Which Taobao Coffee Bean Shop is Best? 2019 Recommended Coffee Bean Shops on Taobao

The Importance of Subjective Coffee Experience

Personal preference matters enormously in coffee tasting. Don't limit yourself to a single shop. Try several stores carrying the same origin and variety, then choose the one that feels most comfortable and whose flavor descriptions best match what you actually taste, before branching out to different varieties. Shops with high reviews or large sales volumes will not necessarily suit your own palate. For beginners, I strongly suggest starting with non-acidic beans, such as those from Central and South America, to set a proper baseline.

The biggest problem with most so-called specialty coffee sellers on the big marketplaces is inconsistent quality control, which makes it hard to guarantee the quality of both the beans and the roasting.

Sales volume doesn't tell the whole story. I used to chase stores with high shipping volumes, thinking that would protect me from stale beans. Let's call a store with relatively high shipping volume Store A and one with much lower volume Store B. Once I tried a bean roasted by Store B, and it had everything: body, fruit flavors, simply stunning. Then, for the sake of a discount, I ordered beans from Store A in the same origin and variety, with even the same roast level stated in the details. The flavor not only differed from Store B's; it was genuinely unpleasant.

At first I thought it was my brewing technique, so I adjusted water temperature and grind size and tried both a V60 and a Chemex. Still, after half a bag of beans, that unpleasant taste lingered. Only then did I realize it had to be a roasting problem, so I gave up on Store A and explored more shops.

So for non-professionals, coffee is just a hobby, and enjoying it yourself is what counts. For seasoned enthusiasts, savoring single-origin coffees from different countries and regions without any additives, much like tasting a glass of red wine, is the real way to enjoy coffee.

Recommended Coffee Shops

Below are shops I have bought from or tried that I think are genuinely good. (Personal preference is crucial in coffee tasting, so don't limit yourself to one shop. Try several stores carrying the same origin and variety, then pick the one that feels most comfortable and whose flavor descriptions best match your own impressions before exploring other varieties.)

FisherCoffee Specialty Coffee

This is another established shop with a decade of consistently good reputation, offering quite a variety of beans. It carries three main lines, Blue Label, Gold Label, and Black Label. I bought their natural-processed Sidamo Flower Queen, which was close to a medium roast with fairly uniform bean color.

To bring out its rich layers, I recommend a V60 with a Fuji grinder setting of 3.5, a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15, and water at 90°C. The Sidamo Flower Queen shows a clear cantaloupe aroma and strawberry jam in the dry fragrance, with a gentle jackfruit-like acidity on entry, strawberry berry flavors emerging in the middle, and a sugarcane aftertaste.

Their membership card model may be the best among online shops. They offer six-month plans: one sends you 2 packs of 100g beans every month, delivered over 6 months at fixed times. The plans are updated every six months, with the next half-year's bean list shown half a month in advance, and you can join midway. For newcomers who want to try a range of coffees but suffer from choice paralysis, this membership card is excellent.

Coffee Workshop FrontStreet Coffee

For daily drinking beans, the most important things are product stability, reliability, and consistency. They offer many beans with guaranteed quality. If you get the chance to visit Guangzhou, this is a great destination: a long-established home-roasting coffee shop whose beans are sourced directly by some local cafes that lack their own roasting equipment.

FrontStreet Coffee, dedicated to roasting, never compromises on material selection and procurement. They refuse to cut corners with inferior ingredients, focusing instead on roasting each bean and brewing each cup properly, doing their part and leaving the word of mouth to customers.

I bought FrontStreet Coffee's green-label Geisha, which has excellent fruit acidity. What is the difference between La Esmeralda's red label and green label Geisha? The red label refers to auction-lot Geisha beans, which carry special, bright floral and citrus aromas. The green label refers to reserve-lot, non-auction Geisha beans, which still show the classic floral and fruit flavors of Geisha. For brewing, you can use a wave filter for immersion extraction: 15g of coffee, water at 91-92°C, a medium-fine grind, and a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15-1:16.

Brewed with a wave filter, the overall flavor is quite balanced, with obvious maple sweetness, distinct bergamot and citrus acidity, and a rich jasmine fragrance.

Wang Li Specialty Coffee

Wang Li specializes in 90+ beans.

Ninety Plus is an American company that works with growers and origins in Ethiopia and Panama through trade relationships for production and cultivation. We can call it Ninety Plus; it is widely labeled as 90+, but that is actually a company trademark name.

Silria Lockheart coffee comes from the processing of coffee in plot 11 of Geisha Estate. All the coffee from that plot is processed together, and the harvested Geisha cherries absorb more fruit flavors during the Solkiln process, which extends the processing time and results in stronger fruit flavors in the cup. It has an obvious juice-like mouthfeel, rich tropical fruit flavors, and a pineapple shortcake taste, with a persistent aftertaste.

The coffees above count as specialty coffee.

