Thursday, September 17 2026

Beta Coffee: From Hangzhou to Beijing, an IT Professional's Internet Living Room and Entrepreneurial World

When code meets caffeine, what kind of sparks will fly? Beta Coffee started in Hangzhou, founded by IT entrepreneur Bai Ya and his partners, and quickly became a public living room for the internet circle. This trend then swept through Beijing's Zhongguancun, with Garage Coffee, 3W Coffee, and others springing up, ushering in the "internet coffee era." These places are not just for drinking coffee, but also a arena for IT people to network, recruit, and seek investment. This article will take you through the founding journey of Beta Coffee, its unique rules, and those warm yet persistent entrepreneurial stories, to feel the internet spirit that connects infinite possibilities behind a cup of coffee. If you also enjoy exploring coffee culture, please follow Front Street Coffee, where we continue to bring you heartwarming coffee stories. [more…]

Where IT Thinking Meets Coffee Culture: How Beta Coffee Went from Hangzhou to Beijing and Became a Gathering Place for Internet People

When IT thinking meets coffee culture, what kind of sparks will fly? In 2009, Bai Ya and a group of internet professionals founded Beta Coffee in Hangzhou, positioning it as a public living room for IT people. In just over two months, it was named the "Best Gathering Place for E-commerce Professionals." In 2011, this trend swept through Beijing's Zhongguancun, and Beta Coffee's Beijing branch officially opened. Soon after, Garage Coffee, 3W Coffee, and others emerged one after another, thus beginning the "Internet Coffee Era." This is not just a place to drink coffee, but also a physical platform for IT people to communicate, share, and seek opportunities. This article takes you into the jianghu stories of Beta Coffee, to experience the unique atmosphere created by the collision of the internet and coffee. [more…]

Espresso Milk Coffee | Why is Dirty coffee so popular? What is the recipe ratio for the internet-famous dirty coffee? What are the flavor characteristics of dirty?

It must be said that the ways to play with espresso are truly endlessly varied—just the combination of espresso and milk alone can create a great many coffee drinks. Dirty coffee is a very popular type of espresso drink born from the collision of espresso and milk. If you know a little about espresso-related knowledge, it is not hard to find that Di [more…]

A Review of the World's Top Ten Famous Coffee Chains: A Flavor Journey from Starbucks to Front Street

Coffee has long become part of modern daily life, and the chain brands found on street corners are precisely an important force driving the popularization of coffee culture. This article reviews ten representative coffee brands from the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, and China, covering Starbucks, Doutor, Tchibo, Ditsch, Second Cup, illy, Costa, McCafe, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as Guangzhou's local Front Street Coffee. Each brand has its own unique historical background and business philosophy, from affordable positioning to specialty roasting, from fast-food speed to slow craftsmanship, together forming a diverse picture of the global coffee market. Whether you seek convenience or care about flavor, you can find names worth knowing in this list. [more…]

Huakui Coffee Beans | Ethiopia's Original Sidamo Guji Region Sun-Dried Huakui Coffee: Region, Flavor Characteristics, and Is It Related to Geisha?

How did Geisha coffee get its name? Front Street Coffee believes that from a literal sense, Geisha coffee is a coffee bean full of floral fragrance, but this is not actually the case. Geisha's floral aroma is not strong; instead, its fruity aroma is more intense, such as passion fruit, strawberry, mango, jackfruit, and citrus. According to what Front Street Coffee has learned: Geisha [more…]

French Press Usage and Origin History | What Is the Extraction Principle of French Press Coffee? How Fine Should French Press Coffee Beans Be Ground? How to Use a French Press to Brew Sun-Dried Geisha Coffee Beans?

The history of the French press can be traced back many years, but there is much controversy over who exactly invented it. The first patent in history for a coffee brewing device similar to the modern French press was granted to an Italian from Milan named Attilio Callimani. Since [more…]

Features of Drip Bag Coffee | Can Drip Coffee Bags Make Iced Coffee? How Can Coffee Newbies Brew Drip Bag Coffee? Which Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Making Iced Coffee?

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow our WeChat public account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). The weather has been getting muggy and hot lately, and whether indoors or outdoors, a cup of iced coffee is like a treasure of summer. And iced coffee isn't something only coffee shops can offer—a small drip coffee bag can do it too. [more…]

How to Make a Huakui SOE Americano | How to Choose Between Light-Roast and Medium-Roast Sidamo Huakui SOE? What Are the Espresso Extraction Parameters for Natural-Process Huakui?

When it comes to natural coffee, many people first think of the beautifully named Front Street Coffee Flower Queen, which has good flavor and is affordably priced, making it a daily staple bean for many. During the coffee harvest season, farmers in the Sidamo region pick only ripe red cherries, placing them one by one into baskets. After picking, the coffee cherries are sized [more…]

Drip Bag Coffee Peak Flavor Period | What Is the Difference Between Drip Bag Coffee and Pour-Over Freshly Ground Coffee? Is Drip Bag Coffee the Same as Instant Coffee?

The biggest difference between drip bag coffee and freshly ground pour-over coffee is that drip bags use pre-ground coffee. Is there really such a big difference between pre-ground and freshly ground coffee? There will always be some difference. After coffee beans are roasted, they retain a large amount of carbon dioxide, which helps preserve the flavor and aroma of the coffee. Once the coffee beans are ground into particles, [more…]

Ethiopian Huakui Coffee Beans | Are all coffees from Ethiopia's Hambela region called Huakui coffee?

