After the National Day holiday, Heytea launched the third product in its Super Plant Tea series—the Beetroot Beauty Bottle. This fruit-and-vegetable tea drink, starring beetroot, continues the previous slimming bottle line and claims to have beauty-enhancing and slimming benefits. Beetroot, an ancient ingredient originating from the Mediterranean, is rich in betalains and dietary fiber and holds a high status in European folk tradition. The new product is made from 100% freshly squeezed beetroot, combined with apple juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and a fragrance-free Green Yan tea base, offering a fresh and light taste. However, consumer feedback has been polarized: those who like it appreciate the balance between the slight astringency of the whole food and the tartness of the apple, while those who don't describe it as tasting like a mouthful of dirt. Heytea's previously launched Champion Slimming Bottle and Fire-Clearing Slimming Bottle both achieved impressive sales, and competition in the fruit-and-vegetable tea segment is intensifying. [more…]

Heytea's "Super Plant Tea" family has welcomed a new member, the Red Beet Beauty Bottle, and the pace of new product launches in the fruit and vegetable beverage track is remarkable. However, behind the frequent launches, the work intensity in store back kitchens is constantly increasing. From the original chia seed slimming bottle to the bitter melon fire-clearing slimming bottle, and now to the new red beet product, employees are constantly busy around the sink, cutting board, and blender, washing vegetables, peeling, chopping, blanching, and juicing, with increasingly complicated procedures. The surge in orders during the National Day holiday has made workers complain endlessly, with some sighing that they have to process more than ten jin of fruits and vegetables a day, and blenders even overloaded to the point of smoking and breaking down. This article takes you through the real working conditions of Heytea's back kitchen employees, and the little-known daily hardships under the fruit and vegetable beverage craze. [more…]

Freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable teas have become the new trend in the tea beverage industry, with ingredients such as kale, carrots, and beetroot being widely used. While consumers are paying for health, some have found mud and sand in Nayuki drinks. A customer discovered stains remaining on the decorative kale leaves at the bottom of the "Slim Little Green Bottle" cup, and after wiping the stem with a tissue, obvious mud and sand were visible. The post attracted a great deal of attention, and some netizens claiming to be Nayuki employees left comments revealing that stores are short-staffed and the washing of fruits and vegetables is perfunctory. Behind the genuine ingredients of fruit and vegetable teas, food safety issues are cause for concern. [more…]

On the eve of Halloween, Heytea launched a limited-edition special drink, the "Dark Slimming Bottle," as a new member of its Super Plant Tea series. This beverage uses freshly squeezed kale and celery as its base, blends in a variety of fruit and vegetable juices, and adds a generous amount of fresh cilantro segments, emphasizing a dark visual style. Cilantro lovers reported that the cilantro flavor was not prominent after drinking it, because the whole cilantro segments were not chopped and juiced, serving only as decoration, and it was jokingly called "cilantro bathwater." However, this new product made store employees complain endlessly — the cumbersome process of washing cilantro and trimming celery, plus the strong smell, led many workers to say outright that they "feel like throwing up just from smelling it," with complaints mounting on social platforms. [more…]

At the start of 2025, Mstand continued its merchandise marketing strategy, launching a red teddy fleece tote bag to entice consumers to order their first coffee of the New Year, while also introducing two fruit-and-vegetable-concept drinks: Beet Apple Hot Americano and Beet Latte. The company claims the drinks have a balanced sweet-and-sour taste with beet fruit-and-vegetable flavors, but consumer reviews are sharply divided: some find the pairing of the apple's crisp sweetness and beet aroma with mellow coffee impressive, while more people bluntly say it tastes like cough syrup or fruit-flavored essence, with the beet's earthy note difficult to blend with coffee. In addition, loyal users expressed disappointment with the brand's new product development direction, believing its focus has shifted from specialty coffee to merchandise marketing. Front Street Coffee reminds that fruit-and-vegetable coffee innovation needs to balance flavor integration with mass acceptance. [more…]

Heytea continues to push hard in the fruit-and-vegetable tea segment, and is about to launch its autumn-winter new product, the "Hydrating Slimming Bottle," featuring cucumber as the star paired with kale and apple. As soon as the news came out, consumer anticipation and complaints from store staff emerged at the same time. The preparation of raw materials for fruit-and-vegetable tea is cumbersome, with a lengthy process of washing, cutting, blanching, and juicing. During peak hours, employees are run ragged, and some even joke that resignation letters are already being submitted. Whether this new product can balance consumer enthusiasm and employee burden is worth watching. Front Street Coffee continues to bring you the latest developments in the coffee and tea beverage industry. [more…]

