What makes hot drop coffee orders surge at this Heytea store?

The original Heytea store in Jiangbianli, Jiangmen saw demand surge again during the May Day holiday. On May 3, the mini-program showed 1,002 cups waiting and orders passed a thousand just 12 minutes after opening, with the ordering channel automatically shutting down 7 times that day.

The roughly twenty-square-meter store had as many as 28 employees on duty at peak times, each averaging 13 hours, and brewing machines broke down from overwork. Reports suggest the store-exclusive Cheese Mandarin Pu'er may later launch nationwide, so fans may not need to travel to the original location.

During last year's National Day holiday, the original Heytea store in Jiangbianli, Jiangmen, became a must-visit spot for tourists thanks to its store-exclusive "Cheese Mandarin Pu'er," topping both total sales and single-store single-day sales charts. This May Day, the store was once again overwhelmed by consumer enthusiasm—the mini-program showed "1,002 cups ahead waiting to be made," and on May 3, it surpassed a thousand orders just 12 minutes after opening, with the ordering channel automatically shutting down as many as 7 times that day. The store covers about twenty square meters, yet at peak times as many as 28 employees were on duty simultaneously, each working 13 hours on average—even the tea brewing machines broke down from overwork. Meanwhile, reports suggest that "Cheese Mandarin Pu'er" may be launched at stores nationwide in the future, so Heytea fans may no longer need to make a special trip to the original store. This article is compiled from Coffee Workshop, giving you a look at the order explosion at this special store and the real conditions of its employees.

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During last year's National Day holiday, the original Heytea store in Jiangbianli, Jiangmen, became a must-visit place for tourists visiting Jiangmen. Fans flocked in an endless stream for the store-exclusive "Cheese Mandarin Pu'er," with almost everyone holding a cup. Over the seven-day holiday, the store took home the double crown for total sales and single-store single-day sales.

This May Day, this commemorative Heytea store was once again "occupied" by tourists. From photos taken by visitors on site, there was no large crowd gathering at the entrance of the original store. At first glance, one might even think that compared with last year's long line stretching into the middle of the road, the number of people now seemed rather small.

But just open the official Heytea mini-program, and you'll see the jaw-dropping notice "1,002 cups ahead waiting to be made." Many users who wanted to try the original store's exclusive drink were stunned on the spot: "Who on earth is ordering 1,000 cups of Heytea in the queue?"

A Heytea employee working at the original store revealed that in the first few days of the May Day holiday, as soon as the official mini-program showed the store was open, a massive wave of orders flooded the backend, with large numbers of users placing orders almost every second. As order volume soared, the mini-program triggered automatic closure of the ordering channel multiple times during business hours because the number of drinks waiting to be made exceeded one thousand.

The employee said that on May 2, the original store opened at 10 a.m., and before 11 a.m. the mini-program automatically closed, shutting down 6 times in total during that period. By May 3, the store's record was broken again—just 12 minutes after opening, it surpassed a thousand drinks, and that day the mini-program triggered automatic closure 7 times.

Because of this, some tourists joked that buying a cup of the exclusive drink at the original Heytea store was almost as hard as grabbing train tickets before the holiday. Not only did they have to keep refreshing the mini-program page, they also had to race against unseen rivals on the other side of the screen to place orders quickly.

However, besides complaining about how hard it was to buy the original store's exclusive milk tea, many people also couldn't help feeling sorry for the store's employees when they saw that long string of numbers for drinks waiting to be made.

Some customers picking up orders reported that the Jiangbianli store covers about twenty square meters, and the storefront is not large, but at peak times more than a dozen staff members filled the counter area, looking as though any one of them would bump into the person next to them or the condiment station if they turned around. Some netizens also said, "The staff there haven't stopped for a moment since they entered the store." In their eyes, these employees were like perpetual motion machines, constantly running.

In response, the staff said the tourists' observations were not entirely accurate. According to them, the store is indeed small, but there are currently 28 employees in total, filling the counter area and the prep room that customers cannot fully see. As for working hours, the employee revealed that "each person works 13 hours on average, pounding mandarin pu'er, making cheese foam, shaking milk tea, serving cups, and packing," and said frankly that by the end of the day their feet were numb from standing.

This netizen admitted that after going through the trials of National Day, Spring Festival, and Qingming three times, they had thought that as long as preparations were made in advance in terms of ingredients, manpower, and equipment before the holiday, "May Day would be a piece of cake." But unexpectedly, the slap in the face came so quickly that by the next day they were already somewhat unable to handle consumers' enthusiasm. "It was really too fierce—even the tea brewing machines broke down from overwork."

It is worth noting that recent online reports say the original store-exclusive "Cheese Mandarin Pu'er" may be launched at stores nationwide. In other words, Heytea fans looking forward to this drink may no longer need to make a special trip to the original store and can enjoy this limited-edition item right at their doorstep.

Image source: online screenshots, Xiaohongshu user Chok

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