In the depths of a vicious winter, I wrote about recent disappointments with coffee that I previously loved made in Yunnan Province, China’s coffee capital. Thankfully, when I bought a high-level burr grinder soon after, a free container of coffee changed everything.
I had previously bought several similar but lower-end versions of this grinder for between $14-20, but each died after a few months and refused to recharge. On TaoBao, when you add items to your shopping cart, the app updates the price when inevitable sales come along. While it was hard for me to plunk down over $70 for the fancy grinder, it was easier when it went on sale for under $50. (Burr grinders are pricier but create a smoother grind than their cheaper bladed counterparts.)
Along with this fantastic burr grinder came a small sample of a new kind of coffee that I hadn’t seen before: La Vida. I was skeptical about its quality because it wasn’t vacuum-packed or in a bag with a one-way seal, but it was DELICIOUS: freshly roasted, fragrant and giving off the kind of flavors you wouldn’t imagine could come from the humble coffee bean.
I immediately ordered a slew of flavors and discovered that the full-size 200 gram cans do have one-way valves, which assuaged any fears about the professionalism of the company.
That said, it was the very first company I’ve encountered since starting a website to profile entrepreneurs in China that declined to comment when I asked for details about the founder, which I found amusing! I didn’t care, as long as the coffee was good.
In the end, I liked the first coffee they sent better than others. While it says “Columbia Coffee,” it is from Yunnan, and it has become my go-to. While I’ll always remember the years that I enjoyed Sinloy and Shangrila’s, it’s a pleasure to discover a new tasty whole bean coffee from China’s famous coffee region.
Side note: TaoBao is a delight. You basically get to buy the things from Amazon before they get shipped overseas at a small portion of the cost. Last summer, when I was headed home for the first time in four years, I looked up things on Amazon to buy (don’t judge! Weird things remind you of home when you’re gone for a long time. Others include Target and Chick-Fil-A).
One thing I wanted was a rose gold pour-over cone for manual coffee making. I found it on Amazon* for under $20, but ever the researcher, I decide to do an image search of the same item on Taobao–and found it for a mere $5, though the price has since increased…to $8!
Overall, this coffee fiend is happy to have a solid choice and a good way to make my favorite drink day to day. More serious entries are on the way, but it’s fun to share a little bit of the light side of things here. To go with the coffee cone for making pourover, I use unbleached filters that, again, are cheaper here–about $2 for 100, as compared to $6 for similar models* on Amazon.
Of course, now that travel is possible again, I should probably factor in the price of annual flights to and from the US to my cost of living here. Thankfully, I’ll have a chance soon–I get to be with family on the Fourth of July in the US for the first time eight years! More on that soon–including my random upgrade to Silver Medallion thanks to Delta.
If you live in China and want to order the La Vida Coffee I mentioned, scan below:
☀️Have a wonderful summer, yourself! And stay cool 😎.
* Affiliate link! No added cost to you, but I will get a percentage of purchases made through the link.
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