What is raw coffee and how does iced pour-over differ from hot?

No, ice water is not used for iced pour-over in practice, even though it is theoretically possible. Roughly 30 percent of a coffee bean is soluble material, and extraction is simply water pulling those compounds from the coffee particles. Brewing with ice water can work only if time, grind size, ratio and temperature are all readjusted to reach a suitable extraction yield.

In hot pour-over the water is hot and in iced pour-over it is cold, but extraction does not follow that symmetry. The four variables of time, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio and water temperature constrain one another, so changing one forces the others to compensate. That is why hot and iced brewing use separate parameter sets, and why cold-water experiments produce weak, uneven results.

Luckin Coffee recently issued a notice regarding an adjustment to handwashing frequency standards, changing the previous requirement of washing hands once per hour to once every two hours. This change has delighted many Luckin employees, as last year's "pain of baristas' damaged hands at Luckin Coffee" had drawn widespread attention. Frequent handwashing caused skin allergies and other problems that long plagued frontline baristas, with some even resigning because of it. The new rule will take effect from January 8. However, some employees believe the adjustment is limited in scope, as the actual number of handwashes during work remains relatively high. While maintaining high standards for food safety, Luckin has begun to pay attention to employees' actual experiences.

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People love to say "a new year brings a new atmosphere," but for the vast majority of people, stepping into a new year does not mean any substantial change in life. Those who work still go to work, those who study still study, the Earth still turns as it always has, and life goes on as it always does.

But for the folks at Luckin stores, they may have truly felt what "a new year brings a new atmosphere" means. The reason is that the night before, Luckin's operations side issued a notice to all stores about adjusting handwashing frequency standards.

Last year, the topic "pain of baristas' damaged hands at Luckin Coffee" made it onto the trending list, letting netizens learn for the first time about Luckin employees' handwashing ordeal. According to media reports, based on an 8-hour workday, Luckin employees had to wash their hands at least 8 times, equivalent to once per hour. If cleaning needs under other circumstances were included, the actual number of handwashes was far more than 8.

The consequence of high-frequency handwashing was that most Luckin employees suffered from skin allergies. Some employees simply could not endure such frequent handwashing and ultimately chose to resign. There was also no shortage of complaints from Luckin employees about this on social platforms. Therefore, Luckin issued a notice the previous night, relaxing the original requirement to "clean both hands once per hour" to "clean once every two hours," thereby reducing the frequency of employee handwashing. The new rule officially took effect on January 8.

The Luckin folks who received the notice were so excited they wished they could set off firecrackers to celebrate: "We finally made it through hahaha," "Luckin people are ecstatic," "For Luckin workers, this is truly something to be happy about," "The first happy thing in 2024," "I was already planning to resign, but after seeing this news I want to hang in there a bit longer."

While happy, many Luckin folks also expressed their gratitude to the reporter who had previously gone undercover at Luckin and reported on this matter: "Wishing the living bodhisattva great wealth, wuwuwuwuwu." This shows just how much a tiny loosening of Luckin's standards meant to all the Luckin folks, and how worthy of celebration it was.

But some Luckin folks felt after reading the notice that this adjustment to handwashing frequency standards was not very meaningful: "Might as well change the frequency to match the timing of major tasks.... once every two hours is meaningless," "Wash once on the hour, wash once on the half hour, it seems like it changed but also seems like it didn't."

For stores with customer areas, the rule for half-hour inspections has not changed. After inspecting the customer area, employees still have to go back and wash their hands. Although the handwashing frequency has decreased somewhat after the adjustment, over the course of an actual workday, the number of handwashes is still relatively high.

In terms of food safety, Luckin has always adhered to strict standards. That is precisely why memes like "You can say Luckin doesn't taste good, but you can't say Luckin isn't clean" and "Luckin cleaner" exist. And this meticulous attitude toward food hygiene has also become one of the important reasons Luckin is widely favored by consumers.

Although the original rule ensured food safety, it neglected the work experience of Luckin folks, to the point that the "pain of damaged hands" once surged onto the trending list. So, on the premise of continuing to ensure beverage food safety, Luckin adjusted the standard for employee handwashing frequency, taking employees' feelings into account. Perhaps after this adjustment, the "pain of damaged hands" will remain only in last year and will not become a trending topic in the new year.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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