Recently, a notice purported to be an internal all-channel delisting announcement from Chagee has been circulating on social media, drawing widespread attention and discussion among fans. The notice indicates that four ingredients—Rose Narcissus, Green Mandarin Pu'er, Rose Pu'er, and Roasted Fragrance Yellow Tea—along with eight related tea drinks, will be completely discontinued starting May 9, 2025. Among them are several popular limited-edition items such as Golden Crow Fuy [more…]

Recently, some consumers have reported that when ordering at Guming stores, the signature product "Uncle Milk Tea" is no longer available for purchase, while the milk tea category on the menu has noticeably shrunk, replaced by a variety of coffee drinks. This change quickly sparked discussions on social media, with many longtime customers saying that milk tea options are becoming fewer and fewer, and that the brand's focus seems to be shifting toward coffee. Although it was verified that "Uncle Milk Tea" has not been removed from sale nationwide, it is indeed the case that some stores have stopped selling it due to a shortage of ingredients. Consumers have become doubtful about Guming's transformation direction of "turning a milk tea shop into a coffee shop," worrying that classic tea drinks are gradually disappearing. This article sorts out the course of the incident and feedback from netizens, explores how chain tea beverage brands can balance the expectations of their original customer base when expanding into the coffee business, and includes related observations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Luckin Coffee is known for frequently launching new products, but not every new release wins market favor. The light coconut milk series has received a lukewarm response since its launch: the raw coconut light milk tea was criticized as inferior to Assam, and the raw coconut Americano was even mockingly called dishwater. To reduce waste, the brand switched to mini-sized ingredients, but with little effect. In the end, these two products were completely removed from the menu, with employees busy destroying inventory while consumers looked on with glee. Front Street Coffee takes you through the rise and fall of this product trial. [more…]

Luckin Coffee has recently grabbed a lot of attention with its co-branded campaigns and its new drink, "Gentle Jasmine." Dubbed by netizens as a "stand-in for Boya Juexian," this milk tea has seen its sales soar, becoming the top seller in many stores. However, in stark contrast to the booming sales, a wave of calls to "vote Gentle Jasmine off the menu" has surged within Luckin's employee circles. The reason is simple: this drink has a complicated preparation process, requiring staff to hand-shake each cup using a shaker, which becomes overwhelming when orders pile up. With more shaker-made new products set to launch next week, employees' anxiety has reached its peak. This article will take a deep dive into the reasons behind this phenomenon and explore the solutions proposed by employees. [more…]

Entering October, Luckin's pace of launching new products has noticeably accelerated, rolling out multiple new items in succession within two weeks. Among them, the upgraded and returning "Coconut Mango Pomelo Sago" quickly won over consumers and became the top repeat-purchase choice for many. However, making this drink at the store level has employees crying foul—numerous ingredients, lengthy steps, difficult cleanup, and even causing drain clogs. From the meltdown during order surges to the unclogging after closing, staff have taken to social media to call out: when will this "enemy of employees" finally be discontinued? [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently issued an official notice announcing that its Apple C Americano will be gradually removed from stores nationwide, sparking dissatisfaction and regret among many fans. This fruit coffee C-series drink, launched last October, has built up a loyal following with its refreshing taste, but it had already briefly disappeared before. In this formal farewell, the company cited a shortage of apple juice concentrate and its status as a seasonal limited edition, and said the Apple C Fruit Tea made with the same ingredient will also be discontinued at the same time. Some speculate that this is to make way for the return of the spring Cherry Blossom Latte. For consumers who love this flavor, Front Street suggests trying to make it at home or looking for alternatives, such as KFC's Apple Sparkling Americano. [more…]

Starbucks launched its "Jasmine 100" series during the spring rainy season, featuring fresh jasmine floral notes and low-sugar options, as part of its "True Taste Sugar-Free Series." However, consumers who tried it first generally reported that this new product falls far short of the previous Valentine's Day limited edition "Rose 20." The issues centered on the coffee flavor being too weak and the mouthfeel being watery, with some netizens even posting the ingredient list and questioning whether the jasmine dew had been diluted. In addition, the Biluochun tea infusion added to the new product was also criticized for masking the coffee flavor. Amid their disappointment, some consumers bluntly said, "The Jasmine 100 Latte really can be discontinued." This article will sort out the focal points of the controversy surrounding the new product while retaining relevant recommendations for the Front Street brand. [more…]

