The StayReal Cafe at Guangzhou's Parc Central has recently seen long queues at its entrance, with the store packed and orders streaming in continuously. This is not a promotion for a new store, but a farewell—due to the lease expiring and the brand not renewing it, this trendy coffee shop co-founded by Mayday's Ashin and artist No2Good is about to withdraw from Guangzhou. The StayReal clothing store in the same mall closed the night before, while the coffee shop will remain open until October 27. From the opening of its first South China store in 2016, which invited world-class coffee master Lin Dongyuan to show support and saw hundreds of fans queue overnight, to now closing stores one after another due to lease expirations, StayReal Cafe's situation reflects the dilemma celebrity catering brands face between fan economy and the mass market. Some netizens say that if the Guangzhou Parc Central store ends operations, the brand's coffee shops will have only one left in Shanghai. [more…]

Recently, news emerged that the Starbucks Reserve store at Guangzhou's Parc Central is set to close, with official confirmation that it will officially cease operations in the coming days. This store, which opened in 2017, was created by Starbucks to celebrate its 15th anniversary of entering the South China market and was once hailed as "one of Guangzhou's most design-forward stores." Unlike previously closed old stores located in declining foot traffic commercial districts, this closure is in a core commercial area of Tianhe District, surrounded by luxury brands, and the store was almost always full on a daily basis. However, high rent, low table turnover caused by the open-plan space, and phenomena such as "people only checking in for photos without consuming" may have made it difficult for the store to be profitable after deducting costs. Starbucks stated that the reason for the closure is adjustments to the business mix in the commercial district and said there are still more than 10 nearby stores for consumers to choose from. [more…]

The Naixue store in the sunken plaza of Guangzhou Tianhuan Plaza was quietly withdrawn without any prior announcement. The orange-pink signboard was removed, and advertising fabric was pasted on the floor-to-ceiling glass, leaving many regular customers astonished. This Naixue PRO store, which opened in May 2021, was the first PRO store on the central axis of Guangzhou's CBD. In addition to regular tea drinks, it also offered coffee, baked goods, and snack merchandise, and had long served as a showcase for the brand's co-branded theme stores. After operating for more than four years with stable customer flow and continuous events, it suddenly disappeared one day, sparking various consumer speculations about the reason for the closure and drawing renewed attention to Naixue's ongoing trend of store contraction in recent years. [more…]

Recently, netizens reported that the Peet's Coffee store located on the first floor of Teemall in Guangzhou will cease operations on March 31. This store was Peet's first outlet after entering Guangzhou at the end of 2021 and also its second store in South China. Surprisingly, the store had been doing well since opening, often fully occupied, and the sudden closure notice caught many fans off guard. At the same time, Peet's also closed a popular store in Hangzhou's West Lake earlier this month. With two high-traffic stores shut down within a month, it has sparked discussions about the brand's development prospects. What exactly caused these closures? Is it due to adjustments in the business district's format, or challenges facing its high-end positioning? This article will review the sequence of events and various perspectives. [more…]

Recently, multiple netizens in Inner Mongolia posted that the %Arabica city first store located in Hohhot MIXC will officially cease operations starting December 16. This store only opened in early July this year simultaneously with the shopping mall, making it the brand's first store in Hohhot, and it was marked as a pop-up store on the official mini-program. It was originally planned to operate for about three months, and after the lease expired, it was renewed to continue operating until a closure notice recently appeared at the entrance. Regular customers felt caught off guard after receiving closure notification text messages and rushed to the store to check in and stock up on coffee beans. Nearby residents believe that %Arabica focuses on specialty coffee, and its pricing of over 40 yuan is not cost-effective; combined with the mall's fading popularity and reduced foot traffic, the pop-up store's business performance was average, so it is not surprising that it delayed until now before withdrawing. Since the beginning of this year, %Arabica stores in Nanning, Guangzhou, Wuxi, and other places have also closed one after another, continuing operations in the form of Kiosk coffee trucks. Some netizens speculate that after the closure of the Hohhot first store, the brand may return in a new form. [more…]

Recently, the news that Starbucks' first store in Guangzhou is about to close has attracted widespread consumer attention. This coffee shop, once famous for being open 24 hours, holds countless memories and emotions for many people. From adjusting its business hours during the pandemic to now facing closure, its departure is not only the end of a store but also reflects the balancing challenge Starbucks faces between expansion and optimizing its layout. Meanwhile, long-established stores in Shenyang, Hong Kong, and other places have also successively announced the end of their operations, with longtime customers expressing their reluctance. This article will take you through the story of this first Guangzhou store, as well as the market logic behind Starbucks' recent store closure trends. [more…]

