World Poetry Day was established on March 21 by UNESCO in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the formal declaration says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements".

McCann Bucharest's creative director Andres Vergara applauds the Meinl company's pursuit of poetry as a brand platform. "It's a unique territory that revives the connection between coffee and literature in a contemporary way," he says, and brings Julius Meinl's distinctive heritage to the forefront.

Global campaign ambassador and poet Robert Montgomery says: "The beauty of poetry is that it's a unique form of expression, which has no boundaries or hard rules. Due to this, everybody has the ability to be a poet."

After World Poetry Day, Montgomery will create one collective piece of art made from the thousands of poems produced. The public art installation will bring together different thoughts, perspectives and creative moments from around the world. Also, Julius Meinl is launching a "poetizer" function on its Facebook page, which will turn everyday posts into eloquent poems－to reinforce that poetry is alive, fun and accessible to anyone.

If you go

Pay With a Poem

Beijing: 8 am-late in the lobby lounge, Kempinski Hotel, Lufthansa Center; 50 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang district; 010-6465-3388.

Shanghai: event 11 am-2 pm in the deli (poem offer good all day); Westin Bund Center, 88 Henan Central Road; Pudong district; 021-6335-1888; also 11 am-8 pm at The Love Concept, 68-1 North Xiangyang Road; 157-2155-1597.