Paper straws once swept through the food service industry in the name of environmental protection, yet they have been widely criticized for their poor mouthfeel and tendency to degrade in the mouth, and are now gradually exiting the market. Their replacement, PLA straws, are made from plant starch, are fully biodegradable, and withstand temperatures ranging from cold to hot drinks, but they have a short shelf life and relatively high cost. Meanwhile, research teams have developed edible bacterial cellulose-based straws that completely decompose within 60 days when buried in soil. From paper straws to PLA to coconut jelly straws, behind the iteration of eco-friendly straws lies a trade-off among cost, experience, and degradation performance. This article reviews the current state of paper straw production being discontinued, the market prospects for PLA straws, and the research progress on new edible straws, and includes Front Street Coffee's specialty bean news. [more…]

The winter strawberry season has arrived as promised, and Starbucks has seized the moment to launch its Red Strawberry series, featuring four drinks: Cheese Latte, Cheese Tea Latte, Mocha, and Cheese Frappuccino. With pink whipped cream topped and red sugar crystals, the visual appeal is undeniably eye-catching, and buying any of them also gets you a limited-edition sticker designed by holiday ambassador Henry Lau. Yet the first wave of consumer feedback has been sharply divided: on one side is the enthusiasm for photo ops, and on the other, complaints about it being "cloyingly sweet" and having an "artificial flavor." Some longtime customers have even noticed that the series is highly similar in recipe to the Strawberry Coconut Frappuccino that was discontinued half a year ago, questioning whether the brand is just repackaging the same old thing. Starbucks' Christmas season marketing this year doesn't seem to have won the same acclaim as last year's Red Fuji series. [more…]

At the end of last year, the Singaporean government implemented new sugar-limit regulations for beverages, requiring all packaged and freshly prepared drinks to display ABCD nutrition grades and sugar content, sparking a nationwide anti-sugar craze. Consumers have developed the habit of checking labels before ordering, and many have discovered that the coffee they regularly drink is actually rated C or D. Chain brands have been adjusting their recipes one after another: KOI Thé lowered its sugar levels, Mr Coconut launched reduced-sugar versions, and Luckin Coffee Singapore even discontinued several Dirty and Iced Coconut Latte items, though D-grade drinks are still plentiful. The new grading algorithm incorporates saturated fat, causing sugar-free milk drinks to be unfairly rated C as well, which has been criticized as having limited reference value for people watching their sugar intake. Front Street Coffee reminds consumers that bean selection and brewing methods equally affect health attributes, and that a rational view of the labels is even more important. [more…]

Walking into Starbucks on a hot summer day doesn't mean you have to choose hot coffee—the slushy-textured Frappuccino is just as good a way to cool down. Starbucks currently offers ten regular Frappuccinos, covering both coffee and non-coffee categories, with the matcha series ranking as a classic. If you prefer coffee flavors, the Caramel Coffee Frappuccino and Espresso Frappuccino deliver different intensities of coffee experience. What's more, by adding or removing ingredients or swapping syrups, you can customize your own personal flavor. The Mango Passion Fruit Frappuccino, once discontinued, remains the low-calorie favorite in the minds of many longtime customers thanks to its lack of whipped cream and lower sugar content. This article goes through the characteristics of each Frappuccino one by one, while keeping Front Street Coffee's related recommendations, to help you find the cup that suits you best. [more…]

Another shutdown message has come from the tea beverage sector. Xiexie Tea, invested by well-known host Ma Dong, has closed its last national outlet, the Shenzhen Dalang store, on July 16, completely wiping out its physical stores. This celebrity brand, founded in 2018, once rode on the hype of traffic-driving guests like Ma Dong and the New Pants band, selling a cup of milk tea for nearly 70 yuan, but after the pandemic, its prices slid all the way down to the 12-yuan range, all bakery products were removed, and its pivot to smart milk tea stores showed no improvement. Its official Weibo, WeChat public account, and mini-program have successively stopped updating or been discontinued. The traffic dividends and operational shortcomings of celebrity catering have once again become a focal point of attention in the coffee and tea beverage industry. [more…]

After Tea Baidao's lychee iced milk was discontinued with the changing seasons, the brand quickly launched two new iced milk drinks, among which the iced mint iced milk co-branded with Frozen drew a lot of attention thanks to its mint element and co-branded merchandise. However, this drink, made with fresh mint leaves, green grapes, lemon, matcha liquid, and milk, did not deliver the expected cooling sensation upon tasting; instead, the grassy flavor of freshly squeezed mint juice sparked polarized reviews. Some described drinking it as turning into a cow chewing on grass, while others found the plant's fresh fragrance uniquely appealing. Whether this cross-boundary mashup is a stroke of creativity or a flop is worth investigating. [more…]