Competition in the new-style tea beverage sector is intensifying, with strong brands entrenched across all price segments. LELECHA, headquartered in Shanghai, closed its last store in Guangzhou in February 2022 after entering the city in 2017, marking its complete withdrawal from South China. Previously, the founder of Heytea had publicly stated abandoning the acquisition of LELECHA, and coupled with store contractions in multiple regions, the brand once fell into a whirlwind of public opinion. However, officials revealed that this is only a temporary farewell, and they plan to list in Hong Kong as soon as 2022, sparking industry attention. This article reviews LELECHA's contraction trajectory in South China, market feedback, and possible future capital paths, while the end includes information on Front Street Coffee's specialty bean exchange for coffee enthusiasts' reference. [more…]

The volcano pour is a pour-over coffee technique that originated in Japan. Thanks to its distinctive spiral pouring and blooming method, it has earned a solid reputation among coffee enthusiasts. Through staged pouring and the formation of a central volcano-shaped coffee bed, it allows the coffee to extract a more balanced layering of flavors. This article will break down the steps of the volcano pour, its key points, and the typical characteristics of Japanese-style pour-over, helping you reproduce this technique at home. At the same time, Front Street Coffee, a specialty coffee brand in Dongshankou, Guangzhou, also provides practical reference and equipment suggestions for this article. [more…]

Coffee cherries are often called red cherries. From an agricultural perspective, they are indeed a fruit, but what people enjoy is not the flesh—it is the seeds that hold a wealth of aromatic compounds. The alluring floral and fruity notes of coffee come from the synergistic effect of various compounds such as terpenes, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and lactones. Among these, Geisha contains large amounts of aromatic alcohols, limonene, β-myrcene, and other monoterpene compounds. Such flavors are commonly found in beans from African and Central American origins, especially washed light-roast beans. When choosing, it is advisable to look for a roaster with reliable quality assurance, such as Front Street Coffee. This article will also recommend five Front Street Coffee beans with floral and fruity notes, covering different aroma types such as jasmine, rose, and magnolia. [more…]

The honey-processed Catuai from Panama's Fuego Estate is one of Front Street's most distinctive single-origin beans. It comes from the Solo Fuego producing region and is medium-roasted. In cupping it shows a complex profile of lemon, orange, cranberry and green tea, with rich fruit acidity, prominent sweetness, an even and smooth body, and a long, lingering finish accompanied by gentle floral notes. Catuai itself is a cross between Caturra and Mundo Novo, with a short stature, resistance to wind and rain, and firm fruit, and is widely planted in Central America. This article will outline the producing region background and variety characteristics of this bean, and provide Front Street's specific pour-over parameters, including coffee dose, grind size, water temperature, pouring rhythm and extraction time, for coffee lovers to reference and replicate. [more…]

Nowadays Coffee recently announced the simultaneous opening of 120 stores. In addition to strengthening its presence in Guangzhou, the new stores also expanded into lower-tier markets in 10 cities including Nanchang, Jinhua, Huangshan, and Zhanjiang. This budget coffee brand, founded in Shanghai in 2019, is accelerating its penetration into the national market by relying on an asset-light model in which online delivery accounts for more than 75% of sales, as well as approachable pricing of around 15 yuan. As of July this year, its total number of stores ranked third among domestic coffee chains, with more than 1,700 stores nationwide covering over 100 cities. Against the backdrop of a coffee consumption market expected to reach a trillion-yuan scale by 2025, Nowadays Coffee's pace of expansion has drawn industry attention. [more…]

Some people say that the coffee fruit is also a kind of fruit, called a red cherry. Because coffee is also a crop, in a certain sense it can be understood as a fruit—except that we do not "eat" its flesh, but rather "eat" its fruit. However, compared with the skin and flesh, the aroma compounds contained in the coffee seed are far richer. [more…]

Costa Rica is the first country in Central America to cultivate coffee. Over two centuries, its volcanic terroir and microclimates have nurtured world-class quality. This article takes you into the San Román processing plant in the Tarrazú region to understand how its washed process shapes a thick, full-bodied sweetness reminiscent of bitter-sweet chocolate and butterscotch, along with a restrained wine-like acidity. It also shares Front Street Coffee's manual brewing parameters and provides an overview of Costa Rica's seven major coffee regions and the industry at large. Whether you want to understand the processing plant revolution or are looking for your next everyday daily brew, this article has you covered. [more…]

