Where to Buy Coffee Beans in Physical Stores? Recommended Addresses for Coffee Bean Stores in Guangzhou

A Must-Read for Guangzhou Coffee Lovers

Recently I picked up a bag of Yirgacheffe on a whim. After brewing and tasting it, I was surprised to find the flavor was nearly identical to the "Starry Sky" beans used for the Americano at Guangzhou.jpg. What a pleasant surprise.

These are beans roasted by a local Guangzhou coffee shop called FrontStreet Coffee, located at No. 10 Bao'an Qian Street, Dongshankou. I bought the Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Natural process beans.

Let me start with my conclusion: after several cups, I consistently found them very similar to Guangzhou.jpg's Starry Sky Americano. If you love the "Starry Sky" beans, you have to buy these. Buy them. Buy them.

Official Description

Berries, strawberry, lemon, fermented wine aroma.

Price

227g for 88 yuan

Appearance of the Beans

The beans are cleanly roasted with almost no defective ones. Compared with SATOBI's Yirgacheffe, these are slightly larger with less silver skin.

Brewing Equipment

Dripper/filter paper: Hario V60 and a Kalita three-hole trapezoidal dripper

(I've brewed with both drippers, and the taste difference is minimal.)

Grinder: Encore

Pour-over kettle: Hario Cloud Pot

Kitchen scale and thermometer

Brewing Conditions

Roast level: medium-light

Grind size: medium-fine, sugar-sized particles

Coffee-to-water ratio: 15g of grounds to 225ml of water

(Following the official recommended 1:15 ratio.)

Water temperature: 90°C

When the beans first arrived, the bloom expanded nicely, a sign of freshness. After two weeks it expanded less, which is expected for a light roast.

Tasting Experience

The natural process Red Cherry Yirgacheffe is richly flavored with acidity, but not overly so, and it balances nicely with the body.

Conclusion

I actually bought SATOBI's Yirgacheffe at the same time for comparison. Side by side, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Red Cherry beans are more balanced, while SATOBI's are more acidic; each has its own character. FrontStreet Coffee's beans look very clean, which speaks to the shop's pursuit of quality. I'd happily recommend them.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If that natural Red Cherry Yirgacheffe is what caught your attention, FrontStreet's Sun-dried Red Cherry is exactly the coffee: made from fully ripe cherries, dried on raised beds and turned every two to three hours early on so nothing ferments unevenly. Because the cherries dry with the pulp intact, it keeps the typical Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit, expressed as citrus acidity, a juicy berry quality, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

And for a cleaner, washed counterpart, FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe daily bean is the classic introduction to Ethiopia, with white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body at a price that makes it an easy everyday buy. If you'd like to go deeper into the region's cooperatives, FrontStreet's Gedeb Cooperative coffee follows traditional washed processing and turns out a bright, refined cup of citrus, lemon, and elegant white florals.