Heytea recently launched a limited-time offering of the previously Tibet-exclusive yak milk tea, Qiammo, across its nationwide stores. This Tibetan-style sweet tea features yak milk, highland barley base, and a highland barley egg crisp crumble cheese milk cap, sparking anticipation among longtime fans. However, during delivery, the milk cap was not packaged separately, which significantly diminished the drink's appearance and taste, leading many consumers to complain that its look and flavor closely resembled childhood Jinwei cereal. The brand subsequently made emergency adjustments to its packaging rules: hot drinks are now separated by default, while cold drinks require a note. This article reviews the product background, consumer feedback, and the official response, presenting this new product controversy for coffee and tea enthusiasts. [more…]

As temperatures climb, major coffee and tea chains are rolling out refreshing fruit drinks to seize the market. Yet Luckin's Light Coffee Lemon Tea and Grape Lemon Tea have quietly been pulled from the menu at this very moment, catching many fans off guard. According to internal staff, this across-the-board removal stems from the brand's major overhaul of the recipe: the new version of the lemon tea will add lemon pulp, and the Light Coffee Lemon Tea will also include quick-frozen yellow lemon halves. The new recipe is set to relaunch within the next couple of days, but this adjustment has sparked sharply different reactions among employees and consumers. This article will sort through the sequence of events, the details of the recipe changes, and the genuine feedback from all sides, to give you a clear picture of the ins and outs of this change to Luckin's lemon tea. [more…]

The Binglang incident has made milk tea consumers especially wary of ingredients such as non-dairy creamer and base milk, while 1 Dian Dian, having long used A2 milk to make its drinks, is seen as a breath of fresh air in the industry. Recently, however, many regular customers have noticed that stores no longer accept "remove the tea base" requests in the notes. Why was this thoughtful service, originally designed to accommodate caffeine-sensitive groups such as pregnant women and children, suddenly discontinued? Behind it lie milk consumption costs, store operating standards, and contractual constraints with suppliers. At the same time, consumers who are used to ordering a tea-base-free milk drink with toppings have also lost a cost-effective option. For those who easily suffer insomnia after drinking tea at night, whether an alternative exists has become their biggest concern. [more…]

As the weather turns cold in November, chain coffee brands are rolling out their winter drinks one after another. Luckin's "Fair Isle Latte" launched this week quickly drew attention, but consumer reviews have been notably divided. Some find it reminiscent of the Assam milk tea from their childhood memories, some joke that it is just a black tea latte with a new name, and others see it as a budget alternative to Starbucks' Black Tea Coffee Americano Latte. At the same time, some customers have reported insomnia, palpitations, and a racing heartbeat after drinking it, and discussion about its caffeine content has heated up accordingly. Is this new product actually worth trying? And how does it compare with existing products and competitors? This article compiles the official ingredients, user feedback, and the hot topics of discussion on social platforms for coffee lovers' reference. [more…]

Recently, Luckin Coffee launched a production-season limited new product, Qiantang Longjing Latte, inspired by the spring tea of Longjing in Hangzhou's Qiantang area, quickly attracting a large number of consumers' attention. The combination of tea and coffee has always had many fans, and Luckin's previously launched tea-coffee products such as Jasmine Latte and Biluozhichun Latte have all received praise. However, after this highly anticipated new product hit the market, it triggered complaints from consumers due to issues such as lack of tea flavor and poor taste integration. This article will review the production method of the new product, consumer feedback, and comparisons with tea-coffee products from brands such as Front Street Coffee, to explore the challenges and user expectations faced by Luckin's tea-coffee series. [more…]

Starbucks recently announced a series of major changes rolling out across its stores in the United States and Canada, covering free refills, swapping out utensils, the return of condiment bars, and the revival of handwritten names, among other measures, while also formally implementing a new rule that only paying customers may use store spaces. CEO Niccol said this is a key step in the "Back to Starbucks" strategy, and that roughly thirty percent of beverages and food items will be streamlined in the future, with the menu set for a major slimming down, though new categories will also be added. Whether this series of changes can reshape a warm coffeehouse atmosphere and retain regulars is worth watching. [more…]

For many people, the one thing they fear most about drinking coffee is bitterness. Walking into Starbucks and facing a dense, packed menu, choice paralysis strikes immediately: which drinks aren't bitter? And how should sweetness be ranked? The logic isn't actually complicated—the more syrup is added, the sweeter it gets, and the higher the proportion of milk, the more the coffee's own bitterness is diluted. But if you want to truly understand coffee, adding sugar and milk isn't enough. The roast level, variety, and processing method of the coffee beans are the key factors determining how strong the bitterness is. This article starts with the patterns for choosing Starbucks drinks, then uses three beans from the Front Street Coffee bean list—Kenya Little Tomato, PWN Golden Mandheling, and Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha—to explain clearly where acidity and bitterness come from, along with specific brewing parameters to help you brew a good cup of coffee that isn't bitter or astringent at home. [more…]