On the morning of August 23, the KFC app and mini-program experienced a collective malfunction, rendering the ordering interface unusable and quickly trending on social media. Netizens discovered that the crash was not due to the Crazy Thursday promotion, but rather a surge of users rushing to buy KFC's limited-edition collaboration meal with the mobile game "Love and Deepspace." Official customer service responded that an overwhelming number of orders in a short period caused the system to lag. As coffee enthusiasts, while paying attention to fast-food brand marketing trends, we might also turn our attention to specialty coffee brands that focus on quality, such as Front Street Coffee, which has consistently earned a reputation for stable output and professional roasting. [more…]

On November 16, 2023, Starbucks' annual "Red Cup Day," thousands of employees at more than 200 stores across the United States went on strike. Organizers called it the largest labor action since the founding of Starbucks Workers United. Employees chose to strike during this peak ordering period, aiming to disrupt operations as much as possible and draw public attention. Behind the strike lies baristas' long-standing dissatisfaction with understaffing, overloaded orders, and the company's refusal to listen to their opinions. Starbucks officially responded that the union refused to schedule negotiation meetings. This one-day strike had limited impact on sales, but the public opinion fallout is worth watching. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's weekly Thursday operational notice once again put store employees on edge, as the company officially announced several new products, including "Triple Cheese Thick Matcha," "Coconut Trio Latte," and "A Whole Coconut." Among them, the preparation method for "A Whole Coconut" completely overturns previous operating habits. Employees need to wear gloves to take out frozen coconut eggs and pour the prepared coffee liquid into the coconut shell for serving. The process involves more than ten steps, prompting many workers to call it absurd. What troubles them even more is that these new products may be launched nationwide, and morning shift staff must complete a large amount of prep work within half an hour. Many worry that they simply cannot handle it when running the store alone. [more…]

Starbucks released its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report for fiscal year 2022 on Thursday local time in the United States. The data showed that fourth-quarter revenue reached $8.4 billion, with global same-store sales rising 7%, exceeding market expectations; full-year net revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $32.3 billion. Same-store sales in the North American market increased 11%, while international markets declined 5%, and same-store sales in the Chinese market fell 16%, though there was already significant improvement quarter-over-quarter. Interim CEO Howard Schultz said the company's reinvention plan was beginning to show results, and he remained no less confident in the long-term prospects of the China business. In addition, Starbucks' loyalty program and the trend toward customized cold beverages became highlights of the performance. For more coffee news, please follow Coffee Workshop and Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Recently, a Starbucks in Shanghai has sparked widespread discussion online for becoming a regular gathering place for Go enthusiasts. Every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon, numerous players bring their own Go sets and gather here, with the largest turnout exceeding thirty people. This spontaneously formed Go circle has grown to nearly four hundred members. The organizer not only voluntarily helps everyone find playing partners but also pays out of pocket for orders each time. However, as the number of participants increased, the store made two requests: to keep noise levels down as much as possible, and to encourage everyone to make appropriate purchases. This symbiotic relationship between the coffee shop and the Go players has triggered discussions about the boundaries of public space use and civilized coexistence. Front Street Coffee pays attention to every detail in coffee culture and explores with you the possibilities of the city's third space. [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently launched a light milk tea series, and when you stack up the options—hot or iced, sweetness level, cup size, caffeinated or not—it somehow spawns eight completely different recipes. For customers, this is thoughtful personalized choice; for store employees, it's an extreme test of memory. On the first day of the launch, under the pressure of a flood of orders, staff members rushed to copy the recipes onto cheat sheets and stick them on the bar, and even veteran employees couldn't escape a "brain freeze." This article takes you through how Luckin's workers struggle to survive among eight sets of recipes, and the "wild ways" they've come up with to cope. [more…]

Starbucks China launched three new products for the New Year: Belgian Dark Chocolate Latte, Dark Chocolate Black Tea Latte, and Coconut White Chocolate Latte, featuring a combination of 57% Belgian-origin dark chocolate and oat milk, attracting attention from many chocolate lovers. However, behind the hot sales of the new products, baristas have been complaining on social media: the chocolate sauce used this time is unusually thick, prone to clumping and hardening in winter, extremely difficult to operate with metal squeeze pumps, making consecutive cup production feel like weightlifting, and it easily drips and stains the bar and clothes. What's even more frustrating for workers is that there are reports that this series may shift from a seasonal limited edition to a permanent offering. [more…]