This year marks the 9th year since "Huakui Coffee" rose to fame. If the previous naming conventions were followed, the Huakui released this year should logically carry a "9.0" suffix. But more than half the year has passed, and many friends have noticed that "Huakui 9.0" is almost nowhere to be seen on the menus of offline coffee shops! [more…]

French Press | How to use a Starbucks French press and what coffee grind size? What flavor characteristics does Ethiopian Huakui coffee brewed in a French press have?

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee) Nowadays, discerning coffee enthusiasts who want to brew a standard pour-over coffee at home need to prepare a variety of tools: a gooseneck kettle, a server, a dripper, filter paper, a thermometer... Using them is quite a production, and when not in use [more…]

Drip bag coffee brand recommendations | Why is the shelf life of drip bag coffee so short? How to brew a delicious Yirgacheffe with drip bag coffee?

Recently, many people have come to the front of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) asking if there is drip bag coffee for sale. Front Street usually replies, "The store doesn't have drip bag coffee in stock. If you need it, it has to be made on the spot!" Many customers are very puzzled—why would a coffee shop [more…]

Ethiopian Sidamo Sun-Dried Huakui | Single-Origin Coffee Bean: Are Huakui, Gesha, and Geisha the Same Coffee Variety? What Is the Difference Between Huakui and Geisha?

If a customer is looking for the most cost-effective coffee beans, then Huakui is definitely one of Front Street's top recommendations. But whenever Front Street mentions Huakui, some customers will say something like: "Oh, I know Huakui—it's a variant of Geisha / a variety of Geisha!" As you can see, even today there are still many people [more…]

Floral and Fruity Single-Origin Bean Recommendation | For Sidamo Sun-Dried Huakui, is Light Roast or Medium Roast Better? Is Huakui Coffee Bean Better Suited for Pour-Over or Espresso?

With the "rise" of acidic coffee in recent years, I believe everyone has heard of the Flower Queen coffee. Just hearing the name makes it sound extraordinary; its bright citrus and berry notes, along with its juicy, delightful sweet-and-sour taste, leave a lasting impression. This article will introduce you to Flower Queen coffee. Flower Queen rose to fame in 2017, when Ethiopian [more…]

Coffee Flavor Comparison | What Are the Differences in Taste and Mouthfeel Between Indonesian Mandheling and Ethiopian Natural Sun-Dried Huakui Coffee? For Pour-Over Beginners, Should You Choose Sumatra Mandheling or Sidamo Huakui?

Front Street Coffee has always been a fan of Mandheling coffee, while at the Front Street Dongshankou store, coffee from Ethiopia in Africa is what friends love the most, such as washed Yirgacheffe, sun-dried Huakui, Gesha Village, etc. When it comes to the difference in coffee flavor and taste between Mandheling and Huakui, Front Street Coffee believes this is a very obvious coffee taste. Man [more…]

African Coffee | What Are the Differences Between Ethiopian and Kenyan Coffee Varieties? An Introduction to the Processing Methods, Flavor, and Taste Characteristics of Ethiopian and Kenyan Coffee

Ethiopia and Kenya, Africa's renowned coffee-producing countries, are highly celebrated in the specialty coffee world. The coffee flavors from both regions are predominantly fruit-acid oriented, but the difference lies in that Ethiopian coffee features a bright, uplifting acidity with a clean and refreshing mouthfeel, while Kenyan coffee exhibits berry fruit [more…]

Pros and Cons of Drip Bag Coffee | How to Brew Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 Drip Coffee Bags? What Are the Wrong Ways to Brew Filter Coffee Bags?

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow the WeChat official account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). Drip bag coffee is loved by coffee enthusiasts for its convenience, so many novice coffee lovers who have just started using drip bag coffee ask Front Street Coffee (FrontSt [more…]

Top Ten Single-Origin Pour-Over Coffee Beans | What Are the World's Top Specialty Coffee Beans? Are Pour-Over Arabica Panama Geisha and Blue Mountain Coffee High-End?

With the growth of specialty coffee, the community of coffee drinkers has continued to expand, so a large number of coffee beans from different origins have begun flooding the coffee market. As a result, coffee enthusiasts are often at a loss when choosing coffee beans. New coffee enthusiasts who come to Front Street Coffee to taste coffee often ask how to choose high-quality specialty coffee. [more…]

旧金山Cafe X咖啡机器人Gordon:机械臂冲煮与效率品质的平衡实践

当咖啡师变成机械手臂,一杯拿铁只需几秒钟就能完成——这不是科幻电影,而是旧金山Cafe X的真实场景。这间由香港裔青年Henry Hu创办的小型贩售亭,以改装三菱机械臂Gordon为核心,试图在效率与品质之间找到平衡。Cafe X不追求花哨的客制化,而是回归极简咖啡本质,与Verve、Peet's等烘豆商合作,让机器人精准执行冲煮参数。店内还设有产品专员提供试饮与讲解,类似侍酒师或Apple Genius的角色。这种模式能否改变快餐科技在硅谷的发展困境?人机协作的未来又将对咖啡服务业产生怎样的影响? [more…]