Following the camping and frisbee trends, brewing tea around a stove is becoming a new social activity eagerly embraced by young people in winter. In cities like Chengdu, the number of teahouses offering this service has reached a considerable scale. Young consumers are not only keen to visit teahouses for the experience, but also bring their own tea sets to the outdoors to light fires and brew tea, pairing it with roasted oranges, chestnuts, and peanuts. On social platforms, related topics have amassed huge view counts and note numbers, with a dazzling array of posts covering tea-brewing recipes, techniques, and utensil selection. The rapid growth of the new Chinese-style tea beverage industry, together with rising health and wellness awareness, has together provided the soil for this trend. Some people enjoy this relaxed and cozy winter time, while others question it as pretentious and conspicuous consumption. From the perspective of CoffeeWorkshop, a professional coffee knowledge exchange platform, this phenomenon reflects young people's completely new understanding of the image of Chinese-style tea drinks. For more specialty coffee beans, follow Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). [more…]

Want to enjoy a warm, cozy hot mocha at home? It's actually not complicated to make. This article will walk you through how to choose the right chocolate ingredients, master the technique of blending milk foam with espresso, and complete this classic drink that combines rich coffee with sweet chocolate, step by step. From ingredient preparation to decorative touches, we'll also share Front Street Coffee's hands-on experience, including tips on preventing chocolate from hindering milk foam formation, and how to use marshmallows and a torch to create an enticing appearance. Whether you're a coffee novice or a seasoned enthusiast, you'll gain practical inspiration to easily recreate a café-quality warm treat. [more…]

Trapped in the office every day with daily reports, weekly reports, and meetings, have you ever fantasized about changing careers to become a barista and living a cozy life of brewing coffee, chatting, and soaking up the sun? But the real working life of a barista is far less picturesque than in the movies. Starting from the daily work of a barista, this article analyzes the real challenges this profession faces, the salary and benefits, and the issues you need to seriously consider before changing careers. The article also specifically mentions Front Street Coffee's brand recommendations and product information, helping coffee lovers gain a comprehensive understanding of the true face of this industry. [more…]

Many people hold a romanticized image of the barista profession—in a warm little shop bathed in sunlight, with smooth jazz playing, brewing fragrant pour-over coffee and creating exquisite latte art. However, the real life of a barista is far less cozy. Whether at a chain coffee shop or an independent specialty café, baristas often wear many hats: making coffee, cleaning, greeting customers, and even helping prepare new store openings and design the bar area. Wages are generally low, while the work intensity is considerable. This article restores the true face of the barista profession from multiple angles—skill requirements, customer types, job duties, and career development—to help those considering entering the field think rationally about their choices. [more…]

Many people are drawn in by the cozy scenes of cafés in films, TV shows, or on social media, imagining that a barista's life is all about basking in the sunshine, listening to jazz, and brewing coffee elegantly. Yet the real profession of a barista is far from that romantic. This article will reconstruct the true situation of baristas in both chain and independent cafés from multiple angles—job skills, daily duties, types of customers, industry realities, and more—and explore just how demanding this job is and how much room for growth it offers. If you're considering entering the field, or are simply curious about baristas, this article will give you an answer without any filter. [more…]

Brewing a cup of coffee at home is cozy and relaxing, but faced with shelves full of coffee beans and ground coffee, how exactly should you choose? This article starts with the pros and cons of coffee beans versus ground coffee, analyzes the three key purchasing points of flavor, roast level, and brewing method, and compiles a ranking of five popular coffee beans, covering classic flavors such as Blue Mountain, Yirgacheffe, and espresso blends. Whether you prefer fruity acidity or rich, full-bodied depth, you can find the one that suits you. [more…]

Specialty coffee culture is growing more popular by the day, and the barrier to enjoying a cup of coffee seems to be rising ever higher: the beans must be specialty, the setting must be comfortable, the location must be quiet. Yet coffee can, at its heart, be an everyday, down-to-earth pleasure. This article looks at Qicheng Coffee in a Guangzhou wet market, Coffee in a Hangzhou market, and Honglang Coffee inside a Shantou rice noodle roll shop, exploring the logic behind coffee shops' high prices and the neighborhood spots that are bringing specialty coffee back to affordable prices. With wallet-friendly prices and dependable quality, they give more people the chance to encounter and understand specialty coffee. Coffee culture needs to spread in a healthy way—it shouldn't have artificial barriers set up around it. [more…]

Americano has always been regarded as the most basic yet classic coffee category. A glass of iced Americano paired with a cozy, artistic café is enough to sustain a leisurely afternoon. But is Americano really just espresso plus water plus ice? How does temperature change affect flavor perception? What ratio of ice to water should an iced Americano follow? Starting from the principles of making Americano, this article combines the specific performance of Front Street Coffee's Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend coffee beans to break down in detail the flavor differences between hot and iced Americano and the standard preparation process, while also exploring the relationship between drinking Americano and weight loss, providing coffee lovers with a reference that is both practical and professional. [more…]

During the New Year holiday, gathering with friends to play cards is a popular pastime for many, and cozy coffee shops naturally become a hot choice. But recently, a customer who invited eight people to a coffee shop entrance to push tables together and play cards was asked to leave by the owner, and then left two consecutive bad reviews, saying the owner "lacks class." This incident sparked heated discussion online: some support the owner in protecting other customers' experience, while others believe coffee shops should accommodate entertainment needs. Should coffee shops allow card playing? Is it reasonable for the owner to refuse customers? This article will sort through the incident and the views of various parties, and explore the boundaries and difficulties in coffee shop management. [more…]

