How to Choose Coffee Beans When Buying, Price of Imported Coffee Beans, and Coffee Bean Shop Recommendations

Don't Be Obsessed with Famous Imported Coffee Beans

Although the freshness of coffee beans is so important that we strongly recommend every coffee enthusiast to roast at home, it must be acknowledged that not everyone has the conditions or time to roast at home. Additionally, many beginners who are new to coffee may not be suitable for roasting themselves due to lack of experience. The solution is to purchase roasted coffee beans.

In fact, I also suggest that friends who are just entering the world of coffee try different coffee merchants or peer-roasted coffee beans to gain experience and find their own direction. Here are the key points for purchasing roasted coffee beans:

Don't Be Obsessed with Imported Roasted Coffee Beans

The reason is very clear—you never know how long ago the coffee beans in the bag were roasted. If you have experience mail-ordering from foreign companies (this applies to any product), you'll know that even expensive air express delivery takes nearly two weeks to arrive. If you happen to order Espresso beans, which demand the highest freshness, they'll be nearly dead by the time they reach your hands! Don't forget, this is assuming the coffee beans were immediately bagged and shipped after roasting. The more likely scenario is that after roasting and packaging, the coffee beans sit in the factory for 3-4 days waiting for shipment, then spend another week in customs warehouses after arriving at their destination, followed by several days in the importer's warehouse before finally reaching various distributors. How long until you actually buy them? Only heaven knows!

Find a Café with In-house Roasting Capability (or Relevant Suppliers) and Confirm with Your Taste Buds

Why find a café with in-house roasting capability? Of course, because this is the only way to provide you with the freshest coffee beans. Before purchasing, confirm the roasting time with the merchant and observe their coffee bean storage methods. Poorly stored coffee beans will deteriorate faster. Responsible coffee roasters typically roast after receiving your order and mark the roasting date on the packaging when shipping, allowing you to clearly know the lifecycle of your coffee beans.

How to Test Freshness After Bringing Coffee Beans Home

Test brew and taste! Espresso is the most direct and rigorous testing method. If the coffee beans aren't fresh, they definitely won't produce that thick, syrupy consistency. If you don't have an Espresso machine, you can use the simplest brewing method available and confirm with your nose and taste buds. Fresh coffee beans should fill the room with aroma when ground and taste rich with complexity. Stale coffee beans are the opposite—they have weak aroma when ground and taste quite bland. After a few times, you'll know whether this coffee shop's definition of "fresh" meets your standards. Those that don't meet the standard naturally become ones you avoid. As long as your taste buds say the coffee tastes OK, then it's OK! Of course, your standards will rise as your coffee experience grows.

If you really can't find a coffee merchant that meets your standards near your home, online ordering is an excellent choice. Currently, many coffee merchants on Taobao offer online ordering services. They only roast after confirming your order details and deliver to your hands via express delivery. At the very least, freshness is absolutely guaranteed.

FrontStreet Coffee: Guangzhou's Roastery

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery in Guangzhou with a small storefront but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473