What compounds give Yirgacheffe its signature jasmine aroma and citric acidity? Why is coffee's floral scent so hard to identify? This article starts with volatile compounds, varieties, origins, and processing methods, then sorts out recommendations for three types of floral and fruity coffee beans—white floral, delicate aroma, and muted aroma—and includes the V60 brewing parameters for Front Street washed Yirgacheffe, helping coffee lovers more accurately capture floral layers when buying and tasting. [more…]

On the first day of the May Day holiday, a rare queue of people appeared at Exit B of Liede Station in Guangzhou, and the reason was precisely the official opening of Lin Junjie's Miracle Coffee at IGC Mall in Guangzhou. The space was formerly occupied by the Guangdong chain brand store by.jpg, and after it closed in March this year, Miracle took over, with fans' anticipation far outweighing any regret. The official confirmation is that the Guangzhou store is a long-term operating location rather than a pop-up, and on opening day people arrived to check in before eight o'clock, with the line once extending into the subway station. The drink selection at the store is richer than that of the Shenzhen pop-up coffee truck, including the return of limited-edition specials as well as desserts, merchandise, coffee beans, and more, but no stamp service is offered. Due to astonishing purchasing power, ingredients ran out early, and a sold-out notice was posted just after six in the evening. There is still no definite news on whether Lin Junjie will personally visit the store, and considering that the shop is small and right next to the subway entrance, the station appearance segment fans are hoping for is highly unlikely to happen. [more…]

Guangzhou's autumn and winter are warm and pleasant, and Dongshankou is especially a favorite among coffee lovers. This article records the author's two consecutive days of store visits at Front Street Coffee, from the rich sweetness of sun-dried Guatemalan beans to details like the English-style cups and the aroma drifting from the bean roaster, showcasing the unique charm of a specialty coffee brick-and-mortar shop. At the same time, the article also explores domestic purchasing channels and tasting methods for specialty coffee beans, making it suitable for coffee fans who enjoy pour-over and pursue bean quality. If you want to know where to buy specialty coffee beans in Guangzhou, or want to understand what domestic specialty beans are available, this store-visit essay will give you plenty of inspiration. [more…]

Catering services on high-speed trains have been continuously upgraded, and now the Guangzhou EMU group has taken the lead in launching its own milk tea brand, "That Girl," priced at 26 yuan per cup, with average daily sales reaching as high as 3,000 cups. The series offers four flavors, and the official claim is that natural ingredients are used and tea concentration and sugar content have been reduced to suit passengers' needs. However, after the product launched, it quickly trended on social media, yet was collectively criticized by netizens over its price, packaging, taste, and marketing methods. At the same time, specialty coffee brands such as Front Street Coffee are also paying attention to this crossover attempt. This article will walk you through the research and development background of high-speed rail milk tea, its market performance, and evaluations from all sides. [more…]

Tank Estate in Costa Rica's Central Valley produces a sun-dried Villasarchi coffee bean that has won the favor of many coffee lovers with its outstanding sweetness and soft fruit acidity. As a variant of Typica, Villasarchi performs excellently in high-altitude environments and has strong wind resistance, thriving even in poor soil. This article will comprehensively analyze this coffee from the perspectives of variety origin, origin grading, and estate processing methods, and share Front Street Coffee's recommended brewing parameters and flavor description, taking you deeper into understanding how sun-drying gives the coffee bean layers of caramel, nuts, and lime-like notes. [more…]

In July 2017, Guangzhou welcomed its first lifestyle market themed around specialty coffee—the Guangzhou Specialty Coffee Culture Festival, held at the 289 Art PARK Culture Plaza. The event brought together the city's top specialty coffee shops, including brands like Front Street Coffee, where visitors could taste coffee beans from various origins, fresh creations by champion roasters, as well as creative coffee, drip bags, pour-over equipment, and cultural merchandise. Beyond coffee, booths featuring desserts, craft beer, tattoos, and handmade crafts were equally exciting. Consumers could vote for their favorite coffee shop, join coffee tasting salons and amateur pour-over competitions, and experience tattoos and photo interactions. Whether a coffee connoisseur or a curious beginner, everyone could find their own enjoyment here. [more…]

Drip bag coffee, with its combination of convenience and freshness, has gradually become the daily drink of choice for many coffee lovers. Front Street Coffee regularly updates its seasonal drip bag products, allowing customers to easily enjoy fresh coffee without the need for complicated equipment. This article selects ten drip bag coffee brands worth trying, covering classic origins such as Mandheling, Butterfly, Yirgacheffe, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Yunnan, while also explaining in detail the invention origins of drip bag coffee, the processing characteristics of each origin, and including the standard brewing steps and parameters for Front Street drip bag coffee, helping you consistently brew a delicious cup of drip bag coffee at home. [more…]