Honest Review- GS25 Coffee Bean Americano – A Sour, High-Caffeine Disaster (1.0/5.0)

Welcome back to Slurp & Stream! Following up on my furious 0.5-star review of the tragically watery “Coffee Bean Decaf,” today I am bringing you the original version: the GS25 “Yours” Coffee Bean Americano.

South Korea runs on Iced Americanos, and since the decaf version was such a monumental letdown, I picked this up from a GS25 convenience store with a tiny sliver of hope that the original, caffeinated version might actually live up to the “Coffee Bean” brand name.

Did it meet my expectations? Let me save you the suspense: It’s another MASSIVE FAIL. Here is my unfiltered, 100% honest review!

💸 A BOGO Deal ($1.85)… But I Miss the $1.50 Cafe Coffee

I managed to grab this during a “1+1” (Buy One Get One Free) promotion for 2,430 KRW (roughly $1.85 USD for two). At less than a dollar per bottle, the value for money seems fantastic on paper.

The packaging is pretty standard, but bearing the recognizable “Coffee Bean” logo, I expected a decent sip. Honestly? You are far, far better off going to one of the ubiquitous budget coffee chains in Korea (like Mega Coffee or Compose) and spending $1.50 for a massive, freshly brewed Americano.

🍋 The Wateriness is Gone, But the ‘Sourness’ Exploded

If the biggest flaw of the decaf version was that it tasted like brown water, the good news is that this original version isn’t watery. The bad news? The acidity (sourness) is aggressively overpowering.

The sour notes hit your tongue so hard that it completely masks any of the nutty, roasted, or deep-bodied flavors you actually want in a coffee. I drank it straight without ice, and the piercing sourness was genuinely hard to swallow.

⚡ A Sneak Attack: The Heavy Caffeine Punch!

One crucial warning I have to give: the moment you drink this, you get hit with a massive, jolting sensation of high caffeine. It hits hard and fast.

⭐️ Final Verdict: 1.0 / 5.0 (A Minor Step Up from Zero)

It is ever-so-slightly better than the 0.5-star decaf version, but honestly, they are both basically in the same bottom tier. I’m giving it 1 star solely because the intense sourness proves it actually has some flavor profile, unlike the decaf.

Who do I recommend this to?

• Absolutely no one.
• Unless you are someone who specifically loves piercingly sour coffee and desperately needs a violent caffeine shock to stay awake.
• Warning: If you are sensitive to caffeine, stay far away from this!

The TL;DR: A highly acidic, sour, and intensely caffeinated disaster. Whether it’s decaf or original, this convenience store line completely ruins the Coffee Bean name.