A chain coffee shop in Guangzhou, store by .jpg, located on the 41st floor of an office building, quickly went viral on social media because customers can take photos with Canton Tower up close. The average spending is low and no reservation is required—just register at the front desk and you can go upstairs to take photos—attracting a large number of young people to come and check in. However, the resulting elevator congestion and occupied public areas have made office workers in the building miserable. The property management subsequently limited the number of daily tickets and removed the lounge chairs and tables. How will this high-altitude coffee craze ultimately end? [more…]

When Luckin Coffee launched its new strawberry series in collaboration with "Zootopia 2," many fans noticed that a "no ice" option had quietly appeared on the ordering interface. You see, Luckin has long been criticized for serving "half a cup of ice," with consumers even adding notes like "want XX ice cubes" just to get less ice. Now that the company has finally offered an option, it has raised a new question: will the ingredients be topped up after removing the ice? An employee revealed that what gets added depends on the main ingredient—milk for lattes, tea for fruit and vegetable teas, while the main ingredient of strawberry iced tea is water, so it naturally tastes bland after the ice is removed. In addition, during peak hours, some staff still miss the labels and mistakenly add ice, so consumers are advised to give timely feedback and ask for a remake. Front Street Coffee is also paying attention to how this change affects the drinking experience. [more…]

A Luckin Coffee internal employee recently leaked on social media a new product expected to launch on November 24 called "Crazy Black Tea Latte." A video showing its preparation reveals that the drink still uses a short-extraction espresso as its coffee base, and the news quickly sparked heated discussion online. Many consumers expressed strong dissatisfaction with the short-extraction espresso, arguing that its coffee liquid volume is only about 20 milliliters and that once tea or fruit is added, the coffee flavor is severely masked, leaving the taste as bland as water. Although some customers tried to request a switch to Italian-style ristretto via order notes, they were often refused by stores. The controversy surrounding Luckin Coffee's choice of coffee base continues to intensify. [more…]

Tea Baidao's classic mulberry fruit tea "Wu Qi Ma Hei" returns this year in an upgraded form, alongside the new release "Triple Berry Good Night Cup." The official promotion claims the new version focuses on freshly peeled and freshly squeezed same-day ingredients, with a stronger juicy pulp burst, and consumers are buying into it. However, for the workers in the store kitchens, this upgrade has turned into a nightmare—switching from frozen mulberry pieces to fresh mulberries turns one step into many, multiplying the prep difficulty and workload. Complaints flood social media, with employees exclaiming "peeling until crazy" and "prepping until insane." This article takes you behind the production changes and frontline employee feedback for this seasonal limited-edition drink. [more…]

On April 2, the internet-famous tea brand Chayan Yuese opened a pop-up store at Shenzhen Wenheyou. The queue on opening day was unprecedented, with rumors online claiming that the number of waiting tickets exceeded 30,000, and a cup of milk tea was being resold for over 200 yuan. However, Chayan Yuese officially clarified shortly afterward that the so-called 30,000 number was actually the table number at Shenzhen Wenheyou, not the queue number for milk tea. From Changsha to Wuhan and then to Shenzhen, why does Chayan Yuese always trigger such frenzy? This article will reconstruct the whole incident, sort out the brand's development trajectory, and discuss whether a cup of milk tea is worth such a long queue. [more…]

After Starbucks withdrew from the Russian market, Stars Coffee, which took over its assets, is accelerating its expansion. On one hand, the brand has reopened in St. Petersburg and plans to restore 100 stores by the end of September; on the other hand, co-founders Timur Yunusov and Anton Pinsky revealed that they have received about 50 overseas partnership inquiries, with the first overseas branch to open in Armenia, and plan to open more than 20 locations across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. These regions see opportunities for Stars Coffee due to the absence of Starbucks. This article reviews Stars Coffee's expansion dynamics and the historical turning point of Starbucks' franchising in Russia. [more…]

