Does coffee beans grow on trees, and why did this café owner worry?

A café owner in Hubei posted that he felt nervous about serving customers from Guangdong, after hearing that Cantonese diners are unusually particular about food and drink. The post drew humorous replies from Guangdong netizens, including jokes about brewing soy sauce at home and growing coffee beans on rooftops, before many clarified that most Cantonese people are not coffee connoisseurs.

The exchange began as regional food-culture anxiety and turned into self-mockery. Cantonese commenters also pointed to local competitors doing well in coffee competitions, which had added to the owner's worry. The overall message was reassuring: coffee trees do not grow on rooftops, and professionals need not treat Guangdong customers as an impossible standard to meet.

A café owner in Hubei, having heard that Cantonese people are extremely particular about food and drink, and having seen Cantonese competitors shine in coffee competitions, couldn't help but feel nervous about serving customers from Guangdong. The post triggered humorous self-mockery and earnest explanations from Guangdong netizens, ranging from jokes about home-brewed soy sauce and growing coffee beans on rooftops to creative ideas like Bansha Americano, before ultimately clarifying that most Cantonese people are not coffee connoisseurs. The article presents an amusing dialogue arising from the clash of regional food cultures, while also conveying a reassuring message that coffee professionals need not be overly anxious.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

In recent years, a large number of young people have been keen on traveling, meeting interesting people and encountering fascinating things along the way, and experiencing the customs of different places through various itineraries. When it comes to the first impression Guangdong leaves on out-of-town visitors, it's probably none other than "food" — morning tea, roast goose, sweet soups... The local delicacies are so dazzlingly varied that you could eat for days without repeating a single dish.

Because of this, friends from other provinces have labeled Cantonese people as "knowing how to eat" and "being especially particular about food." A netizen shared that when a Guangdong friend came to visit their home, their mother would flip through cookbooks again and again, afraid that the dishes served wouldn't meet the standards of that picky Cantonese guest.

So, after hearing such internet jokes, a café owner in Hubei couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The shop owner posted that his café had recently received quite a few tourists from Guangdong, and he had learned from friends and the internet that Cantonese people are especially picky and particular about eating and drinking — so particular that every household even brews its own soy sauce.

In addition, the owner also learned that many Cantonese competitors have recently been dazzling in coffee competitions, which made him feel tremendous pressure when facing Guangdong coffee lovers, worrying that his coffee would get bad reviews from demanding customers.

After the post went up, Guangdong netizens who caught wind of it rushed over, laughing and saying they were "dying of laughter"!

Some mischievous Guangdong netizens joked that Cantonese people don't just brew their own soy sauce — they also grow coffee trees on their rooftops, use the plum rain season for wet-hulling or anaerobic fermentation, and sun-dry the beans on sunny days. After processing, the beans can be roasted by steaming or stir-frying. From start to finish, a cup of coffee is entirely self-sufficient, using the most rustic processing methods throughout.

Moreover, Cantonese people have picky palates and won't drink pre-made coffee when out and about — they insist that "freshly caught free-range beans are the best." If they can't find "free-range beans," they'll just pick coffee beans straight off the tree to make coffee. After all, Cantonese cuisine is renowned for its "freshness," and Cantonese coffee is naturally no exception.

Some netizens also offered the owner some tips: when encountering Cantonese customers, just tell them coffee can reduce internal heat, and health-conscious Cantonese people won't nitpick anymore. Or the owner could try creating a special Bansha Americano for Guangdong tourists (note: Bansha herbal tea is a type of Cantonese herbal tea). After tasting it, Cantonese people who love herbal tea won't find fault with the coffee anymore.

Jokes aside, quite a few warm-hearted Guangdong netizens still offered an explanation to the frightened shop owner. Although many well-known soy sauce brands like Haitian and Master have soy sauce factories in Guangdong Province, it's nowhere near the point where every household brews its own soy sauce — most Cantonese people still buy their soy sauce from the supermarket.

As for the owner's worry about whether Guangdong coffee lovers would nitpick his coffee, Guangdong netizens felt it was somewhat unnecessarily anxious. Influenced by Guangdong's food culture, most Cantonese people are indeed a bit particular about what they eat, but that doesn't mean every Cantonese person is "the Cai Lan of the coffee world," able to discern the subtleties of coffee and write a two-hundred-word essay about it.

So the owner can rest assured — as long as the coffee is made properly and tastes like coffee, easy-to-please Cantonese people won't be fussy~

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. Regarding some content on the website such as images, we will respect the original copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, there may be individual images or texts that we haven't been able to credit in time. Please forgive us. If the original author has any disputes, they can contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will immediately correct it. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is any infringement, please let us know and we will delete it. Thank you~!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.