On a scorching summer day, a refreshing glass of sparkling water never fails to win over consumers. Recently, a drink called "Swimming Burger Sparkling Water" has rapidly gone viral on social media—simply drop a store-bought gummy burger and ice cubes into a glass, pour in sparkling water, and you'll see the gummy candy bobbing up and down in the glass. This drink originally came from a bartender's signature cocktail, and after going viral, beverage shop owners kept creating variations featuring gummy bears, goldfish, and more. Due to regional price differences, it sells for anywhere from just over ten yuan to more than thirty yuan, and brands like Haidilao, Auntea Jenny, and FamilyMart have all jumped on the bandwagon to recreate it. However, the gummy candy neither dissolves nor changes the drink's flavor—so is the core selling point of this beverage its taste or its emotional value? It's worth pondering. [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently posted a romantic tutorial on social media, teaching everyone how to make a "Frozen Rose" using a Luckin can or an ordinary ice cup, sealing a rose and ice cubes inside the cup to create an eye-catching decoration for the office desk. This玩法 quickly triggered netizens to imitate and like it, but it also worried baristas in stores—because this玩法 is not an official product, and if customers come to the store asking for it to be made, it may cause misunderstandings and negative reviews. The popularity of flower cups can be traced back to netizens' creativity, and was later boosted by brands such as Mixue Bingcheng and Haidilao to become a traffic code. Front Street Coffee noted that although similar marketing can bring heat, it needs to balance the execution pressure on frontline employees. [more…]

On August 27, while releasing its 2024 interim results report, Haidilao announced a striking appointment: Zhang Junjie, founder of Chagee, will join the board as an independent non-executive director for a three-year term with an annual salary of 1.2 million yuan. This cross-industry collaboration quickly sparked heated discussion among netizens, with some speculating whether the two companies might merge, while others pointed out that the two parties had already collaborated through Shuhai Supply Chain. Zhang Junjie is only 29 years old but has over 13 years of experience in the catering industry. His founded Chagee achieved a store growth rate of 233% in 2023, with total sales exceeding 10.8 billion yuan. Haidilao's move is interpreted as an important step in its product diversification strategy, particularly in exploring the handcrafted tea beverage sector. This article will provide a detailed analysis of the background of this appointment, the origins of the collaboration between the two parties, and Haidilao's ambitions in the beverage market. [more…]

Anhui-based brand K.W.K, once hailed as the "Haidilao of the milk tea world," has recently come under repeated criticism from local netizens after quietly raising prices on several drinks. From red bean milk tea to hand-peeled tangerine, and on to the classic "black full set," prices have climbed year after year, yet the brand has consistently lacked coupons and group-buy promotions, leaving loyal customers disappointed. Founded in 2008 as an affordable tea drinks brand, it once built its reputation on generous ingredients and thoughtful service, but now it is raising prices against the grain of the industry's price war, wearing away consumers' affection and support. This article reviews K.W.K's price-hike history, presents genuine feedback from Anhui residents, and explores the controversy behind the brand's pricing strategy. [more…]

On November 7, the official Weibo account of Chayan Yuese announced the temporary closure of some stores in areas of Changsha where they had been densely distributed, and the related topic quickly trended on social media. On November 10, the brand further responded, saying that this was already the third round of concentrated temporary store closures this year: staying put for Chinese New Year at the beginning of the year, the resurgence of the pandemic at the end of July, and this latest adjustment. As a tea beverage brand that started in Changsha, Chayan Yuese's move has drawn widespread attention—against the backdrop of repeated pandemic outbreaks and intensifying industry competition, is its proactive contraction after dense store distribution and reassignment of staff to Liuyang, Zhuzhou, Yueyang and other places for research and site selection a stopgap measure to cope with the crisis, or is it building strength for the next round of expansion? This article sorts through the timeline and background of the three store closures and reviews founder Lü Liang's cautious attitude toward brand expansion. [more…]

In recent years, consumers' demand for personalized coffee has continued to rise, and many chain brands and independent cafés have rolled out customization options. Recently, netizens reported that Luckin Coffee has piloted a "drink DIY" menu in some stores, allowing customers to choose their milk base and even add extra milk or espresso. As soon as the news broke, Luckin fans cheered, "Roll it out nationwide, fast," while some employees worried that order volumes are already huge and that full rollout could leave them "run ragged." Meanwhile, on January 22, Luckin announced it had completed development of the core features of its HarmonyOS native app. Is this exploration of coffee customization a blessing or a burden? This article takes you through it. [more…]