The "Crazy Saturday" that just passed once again saw major chain beverage brands flooded with free redemption orders. Yet after the revelry ended, store counters were piled high with sealed drinks that no one came to collect, with some stores pouring out nearly a hundred cups in a single night. Staff members felt both heartache and helplessness, while onlooking netizens bluntly said, "If you're not going to drink it, don't order it." What problems does this waste phenomenon, fueled by platform subsidies, actually reflect? How should consumers, merchants, and platforms find a balance among themselves? This article takes you through the full picture of the incident, and you're also welcome to follow Front Street Coffee to chat together about the things behind beverage consumption. [more…]

Recently, many BMW owners have been complaining on social media that the BMW APP freezes or even crashes, and the culprit turns out to be the rush for free Luckin Coffee vouchers. It turns out that any Silver Card member verified on the BMW APP can claim one free Luckin coffee voucher every month, while Black Card and Gold Card members can get two. As the number of vouchers is limited, owners faithfully wait for member week, overwhelming the system. Some have compiled detailed guides, others have shared screenshots of their hour-long voucher-grabbing attempts, even joking that they want to "drink back the money they spent on the BMW." This voucher-grabbing frenzy not only reflects the appeal of brand collaborations, but also makes one sigh: so even luxury car owners will race to click for a cup of coffee worth just a dozen yuan. [more…]

Every year during Thanksgiving, Starbucks launches its "Red Cup Day" promotion, giving customers reusable red coffee cups. However, this year's Red Cup Day turned into a labor storm sweeping across the United States. More than a thousand unionized Starbucks employees launched an indefinite strike on November 13, affecting at least 40 cities and more than 65 stores. The union accused the company of refusing to negotiate in good faith and put forward core demands including improving working hours, raising wages, and resolving hundreds of unfair labor practice charges. Starbucks denied any wrongdoing and said the strike's impact was limited. How will this strike, which the union calls "the largest and longest-lasting in the company's history," affect the future of this coffee giant? [more…]

On the eve of the peak Christmas sales season, Starbucks suffered a large-scale strike in the United States. Since December 20, the Starbucks union launched actions in three cities—Seattle, Chicago, and Los Angeles—and within five days they spread to Denver, Pittsburgh, New York, Philadelphia, and many other places. The union said more than 290 stores were completely closed, while Starbucks officially said only about 170 stores were shut down and 98% of stores were operating normally. The two sides remain sharply divided on core issues such as wage increases and the contract framework. The strike could affect performance during the Christmas shopping season, and the company's stock price fell more than 5% over five days. How this labor-management confrontation will end is worth continuing to watch. [more…]

Both are Panamanian Geisha, but just how big is the flavor difference between the washed and natural processing methods? And what are the distinctive characteristics of the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda and those from Janson Coffee Farm? Starting with Janson Coffee Farm, this article provides a detailed overview of the flavor profiles of its natural and washed Geisha, the farm's background, and growing conditions, and compares them with the stylistic differences of Hacienda La Esmeralda. Janson Coffee Farm focuses mainly on domestic sales and ranks second in Panama for Geisha production; its washed Geisha won second place in the washed category at the 2013 B.O.P competition. The article also includes Front Street Coffee's recommendations and purchasing information, making it suitable reading for coffee enthusiasts who want an in-depth understanding of Panamanian Geisha. [more…]

In a café, baristas face all kinds of customer questions and feedback every day. Some remarks sound like casual comments, yet they can instantly spike the blood pressure of the professionals behind the counter. From "why do you add water to coffee?" to "make me a latte art on my iced latte," these conversations actually reflect the huge differences in public understanding of coffee. This article rounds up those classic quotes that leave baristas not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and explores how communication and education can clear up misunderstandings, so that every cup of coffee is enjoyed with greater understanding. [more…]

Walking into a coffee shop and facing the dazzling array of options on the menu, have you ever hesitated, unable to decide? And the orders that baristas encounter every day are even more bizarre—from "an iced hot Americano" to "a latte with less chili," these laughable requests reflect the uneven public understanding of coffee. This article rounds up the weird ordering habits in coffee shops that drive baristas crazy, and also explores how baristas can properly guide customers to learn about coffee. Just as Front Street Coffee has always been committed to promoting specialty coffee culture, every patient explanation may help more people fall in love with coffee. [more…]