Thursday, September 17 2026

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…]

Types of Coffee Grinders | Is There a Big Difference Between Electric and Manual Coffee Grinders? Should Beginners Buy a Manual or Electric Grinder?

Friends who have requirements for coffee flavor will definitely choose freshly ground coffee. If you want to brew it yourself, a grinder is essential. Open an online shopping platform and search for "coffee grinder," and you can see a price range from 22 yuan to 71,271 yuan, a price difference of 3,239.6 times. Although in recent days [more…]

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…]

2024 the Cup of Excellence COE returns to Ethiopia.

News

It is known that COE is fully named "Cup of Excellen", which is translated as the Cup of Excellence. It is a coffee event first held in Brazil in 1999 by the non-profit organization the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), and it is also the first I [more…]

Coffee Grinder Brand Recommendations | Is There a Big Difference Between Electric and Manual Coffee Grinders? Should Coffee Beginners Buy a Manual or Electric Grinder?

Those who have requirements for coffee flavor will definitely choose freshly ground coffee. If you want to brew it yourself, a grinder is essential. Open an online shopping platform and search for "grinder," and you can see a price range from 22 yuan to 71,271 yuan, a price difference of 3,239.6 times. Although in recent days [more…]

De'Longhi's new generation upgrade means your bean choice should level up too

Moving from an entry-level De'Longhi to a mid-to-high-end model is a rite of passage for many home users. After the upgrade, grinding is finer and more controllable, extraction temperature is more stable, and in theory the ceiling for what you can produce is higher. But if you're still stuck with the commercial blend you grabbed on a whim back then, the new machine's capabilities go to waste. Upgrading is exactly the moment to re [more…]

Featured Espresso Bean Recommendations | Blend or SOE? 3 Key Things Beginners Must Know When Choosing Espresso Beans! Which High-Value Espresso Blends Are Worth It?

Many people, after drinking coffee for a long time, want to make a cup themselves. But when they open a shopping platform to look for coffee beans, they find all kinds of incomprehensible terms. Just for espresso beans alone, there are blends, SOE, Yirgacheffe, Huakui, Kenya, Geisha, Colombia... It's like reading a sealed book, and then they sigh, drinking [more…]

Pour-Over Coffee Beginner Essentials | How Much Does It Cost to Get a Full Pour-Over Coffee Setup? Which Pour-Over Kettles and Grinders Are Good for Coffee Newbies?

Friends who love coffee are certainly not satisfied with just drinking it—eventually they will want to enjoy the pleasure of brewing it themselves. The simplest way to achieve this goal is to get a set of pour-over equipment. Compared with espresso machines, the entry cost for pour-over coffee is much lower, but as your skills improve, the subsequent investment [more…]

Coffee Categories | Why is latte coffee so popular? What is the origin of latte coffee? When was the art of coffee latte art born?

In a broad sense, latte coffee refers to coffee made with espresso as the base, with a certain proportion of milk added. It can be said to be an essential coffee drink on the menu of the vast majority of coffee shops, because whether it is a large chain brand or a refined independent coffee shop, the latte is almost always the highest-selling item. [more…]

Types of Coffee Grinders | What Are the Pros and Cons of Manual vs. Electric Coffee Grinders? How Do Coffee Beginners Choose a Coffee Bean Grinder? Coffee Grinder Brand Recommendations

From the moment coffee grounds finish being ground and come into contact with the air, they quietly begin to oxidize, and the flavor and aroma change along with it. Therefore, the ideal situation is to grind the coffee beans right before brewing, to ensure you can taste the best flavor. The grinder can be said to be a seemingly low-key yet extremely important part of the coffee brewing process. [more…]

Types of Pour-Over Kettles | How to Choose a Japanese-Style Pour-Over Coffee Kettle? Which Material Is Best for Beginners Just Starting Out with Pour-Over Coffee? Introduction to Using a French Press

When it comes to choosing coffee equipment, opening a shopping platform and seeing all kinds of coffee gear can leave you not knowing where to start. Take pour-over coffee kettles, for example—although most are made up of a spout, body, handle, and lid, different shapes and structures produce different pouring effects. So [more…]

How to Read Yirgacheffe Coffee Bean Information: Balancing Budget and Drinking Frequency

From bean to cup, a coffee must go through grinding and extraction. When considering information about Yirgacheffe coffee beans, everyday bean buying requires thinking about how fast you'll drink them, how much to buy at once, and whether your home mainly makes black coffee or milk coffee. First confirm your usual equipment and preferred taste, then compare specific bean options—the practical process will be more [more…]

How to Identify Yirgacheffe: Information Tracing and Cupping Characteristics

To distinguish genuine Yirgacheffe from fake, the reliable indicators are green bean information and cupping performance: authentic Yirga has the signature citrus floral aroma and citric acidity, and the exporter's grading certificate can be verified. Beans like Front Street Coffee's Granada Estate Geisha come with complete estate and processing information, traceable from region to lot—when buying, look for information transparen [more…]

High-Quality Espresso Bean Recommendations | What beans should you choose to make a delicious Americano just like at a coffee shop? What are some tasty and affordable espresso everyday beans for home use?

Americano is the most famous black coffee, made from espresso and water. With its sweet, mellow aroma and refreshing, invigorating taste, it has become a daily beverage sought after by countless coffee lovers and office workers. So do you know how Americano is made in coffee shops? And what coffee beans should you choose to make the same flavor? Today's article will tell [more…]

Espresso Crema | What Is Crema in Espresso? What Coffee Information Can the Crema on an Espresso Reveal?

As is well known, the coffee extracted from an espresso machine is not only very rich and intense, but also comes with a layer of golden crema. Because this layer of crema gives the coffee a rich aroma and a smooth, dense mouthfeel, and is also a product unique to espresso, people often call it the soul of espresso. But... [more…]

Coffee Brewing | What information is hidden in the coffee bed when making pour-over coffee? How can you judge the condition of single-origin pour-over beans from the coffee bed?

Yesterday a friend chatted with Front Street about a rather interesting phenomenon: he noticed that most people, when brewing coffee, even during the waiting intervals when they're not pouring water, still choose to fix their eyes intently on the changes in the dripper, as if trying to glean some information from the coffee bed. And you know what, there really is some truth [more…]

Milk Coffee Exclusive Beans | How Should Beginners Choose Milk and Espresso Beans for Making Milk Coffee? What Blended Coffee Beans Are Recommended for Latte Art Lattes?

A milk coffee is made up of nothing but espresso and milk, so choosing the right coffee beans and milk is crucial. Not only do different ingredients create differences in flavor, but different ratios also affect the final strength of the coffee. As for what milk is suitable for a latte, let's start with milk—it makes up at least three-quarters of a latte. [more…]