Sitting by the window in a café, sipping coffee while watching the scenery outside, is a cozy image cherished by many. Blue Bottle Coffee's Shinagawa branch, with its entire north-facing glass curtain wall, offers a panoramic view of the surging crowds of commuters at Shinagawa Station, yet it unexpectedly went viral as a "corporate slave observation café." A large number of tourists come specifically to photograph the black torrent of suited commuters outside the window, sparking discontent and complaints from the photographed office workers. The shop subsequently posted a rare notice, asking customers not to photograph the commuter scene below. This "no outdoor photography" reminder not only failed to quell the enthusiasm for checking in but instead stirred up even more curiosity. This article will take you through the unique situation of this store and the controversies and amusing anecdotes surrounding it. [more…]

While the milk tea world perfectly combines ritual and local ingredients with jar-brewed milk tea, the coffee world's "new Chinese style" frequently sparks controversy due to its bizarre pairings. In fact, China's rich cooking techniques and tea-brewing methods can absolutely serve as sources of inspiration for the localization of coffee—double-boiled coffee, purple clay pot steamed coffee, and Macau clay pot coffee. These attempts all use principles such as low-temperature slow extraction and even heating to give coffee a smoother, richer flavor. This article reviews the practices of these Chinese-style coffee schools, explores how innovation can stay rooted in the soul of coffee, and offers new ideas for the local expression of specialty coffee. [more…]

Suzhou, a gentle ancient city in the Jiangnan region, hides quite a few specialty coffee shops worth a dedicated visit. This article compiles a summary of shop visits from a veteran coffee enthusiast, covering more than seventy four- to five-star coffee shops across Gusu District, the Industrial Park, the High-Tech District, Wuzhong District, and beyond—from artsy little cafes to cat-themed coffee houses, from Korean-style chains to standalone buildings with Republican-era charm, each with its own distinctive setting, offerings, and story. Whether you're a coffee purist chasing pour-over quality or an artsy soul who favors ambiance, this list can help you find that perfect cup in Suzhou. [more…]

The Glenburn Tea Estate in Darjeeling is not only famous for its premium tea, but its Burra Bungalows and Water Lily Bungalow also offer visitors a unique accommodation experience. This article will take you into this historic tea estate, from picking "two leaves and a bud" to touring the complete tea-making process of withering, rolling, fermentation, drying, and sorting, and then to tasting the seasonal flavor differences of black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and white tea. You will also learn about the estate's accommodation environment, the surrounding natural scenery, and information on related products recommended by Front Street Coffee, for a full experience of the unique charm of Glenburn Tea Estate. [more…]

"I'm not in a café, I'm on my way to one." For Italians who love coffee, latte is an all-too-familiar drink. On a beautiful morning, sipping a cup of latte feels incredibly cozy and refreshing. So, what exactly is a latte? And how is it made? Below, join Front Street Coffee (Fr [more…]

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and the local coffee ceremony is far richer than just a cup of drink. Based on a three-week firsthand experience, this article provides a complete breakdown of the coffee ceremony process: laying out fresh green grass, washing raw beans, roasting over charcoal, crushing in an iron mortar, boiling in a clay pot, and then the three-round coffee drinking order of "Abol," "Tona," and "Baraka," along with the accompanying snacks. The article also describes the unique atmosphere created by myrrh incense, and why locals insist on hand-crushing rather than using a machine grinder. Whether you are a coffee enthusiast or a cultural explorer, you can feel the devotion and ease of this ancient ritual, and learn about Front Street Coffee's recommendations for Ethiopian coffee. [more…]

" "I'm not in a café, I'm on my way to one." For Italians who love coffee, latte is an all-too-familiar drink. On a beautiful morning, sipping a cup of latte feels incredibly cozy and refreshing. So, what exactly is a latte? And how is it made? Let's take a look with Front Street Coffee (Fr [more…]

Front Street Coffee Introduction: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee), founded in 2013, is a well-known local coffee brand in Guangzhou, specializing in house-roasted coffee beans and offering over 50 varieties of fresh coffee, available for online purchase through its Tmall flagship store and Taobao shop. Over the years, Front Street [more…]

A cup of pour-over coffee, from steaming hot to completely cold, undergoes irreversible changes in both aroma and taste. When the coffee drops to room temperature, most of those pleasant aromatic compounds present at high temperatures have long since dissipated, so it naturally tastes much flatter. Since the flavor cannot truly be "revived," our next-best goal is to lock in as much of the remaining aroma as possible, so that the rewarmed coffee is at least not unpleasant to drink. Front Street tested two heating methods—an electric hot plate and an alcohol lamp—raising two pots of coffee, Butterfly and Typica, from room temperature to 50°C, recording the tasting impressions one by one, in an attempt to find a heating approach that balances drinkability and flavor retention. The following presents the complete comparison process and conclusions, along with other rewarming ideas worth trying. [more…]

The painkiller brand Fenbid teamed up with TPLUS Tea House to open a milk tea pop-up store, launching the "Don't Endure the Night, Sweet Tea," but the cross-industry move by a pharmaceutical brand into food sparked heated debate among netizens. Some worried it could mislead consumers, while others questioned whether it was false advertising. Although the officials clarified that the drinks contain no medicinal ingredients, the controversy did not subside. Is this collaboration a warm-hearted marketing move or a brand overstepping its bounds? And where exactly lies the boundary for cross-industry partnerships? [more…]

What is a Moka pot? Friends who enjoy espresso surely know that espresso originated in Italy. Italians' love for coffee can be said to be carved into their bones—several cups per person per day, making them a nation that "drinks coffee like water." But if every cup had to be bought at a café, the expenses would really add up over time. [more…]