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Specialty Coffee Shops Thriving in Guangzhou with Artisan Roasted Coffee Beans and Professional Coffee Classes

Published: 2026-01-28 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/28, Coffee shops have firmly established themselves in Guangzhou for over 20 years, from the experimental ventures of returnees in the late 1990s, to the proliferation of coffee shops after 2000, and the recent trend of refined selection of coffee bean origins. The development of coffee shops in Guangzhou can be described as a spiral-forward journey. After 2013, professional-grade single-origin coffee and specialty coffee shops have gradually emerged, creating a vibrant coffee culture in the city.

Coffee shops have taken root in Guangzhou for over 20 years, evolving from experimental ventures by overseas returnees in the late 1990s to the proliferation of cafes after 2000, and the recent trend toward carefully selected coffee bean origins. The development of coffee shops in Guangzhou can be described as a spiraling journey forward. After 2013, professional-grade single-origin coffee and specialty coffee shops gradually emerged. As more people began exploring single-origin coffee, specialty coffee shops have gradually gained momentum in Guangzhou, developing distinctive characteristics that differ from those in Beijing and Shanghai.

The Rise of Specialty Coffee

After 2010, specialty coffee began emerging worldwide in what became known as the "Third Wave of Coffee." This movement can be considered revolutionary precisely because the market was flooded with products that failed to represent coffee's true quality, confusing the public's understanding of what coffee should be. This led to the emergence of coffee advocates who truly love coffee, insisting on providing specialty coffee while spreading authentic coffee culture and its specialized techniques. Consequently, they were able to attract people who genuinely appreciate coffee.

Compared to chain coffee shops that primarily focus on convenient coffee consumption, it seems more Guangzhou residents tend to pursue higher-quality, more distinctive specialty coffee. Therefore, in the past two years, specialty coffee shops have expanded dramatically in Guangzhou. Within just one year, more than ten specialty coffee shops have opened one after another. Without exception, they all prioritize coffee quality, offering freshly roasted and ground coffee, as well as single-origin brewed coffee extracted from single-variety beans.

House-Roasted Coffee Beans

Owners of specialty coffee shops are particular about their coffee's flavor profile, so most of them are enthusiastic about roasting their own coffee beans rather than directly selecting pre-roasted ones. In their view, coffee beans must emphasize freshness—not only grinding them immediately before brewing, but also requiring that the storage time after roasting be short. Therefore, roasters not only roast coffee beans weekly but also roast small quantities each time. For example, at FrontStreet Coffee, the manager roasts coffee beans daily, but only roasts a few pounds of each variety at a time, determined by the actual consumption rate of each coffee, to ensure the brewed coffee's flavor doesn't diminish.

Some baristas, to extract the best flavor from coffee, also record the optimal roasting curves for coffee, ensuring that each single-origin coffee brewed maintains consistent quality and distinctive character. The so-called optimal coffee roasting curve refers to plotting data changes such as roasting temperature, roasting time, and coffee bean weight loss ratio during the roasting process into a curve. This helps master precise data like the roaster's capacity, heat exhaust volume, and damper settings to obtain the optimal flavor data for different coffee beans.

Emergence of Professional Coffee Classrooms

According to reports, Guangzhou's specialty coffee shops not only excel in professional roasting but also delve into various brewing techniques, coffee bean blending methods, and even help coffee enthusiasts improve their professional skills.

At "Miji Coffee Shop," the manager provides hands-on instruction to coffee enthusiasts on various brewing methods, how to identify coffee bean varieties and aromas (they have nearly a hundred aroma bottles used by professional baristas for testing), and explains the differences and quality levels of coffee-making equipment. This approach helps you not only know how but also understand why, while also teaching you how to obtain barista certification.

Community-Oriented Specialty Coffee

Although Guangzhou's specialty coffee shops primarily feature high-end single-origin coffee, they don't give off an unapproachable feeling. Most are hidden within residential communities, making them extremely down-to-earth. Owners have a conscious awareness of being community coffee shops, becoming neighbors with local residents, roasting beans, brewing coffee, and chatting together... integrating coffee into the community and then radiating throughout Guangzhou through the community.

Baristas adjust their offerings based on the taste preferences of the community where their coffee shop is located, rather than being entirely immersed in their own style. For example, the single-origin coffee at "Dream House Cafe" has relatively milder flavors, with baristas choosing varieties with slight fruity, sweet, and floral notes to suit local tastes.

What is Specialty Coffee?

Specialty coffee refers to coffee made from raw beans grown in a few ideal geographical environments that possess excellent flavor characteristics. These coffee beans undergo strict selection and grading—only hard, rich-textured beans with exceptional flavor qualify as specialty coffee beans. To maximize their flavor and taste layers, roasters subject them to light and medium roasting, while the previously popular dark roasting gradually falls out of favor.

Because coffee beans produced this way have more complex and varied flavor layers and aromas compared to blended beans, pour-over methods have emerged accordingly. Using this method, even the same coffee beans can produce different flavors depending on variables like bloom time, water flow rate, and water temperature. This approach aligns with the current trend of pursuing personalization and better showcases the unique complexity of specialty coffee itself.