What skills are needed to pour a coffee heart?
Pouring a large white heart is a core barista skill and one of the first patterns beginners learn. It depends on well-textured milk, a clean espresso base and a steady, controlled pour rather than on expensive equipment, so home setups can produce a recognizable heart with practice.
Work through tool selection, milk steaming and pouring technique step by step, starting with a simple stacked heart before moving to more detailed designs. Anyone who enjoys traditional coffee can reinforce the basics by practicing with dedicated practice beans and milk chosen for stable, repeatable foam.
Tims, a Canadian coffee chain brand that has been in the Chinese market for five years, recently celebrated its 60th birthday. To mark this milestone, Tims launched a six-week promotion offering 9.9 yuan deals every week, along with a campaign where purchasing designated combo meals would earn a limited-edition 60th anniversary themed ceramic cup. The three cups with simple designs attracted many fans to place orders in support. However, after receiving the actual products, some consumers discovered issues such as vertical bulges on the cup body and silicone lids that were too tight to fit. Complaints flooded social media platforms. The official explanation stated that the bulge was a deliberate design mimicking the seam of a paper cup, but this clever idea did not gain widespread approval. Brand CEO Lu Yongchen once said they would accelerate upgrades centered on user needs. Judging from the feedback on this anniversary gift, Tims still has room for improvement in peripheral product quality control and experience.
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According to traditional Chinese customs, the 60th birthday is a grand occasion that should be celebrated with a lavish banquet. The same logic applies to a brand's birthday. Yesterday, Tims, a Canadian coffee chain brand, celebrated its 60th birthday, and this year also happens to be its fifth year in the Chinese market.
To celebrate this important milestone, Tims launched a "9.9 yuan weekly welfare event" lasting six weeks during its 60th anniversary celebration, precisely hitting the psychological expectations of current Chinese coffee consumers. At the same time, the brand also launched a 60th anniversary celebration activity where purchasing designated combo meals would earn a free limited-edition 60th anniversary themed cup.
According to official information, this event introduced three ceramic cups, all following a simple and elegant style. Combined with their limited-edition status, many Tims fans said they were won over by these highly attractive themed cups and quickly placed orders as soon as the event launched, eagerly awaiting this anniversary gift from the brand.
Netizens who have already received Tims' birthday gift took photos and shared them on social media, sending blessings to Tims as it enters its sixtieth year. However, some netizens, after examining the cup closely in their hands, discovered flaws and immediately posted complaints: "The cup body is uneven, not smooth, and has a vertical bulge that really affects the appearance." "Can the lid even be used? The soft silicone is not as good as a disposable coffee cup lid." "The quality is mediocre, and it doesn't look worth ordering a combo meal for."
According to the official explanation, the design inspiration for this limited-edition themed cup came from paper coffee cups, and the bulge on the smooth ceramic cup body was meant to mimic the inherent seam on paper cups. In the official view, this deliberate small detail was the finishing touch of the themed cup design. But many consumers were not buying it: "Holding it in my hand, it feels even worse quality than paper cups sold outside." "At first I thought I had received a defective product."
In addition to the controversy over the bulge on the cup body, netizens were also quite dissatisfied with the soft silicone lid that came with the themed cup. "The quality is really not great, and the lid is extremely hard to put on." "Once you take this lid off, you can never get it back on. I'm fuming." "The lid is all floppy and terrible." According to netizen feedback, the soft silicone lid may have been designed too tight to prevent leaks. The official suggestion was to gently stretch it before putting it on, but after trying, netizens still found the lid's usability poor.
Even though the official included a warm reminder note with the cup and offered suggestions for using the lid, many netizens were still dissatisfied with Tims' 60th anniversary gift. They admitted that they had originally wanted to support their favorite brand's 60th birthday by purchasing a combo meal out of affection, but never expected the anniversary gift to be so frustrating. The ceramic cup's quality control was mediocre, and the overall experience fell short of expectations. Spending the money felt completely unworth it and disappointing.
Lu Yongchen, CEO of Tims China, once said that Tims has been deeply loved by Chinese consumers since entering the Chinese market, and will actively seize industry opportunities in the future, accelerating product and service upgrades centered on user needs. However, judging from the feedback on this 60th anniversary celebration event, Tims still needs to put in more effort to truly win the hearts of Chinese consumers.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