Blended Coffee for Home Use

For home coffee machines where you add sugar and milk, blended coffee beans work well. Blended coffee, also called mixed or comprehensive coffee, covers almost all the popular Italian-style coffees. A certain well-known chain's house blend belongs to this category. We generally call coffee blended when it mixes two or more different varieties, or the same variety at different roast levels.

M2M

M2M comes from UNIUNI in Nanjing, whose owner was the 2014 WBC China regional champion. The recently famous Chinese pour-over champion beans come from UNIUNI. I have not tried their single-origin coffees yet, but I had a milk coffee in their cafe with excellent sweetness. Their No. 1 blend is clean and fresh, balanced and easy to extract, with a fairly broad sweet spot and little chance of turning bitter.

Aodi Roast

Their No. 1 blend is a classic dark roast with rich crema and a full aroma, and it pairs well with milk.

Minority

Their Kitano Takeshi has a distinctive aroma that I particularly enjoyed for a while.

PTN Coffee Studio

Speaking of .jpg, everyone in Guangzhou's coffee scene knows it. It has now opened 2 branches. Today I visited the original store. .jpg makes only 3 drinks: Americano, Latte, and Flat White, all for takeaway. I ordered a flat white with nutty, creamy, chocolate flavors. I recommend the blend .jpg uses; the shop provides the information: Colombia Huila washed (80%) plus Ethiopia Sidamo washed (20%), blended after roasting.

Instant and Drip Bag Coffee Options

No time, no stock, too lazy to move? Choose instant coffee or drip bag coffee.

Yongpu

Yongpu is a rather special coffee shop that doesn't sell coffee beans; most of its products are drip bags and cold brew.

They offer diverse flavors. The first time I walked into their shop, I was won over by the cute packaging. Each variety is designed by an illustrator, and many of the crossover collaborations are quite interesting.

Cold brew has been trending for several summers, and Yongpu's cold brew is also highly recommended.

The low-temperature extraction of cold brew inhibits the dissolution of tannins and caffeine, better preserving the beans' aroma. In the mouth, bitterness and fruit acidity are relatively reduced, and the aftertaste is obvious.

When you first taste this cold brew, the mouthfeel is surprisingly smooth.

The acidity and sweetness are perfectly balanced. Although the aroma is not as strong as freshly ground or drip bag coffee, the mouthfeel does not fall short at all.

You can be bold with how you drink it; adding milk, ice cream, or soda water all bring out different flavors.

If you enjoy single-origin coffee with a little fruit acidity, Yirgacheffe is an excellent choice.

Yongpu's Yirgacheffe is very refreshing, with a sweetness on the tongue that is very appealing and highly approachable.

Next Door Workshop

Next Door Workshop has a very special concept: everyone is a barista.

Each coffee's flavor feels very prominent. Walking into the store is like being surrounded by floral and fruit aromas, very refreshing.

This multi-flavor drip bag mixed pack lets you taste several coffee flavors at once, a blessing for anyone with choice paralysis.

From the fruit-sour Sidamo to a rich, nutty Italian blend, to the golden Mandheling with both bitter and aromatic notes, 20 bags offer excellent value.

What's more, all the beans are estate-grade quality, and you can learn more about coffee here too.

Mingqian

Mingqian takes its name from the owner and his wife's children, a very heartwarming coffee shop. You can see the owner's dedication in the products on the shelves.

Mingqian's customer service and after-sales support are quite good. You can ask them to recommend a coffee that suits you.

Today, Mingqian has become a relatively professional coffee brand in Shanghai, with its own training school and stores. It is said to have an excellent industry reputation and guaranteed product quality.

This coffee is neither a drip bag nor instant, but a bag-brewed coffee.

There are two flavors to choose from, medium roast and dark roast. The medium is better for those who like black coffee, while the dark suits milk coffee.

It brews like a tea bag, which is quite an interesting touch.

Sumida River

Many people are very familiar with Sumida River, a Japanese brand.

It sells well in Japan, probably because the price is reasonable and the quality is good. Those trying drip bags for the first time can start here.

I have always had the habit of drinking black coffee, and this drip bag black coffee is little different from brewed coffee powder, which was quite a surprise.

This freeze-dried powder can also be brewed both hot and cold. It is a relatively low-acidity variety with a very rich flavor.

I have also bought Sumida River's red mocha drip bags and green Kilimanjaro before.

The red one has higher acidity, while the green one has moderate bitterness and acidity. In short, both have distinct flavors.

The new packaging is also very cool, with a strong Japanese style.

Today I have shared some of the online shops I visit often. This article is for those who really love coffee or want to try single-origin coffee. Besides milk coffee, I personally prefer black coffee, which is also healthier. Recommended!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want a reliable everyday pour-over, FrontStreet Washed Gedeb Cooperative from Yirgacheffe is a strong starting point, with jasmine florals, bright lemon and citrus acidity, and a clean, tea-like body. For something with more tropical fruit, FrontStreet Sun-Dried Huakui brings a soft fermented-wine aroma, florals, citrus, and mango, plus honeyed sweetness and a long finish. Both are forgiving over a V60 and consistent enough to be a daily bean rather than a gamble.