More and more people are no longer content with just going to a café for coffee—they want to make it themselves at home. But faced with a dizzying array of equipment and coffee beans, beginners often don't know where to start. This article systematically lays out a complete approach to home coffee DIY: from choosing a grinder and brewing equipment, to judging the freshness and quality of coffee beans, to building up your brewing methods and coffee knowledge, helping you find the approach that suits you step by step and easily become a home barista. [more…]

Want to recreate an authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain-style coffee at home? This article provides a complete DIY coffee bean blending solution and walks you through the siphon brewing process in detail. From the ratio of ground coffee to purified water, to alcohol lamp heating, wooden spoon stirring, reflux extraction, and finally adding sugar cubes and creamer for seasoning, every step is illustrated with photos and text. It also incorporates Front Street Coffee's blending approach, helping you craft a rich, well-rounded Blue Mountain flavor even without authentic Blue Mountain beans. Whether you're a coffee novice or a seasoned enthusiast, this hands-on guide will help you get started easily and enjoy the pleasure of handmade coffee. [more…]

Chagee once launched a free custom cup sticker printing campaign, allowing users to upload images to create milk tea cup stickers. However, many fans used third-party tools to bypass the review process and printed photos of celebrities such as Zhang Linghe as cup stickers, sparking widespread discussion online. Recently, the official function for printing cup stickers was suddenly shut down, with the page displaying "Custom Fu Stickers Are Being Upgraded," catching many fans who had not yet printed their exclusive cup stickers off guard. Lawyers pointed out that unauthorized reproduction of photographic works carries infringement risks, and if used for dissemination, exchange, or sale, it clearly infringes on celebrities' portrait rights and photographers' copyrights. The brand may also bear joint liability for failing to establish an effective review mechanism. This article sorts out the entire incident and analyzes the legal issues and responsibilities of all parties involved. [more…]

Luckin Coffee launched a limited-edition Pumpkin Oat Latte during Halloween, and thanks to the festive atmosphere it quickly sparked a social media check-in craze. However, when a large number of consumers imitated the online photos for their own recreations, things frequently went wrong, with the pumpkin daifuku creating all sorts of clumsy scenes atop the whipped cream. This discussion, triggered by the gap between customer photos and official photos, not only reveals the extra charges behind drink styling, but also reflects consumers' misunderstandings of store operating standards. Front Street Coffee has noticed that similar phenomena are not uncommon in holiday marketing in the coffee industry. This article will analyze the issue from three levels: product design, customer DIY, and store execution. [more…]

Luckin Coffee has partnered with the classic animated IP Tom and Jerry to launch an anniversary-edition mascarpone cheese raw-cheese latte and a series of merchandise, sparking an enthusiastic frenzy among young consumers. From cup sleeves and paper bags to stickers and badges, these designs full of childhood memories have inspired a wave of creative DIY makeovers among the public, with all kinds of handmade creations popping up on social platforms. In order to collect the full set of merchandise, many people have bought drinks multiple times without hesitation, and some have even rummaged through trash bins to pick up discarded paper bags. This article will take you through how this collaboration storm has turned young people into a "scrap-collecting army," and their unique obsession with coffee merchandise. [more…]

In coffee drinks, milk is far more than a supporting player; through clever blending, it can make the flavor of milk coffee achieve an effect where 1+1 is greater than 2. Whether adjusting concentration or enhancing sweetness, blended milk gives baristas more flexible creative space. This article, from the perspective of Front Street, systematically sorts out the common milk blending methods in the coffee world, including the freeze-concentration principle of purified milk, the practice of mixing it with fresh milk in proportion to balance concentration, and the basic concept of plant-based milk blending. The article not only explains the purpose of blending, but also provides actionable DIY ideas to help coffee lovers recreate a professional-grade milk coffee experience at home. [more…]

In the past two years, convenience store cocktail mixing has unexpectedly gone viral, with netizens using soft drinks, coffee, and mini liquor bottles to create all kinds of DIY concoctions. 7-Eleven recently piloted a self-service cocktail mixing area at a store in Beijing, offering four popular base spirits along with trending online recipes, allowing consumers to experience coffee cocktails at a lower cost and in a more elegant way. This move not only lowers the barrier to DIY but also reflects young people's blurring of the boundaries between coffee and alcohol consumption scenarios. This article takes you through the past and present of convenience store cocktail mixing and explores whether alcohol and coffee can be consumed together. [more…]

