Introduction:When a coffee shop owner from Hubei learned that people from Guangdong are extremely particular about food and drink, and considering how often Guangdong competitors win awards in coffee competitions, he began to worry whether he could satisfy this group of “discerning” customers. In reality, this clash of regional cultures is not only filled with humorous interactions but also reveals how coffee professionals respond to different customer groups. This article will take you through the true face of Guangdong’s food culture and share practical references for coffee brewing and tasting.
In recent years, more and more young people enjoy traveling and getting to know the cultures and cuisines of different regions through their journeys. When it comes to Guangdong, most people’s first impression is often “food”—from delicate dim sum and crispy roast goose to diverse sweet soups, Guangdong’s food culture is rich and varied, leaving people lingering in delight.
For this reason, people from Guangdong are often labeled by outsiders as “good eaters” or “particular about food.” One netizen shared how, when a friend from Guangdong came to visit, his mother even repeatedly checked the menu, worried that the dishes wouldn’t meet the guest’s high standards. These internet anecdotes made a coffee shop owner from Hubei feel uneasy.
The shop owner posted on a social platform saying that he had recently hosted many tourists from Guangdong. But having heard that they are extremely picky about food—some even make their own soy sauce at home—he began to worry if his coffee would satisfy these “gourmets.” Adding to his stress was the fact that Guangdong competitors have performed exceptionally well in recent coffee competitions, which seemed to suggest that people from Guangdong also have high standards for coffee.
As soon as the post went up, it quickly drew enthusiastic responses from netizens in Guangdong, who lightened the mood and defused this “regional misunderstanding” with humor. Some joked that people from Guangdong don’t just make their own soy sauce—at home, they might even grow coffee trees on their rooftops. Depending on the weather, they might process the beans using wet hulling or anaerobic fermentation in humid conditions, switch to sun-drying when the weather’s good, and even roast using methods like steaming or stir-frying. From planting to brewing, they’re completely self-sufficient, showing an impressive “DIY spirit.”
Others teased that when people from Guangdong go out for coffee, they never settle—they only drink “freshly harvested single-origin beans.” If they can’t find any, they’d even be willing to pick the beans straight from the tree themselves to brew. While these jokes are exaggerated, they do reflect the Guangdong people’s insistence on ingredient freshness. Of course, some netizens also offered “practical suggestions,” such as highlighting the heat-clearing benefits of coffee to Guangdong guests, or customizing a “Ban Sha Americano” (Ban Sha being a common herbal tea in Guangdong), which caters to local tastes while also easing the shop owner’s anxiety.
However, behind the lively banter, many netizens from Guangdong offered rational explanations. They pointed out that although Guangdong has many famous soy sauce brands like Haitian and Weishida, most families still prefer to buy commercially available soy sauce, and the actual proportion of homemade soy sauce is quite low. As for coffee taste preferences, they emphasized that although people from Guangdong are discerning about food, not everyone has the professional palate of a barista—most customers are more concerned with basic coffee flavors and the overall experience.
For coffee shop owners, as long as the extraction parameters are appropriate—such as consistent grind size, water temperature maintained between 90 to 96°C, a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15 to 1:18, and attention to brewing time and technique so that the coffee displays clear fruit acidity, a rich body, and moderate sweetness—it usually satisfies the needs of most customers, including those visiting from Guangdong.
In summary, this online interaction not only highlighted the amusing collision of regional food cultures, but also reminded coffee professionals that there’s no need to be overly anxious about the expectations of customers from different regions. By focusing on the essence of coffee and providing stable, flavorful products, one can win the recognition of a wide range of consumers.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