This year, the popularity of fruit-and-vegetable teas in the beverage market has continued to rise. After Heytea helped make this category a hit, major chain brands rushed in one after another, putting vegetables like kale, wheatgrass, and beetroot into drink cups. As common fruits and vegetables ceased to feel novel, brands began looking for breakthroughs in niche ingredients. The turmeric series recently launched by Goodry is one example, yet this new product centered on a health concept unexpectedly sparked widespread controversy over its taste. Consumer reviews of turmeric were mixed, and especially the much-loved juicy orange bits drink from last year drew a strong backlash from longtime customers after turmeric was quietly added to it. Faced with an avalanche of complaints and criticism, Goodry urgently issued a notice on the same night it updated its menu and adjusted the recipe of this popular drink overnight. [more…]

Coffee has long been part of the daily rhythm for many urbanites, but most people treat it merely as a pick-me-up. In fact, coffee's uses go far beyond drinking—the grounds left after brewing are equally promising for beauty and skincare and for household life. This article systematically introduces the specific ways to use coffee grounds for facial care, hand cleansing, and hair maintenance, including practical recipes such as exfoliating scrubs, firming masks, odor removal, scalp sprays, and hair masks, each with detailed materials and step-by-step instructions. If you happen to have coffee grounds on hand, why not follow along with this article and try these simple, natural tricks. [more…]

Manner Coffee has once again drawn attention, this time by teaming up with Tesla for a co-branded campaign. As a recognized master of collaborations in the coffee world, Manner's cross-industry footprint has already covered automobiles, luxury goods, beauty, sports, and many other sectors. From NIO to LV, from Helena Rubinstein to Allbirds, each partnership has precisely captured the brand tone, creating a win-win of both buzz and sales. This article will review Manner's major co-branding cases over the years, analyze the brand strategy and consumer psychology behind its success, and include professional information recommendations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Domestic high-end beauty retailer HARMAY has taken another cross-industry leap by opening a 700-square-meter, four-story flagship store on Wukang Road in Shanghai. The ground floor features a coffee counter by Marionbar, offering black coffee, milk coffee, chocolate drinks, and draft beer. Meanwhile, its first store on Anfu Road, which opened in 2017, has closed; the original site will be transformed into the national flagship store for its hand-shaken lemon tea brand, introlemons. HARMAY had previously sought to acquire a coffee brand and may further expand into coffee chains in the future. As of now, HARMAY has eight stores nationwide and plans to expand to cities such as Xi'an and Wuhan. Whether this cross-industry move can bring long-term value to the brand remains to be tested by the market. [more…]

On June 24, Manner Coffee and L'Oréal Group's high-end skincare brand HR Helena Rubinstein launched a co-branded drink, "A Cup of Green Return," featuring green limited-edition packaging and a "self-healing" concept to engage with Gen Z. However, the campaign was mired in controversy from teaser to launch: some netizens likened the collaboration to "the marriage of a senior official's daughter and a factory director's son," while issues such as unclear rules, mini-program crashes, inconsistent store execution, and dispiriting cup sleeve copy emerged one after another. Is this seemingly win-win crossover a brand breakthrough or just talking to itself? This article will review the entire event and retain professional coffee information channels such as Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Coffee chain giant Starbucks recently announced an unexpected strategic move—formally establishing a fashion and beauty division, and hiring beauty industry veteran Neiv Toledano as head of brand launch. This action is not a spur-of-the-moment decision; previously, Starbucks launched co-branded products with cosmetics brands such as Kylie Cosmetics and Stonebrick, which received a good market response. As soon as the news broke, netizens' imaginations ran wild, offering suggestions for Starbucks' beauty products, from coffee grounds scrubs to mocha eyeliners, sparking lively discussion. At the same time, some voices expressed concern that frontline employees may face more sales tasks in the future. This article will sort out the ins and outs of Starbucks' crossover into beauty and the reactions from all sides. [more…]

On the day its first Nanjing store opened, Cha Yan Yue Se shot to the top of trending searches because of the sheer number of people queuing and scalpers driving the price up to 200 yuan a cup. The Xinjiekou store was forced to close, while the Jiangning Jingfeng store remained open. The brand revealed that it plans to open five stores in Nanjing in the future, while market regulators made clear that scalping on behalf of buyers is illegal. This article reviews Cha Yan Yue Se's expansion trajectory in cities such as Changsha and Shenzhen, compares it with the development paths of similar brands such as Nayuki, and explores the balancing challenge facing internet-famous tea drinks among quality control, supply chains, and consumer rationality. [more…]