On a scorching summer day, a glass of cold brew coffee is a favorite for many coffee lovers. Traditional cold brew towers are not cheap, yet they are often used infrequently, so netizens have started to brainstorm and build all kinds of "DIY cold brew" contraptions using everyday items like filter cups, drip bags, and mineral water bottles. This article rounds up several of the most representative simple home cold brew setups: from stacking filter cups, to converting drip coffee bags, to combining moxibustion racks with plant-watering nozzles—each one showcases the creativity and dedication of coffee enthusiasts. Although these homemade devices are not as precise as professional cold brew towers, they make up for it with low cost, plenty of fun, and the joy of drinking iced coffee you extracted yourself. If you'd also like to try cold brew at home, you might as well take inspiration from these ideas and use the objects around you to start a low-temperature extraction experiment. [more…]

When coffee packaging bags meet infinitely creative netizens, what kind of sparks will fly? Luckin Coffee's paper bags have recently become a new favorite among DIY enthusiasts, from simple doodles and handwriting practice to complex mini store models, all kinds of transformed works are emerging one after another. This craze has not only turned ordinary paper bags into personalized collectibles, but also attracted more than 2 million netizens to participate in the interaction, and even the official account couldn't help but like and repost. This article will take you through this creative feast triggered by paper bags, to see how consumers use their own hands to give brand packaging a second life, and what kind of marketing inspiration this spontaneous spread brings to the brand. [more…]

Cold brew coffee has become increasingly popular in China in recent years. With its refreshing taste and mild, balanced flavor, it has become the summer drink of choice for many coffee lovers. It actually originated in the United States and gradually spread around the world through social media, and Starbucks' official launch of it brought it to the masses. How is cold brew coffee different from regular iced coffee? Why does it taste sweeter and less sour or astringent? And how easy is it to make? This article will walk you through the origins and characteristics of cold brew coffee, compare it with iced coffee, and teach you step by step how to easily DIY a refreshing, delicious cold brew at home. All you need is the right coffee-to-water ratio, then let it steep in the fridge overnight and enjoy it the next day. At the end, there is also a cold brew test of Front Street Coffee's Huakui coffee beans, plus a creative milk-cap cold brew recipe, so don't miss it. [more…]

Front Street Coffee recently came across a uniquely shaped pour-over filter paper—the dual-chamber filter from Spain's Sibarist. Because its interior is divided in two by a partition, netizens have jokingly dubbed it the "double-flavor hot pot filter." The original design intent was to let coffee beans with different characteristics each be extracted separately in a single brew, but at 37.44 euros for 30 sheets—about 9.4 yuan per sheet—it really is staggering as a disposable consumable. Front Street Coffee decided to make a DIY alternative, using two 01-size filter papers in a 02 conical dripper to replicate the dual-chamber structure, and to explore the water temperature and other parameters that need to be considered when actually brewing with this kind of filter. This article will walk you through the dual-chamber filter's construction principle, its official pricing, how to make a DIY alternative, and the core considerations for using it, so you can see whether it's worth buying. [more…]

Recently, employees at some Luckin Coffee stores, while debugging new label printing devices, unexpectedly discovered that the machines could connect to mobile phones to print photo album images. They then began printing funny memes and custom designs on takeout cups and aprons, drawing attention and enthusiasm from netizens. However, the good times did not last long. Management quickly issued a ban, requiring the label machines to be used only for printing order codes and expiration date strips, and asked employees to delete related social media posts. This "abstract label" uproar sparked by a cup of coffee not only reveals the potential of personalized service but also reflects the tension between standardized brand management and employee creativity. Front Street Coffee breaks down the whole story for you. [more…]

Recently, a batch of stunningly beautiful Starbucks "dreamy new drinks" has emerged on social platforms. In fact, they are all creative beverages mixed by employees themselves using ingredients like blueberry powder. From sky blue to dreamy purple, from healing spirulina blue to the failed "glass water," this wave of color-mixing craze has turned the bar into a palette. Although these secret drink methods are not official products and customers theoretically cannot order them, it does not dampen the creative enthusiasm of coffee lovers at all. This article will take you through the origin, ways to play, and failed attempts of this blueberry powder DIY trend. [more…]

Co-branding between chain brands has long become commonplace, yet Luckin Coffee's frequent moves in co-branded marketing still turn heads. From cross-industry collaborations to routine co-branding, Luckin has consistently demonstrated keen market instincts and creative capabilities. On January 22, Luckin joined hands with artist Han Meilin for a second time to launch Year of the Dragon limited-edition co-branded merchandise, with paper bags and cup sleeves rolling out nationwide. Subsequently, Luckin officially launched the call "Every generation has its own merch makeover frenzy" on Xiaohongshu, sparking a creative carnival among Luckin's craftspeople. From pen holders and picture frames to oracle bone script mahjong and Chinese-style oil-paper umbrellas, netizens transformed free merchandise into works of art brimming with ingenuity. This article will take you through the highlights of this zero-cost DIY merch craze, letting you feel the creative vitality that comes from brand-consumer interaction. [more…]