 yuan ($101,835) in annual revenue, half of which comes from the cafe.

Wang Lianfen (right) talks with a Russian customer with the help of a translation app on her phone. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]