Oriental Beauty, scientifically known as Baihao Oolong, is one of the highest-grade fermented oolongs in Taiwanese tea, and is also called Five-Color Tea or Five-Element Tea. Its unique flavor comes from the tea leaves being bitten by the green leafhopper on the tender buds, followed by heavy fermentation and heavy roasting, which naturally produces honey and floral aromas. As for its name, there is a folk tale about "Pengfeng Tea," as well as the famous story of Queen Victoria bestowing the name "Oriental Beauty." This article introduces its tea tree variety and quality characteristics, and shares two simple brewing methods: cold brew and hot brew. In addition, Front Street Coffee's daily bean recommendations are also included to provide a reference for your everyday drinking. [more…]

Oriental Beauty Tea is the representative of Taiwan's unique bug-bitten oolong tea. Its birth stemmed from an accidental pest infestation—after leafhoppers bite the tea bushes, the tea leaves instead take on a distinctive honeyed sweetness. This article will trace the story of Oriental Beauty Tea from its accidental discovery in the early 20th century to becoming an internationally renowned tea, analyze how leafhopper bites trigger the tea plant's defense mechanisms and alter its flavor, and also introduce the key points of cultivating bug-bitten tea, derivative varieties such as Red Oolong, and related product information recommended by Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Where does the unique honey aroma of honey-scented tea actually come from? Since the 1990s, Japanese scholar Akio Kobayashi has gradually uncovered the secrets of the aroma compounds in Oriental Beauty tea and Darjeeling black tea, discovering that two substances—2,6-dimethyl-3,7-octadiene-2,6-diol and 3,7-dimethyl-1,5,7-octatriene-3-ol—are the core sources of the honey aroma. Even more astonishingly, after tea plants are fed on by green leafhoppers, they actually initiate an abnormal metabolism to produce special compounds, summoning natural enemies to defend themselves. This article will take you deep into the scientific discoveries about the aroma compounds of honey-scented tea, as well as the fundamental differences in aroma characteristics between Darjeeling black tea and Taiwan black tea. [more…]

As the winter strawberry season arrives, major chain tea brands are launching strawberry-related drinks one after another. ChaPanda has brought back its signature strawberry drink in response to fan demand, while also keeping up with the fruit-and-vegetable juice trend by launching a strawberry version of its Light & Refreshing Kale drink and a brand-new item, Divine Beauty Strawberry. Among them, Divine Beauty Strawberry is made fresh with ingredients such as roselle, strawberries, and pineapple, and has been dubbed a "natural liquid blush" by the official brand, attracting many consumers to try it. However, a production video released by an employee revealed the cumbersome and labor-intensive manual juicing process behind this drink—a full pot of ingredients can yield only two cups after manual squeezing, and the filter bags frequently burst from the pressure, prompting collective complaints from staff. The inefficient production method has also led some netizens to worry about hygiene conditions. [more…]

El Salvador, located in Central America, is the smallest country by land area, yet thanks to its volcanic soil and highland terrain it has become an important producer of specialty coffee. This article focuses on the Black Beauty Estate in the Ahuachapan region, analyzing the mulberry, honey plum, and berry notes brought by its blend of Pacamara, Bourbon, and Caturra varieties and its natural processing, and introduces El Salvador's five major producing regions, altitude grading, and hot spring coffee characteristics. Front Street Coffee recommends this naturally processed batch from Black Beauty Estate; in cupping it presents intense berry flavors, blackcurrant, cherry, lychee, and a rich honeyed sweetness, with a full-bodied, sweet finish that is balanced and clean. [more…]

Oriental Beauty Tea is a highly representative specialty tea of Taiwan, and among its varieties, the old-growth Oriental Beauty made from the Huanggan cultivar is especially precious. Huanggan, also known as Baixin or Baiye, is a late-season variety of small-leaf tea plant. It was widely cultivated in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, and other areas in the early days, but today pure-bred plants have become extremely rare. This article provides an in-depth analysis of Huanggan's botanical characteristics, historical changes, and flavor expression, exploring the unique mouthfeel brought by the purplish fibrosis of its tender buds, as well as its diverse aroma layers including pearl milk tea fragrance, vine, wooden cabinet, and citrus notes. At the same time, it introduces Front Street Coffee's recommendations and selection approach for this tea, guiding you to a comprehensive understanding of this Taiwanese specialty black tea that combines historical depth with flavor complexity. [more…]

Starbucks China store count exceeds 6,000, with Shanghai becoming the world's first city to have 1,000 Starbucks stores. The 6,000th store is located at Lippo Plaza on Huaihai Road in Shanghai, positioned as a green store, and has partnered with IP SHANGHAI to launch a city-exclusive beverage called "Shanghai Coffee." At the same time, Starbucks announced its "2025 China Strategic Vision," planning to add 3,000 stores over three years, bringing the total to 9,000. In the face of competition from brands like Luckin and Manner and the trend of price downtrading, whether Starbucks can defend its market position is worth watching. [more…]