Recently, the coffee brand WHATEVER COFFEE, founded by actor Daniel Wu, opened its first physical store on Dongda Road in Chengdu, sparking a wave of social media check-ins. This shop-in-shop, sharing space with a barbershop, features a minimalist black, white, and gray aesthetic. Its menu focuses on classic coffees and simple flavored drinks, priced between 20 and 34 yuan. The brand logo, a mask hand-drawn by Daniel Wu, symbolizes shedding pretense and returning to authenticity. In fact, the brand entered the coffee market as early as last June. Now, with the Chengdu store serving as a test outlet, a second independent location is already being scouted. Celebrities opening coffee shops is nothing new—from JJ Lin to Jay Chou—but behind the built-in traffic, whether the products and services themselves can withstand market scrutiny remains a topic worth watching. [more…]

Pour-over coffee has become the top choice for many coffee enthusiasts thanks to its advantages of being clean, free of off-flavors, clear, simple, and safe. This article starts with a horizontal comparison of the French press, the Clever Cup, the AeroPress, and the siphon pot, then sorts out the three truly indispensable conditions for pour-over—coffee grounds, filter paper, and hot water—and takes a deep dive into how the filter paper material affects flavor, debunking the common misconception that "boiling water can't be used to brew coffee." At the end, it includes Front Street's recommended Huakui brewing parameters and flavor description, making it suitable reading for coffee enthusiasts who want to systematically understand the logic of pour-over. [more…]

Pour-over coffee has become the preferred brewing method for many coffee enthusiasts thanks to its advantages of being clean, free of off-flavors, clear, and simple and safe. This article starts from a comparison of brewing devices such as the French press, the Clever Cup, the AeroPress, and the siphon, and takes an in-depth look at the core principles of pour-over coffee—the three key elements of coffee grounds, filter paper, and hot water. It focuses on revealing the critical influence of filter paper on flavor and explores the feasibility of brewing with boiling water. At the end, using the 2018 Huakui Natural Sidamo as an example, it fully presents the V60 brewing parameters and flavor performance, making it suitable as a reference for readers who wish to improve their pour-over brewing skills. [more…]

At a certain stage of drinking coffee, many people shift from chasing floral and fruity acidity back to rich, solid flavors. Why does bitter coffee still fascinate people? Starting from the real feelings of coffee enthusiasts, this article explores the flavor characteristics of specialty black coffee, analyzes the roasting and extraction logic behind bitterness with a sweet finish, and reflects on the relaxation and comfort a pure cup of coffee brings in a restless era. It also retains Front Street Coffee's brand recommendations and product information for coffee lovers' reference. [more…]

As coffee consumption demand continues to climb after the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic, Starbucks employees in the United States are facing multiple pressures, including a surge in workload, understaffing, and aging equipment. Against the backdrop of a unionization wave sweeping across more than a hundred stores nationwide, Starbucks announced that it will close a unionized store in Ithaca, New York, on June 10. The union immediately filed a lawsuit, accusing the decision of violating federal labor law and constituting retaliation against union activity. Starbucks denies any connection, attributing the closure to facilities, staffing, and attendance issues. Both sides hold firmly to their own accounts, and the conflict continues to escalate. [more…]

In recent years, more and more people are drinking coffee, and buying beans has gradually shifted from "just grab whatever" to "I want it to taste good and be a good deal." For beginners just starting out, when buying coffee beans, besides looking for something economical, you also need to pay attention to whether it is consistent, whether it suits you, and whether it will be a letdown. Today, [more…]

Luckin Coffee is known for its frequent new product launches, with new items appearing almost every week and regional exclusives emerging endlessly. However, consumers' fickleness is equally astonishing; once-popular hits like the Moutai series and toasted coconut series quickly became slow-moving products after their hype faded. Some store employees report that opened ingredients have extremely short shelf lives, and any unused portions must be poured out entirely; discarding a whole box every two days has become the norm for evening shifts. This not only causes food waste but also reflects the brand's imbalance between launching new products and inventory management. Front Street Coffee keeps an eye on industry trends, and this article takes you behind the scenes at Luckin stores to understand the current state of ingredient waste. [more…]

Recently, a "blind box milk tea" made by a company cleaning lady in Hangzhou has trended on Weibo, selling for only 5 yuan per cup, prompting employees across the company to queue up and snap it up daily. The lady learned to make it herself because her daughter loves milk tea, and set up a stall in the office pantry; business became so booming that she had no time for square dancing. Coincidentally, in April this year, the blind box milk tea launched by the Mixue brand in Qingdao also went viral, driving the store's daily revenue from 3,000 yuan to over 10,000 yuan. The blind box economy has shown staggering cross-industry appeal in recent years—from toys to milk tea, it seems to make anything it touches a hit. This article will walk you through the story of blind box milk tea's rise, analyze the origins, characteristics, and underlying marketing logic of the blind box economy, and explore how brands can use blind boxes to achieve long-term business success. [more…]

What does Americano taste like? A friend once described it to Front Street Coffee this way: "Whatever you want it to be." Americano is a product made by diluting espresso with water; in other words, it's a drink that can be adjusted to your own [more…]

When selecting Ethiopian coffee beans, many people notice that the variety column almost always says "Heirloom/native species," and Front Street and other vendors are no exception. Why doesn't Ethiopian coffee label specific varieties like other producing countries? Is Heirloom actually Arabica? What does it have to do with the flavors of Huakui and Yirgacheffe? From the perspective of Front Street, this article first explains the definition and origin of Heirloom, then explains the practical reasons why it is difficult to subdivide varieties in Ethiopia, including the vast coffee gene pool, the model of wild harvesting and smallholder farming, and the convention of mixed purchasing at processing plants. Finally, it will also mention that Ethiopia does not only have Heirloom, and uses Huakui and Gudingding from the Front Street bean list as examples to let you experience the classic flavors of Guji and Yirgacheffe. [more…]

Recently, an incident at a Blue Bottle Coffee store in Shanghai, where a customer used a dine-in glass to give water to a pet dog, sparked widespread discussion. The person who filmed the incident pointed out that using public utensils to feed pets is uncomfortable, and although the staff promptly handled the situation and discarded the used cup, the underlying issue of managing "pet-friendly" spaces is worth pondering. On one hand, there is the emotional need of pet lovers; on the other, there is the legitimate concern of other customers regarding hygiene and safety. How to draw clear behavioral boundaries in public dining establishments has become a shared challenge for businesses and consumers alike. This article reviews the incident, gathers various viewpoints, and explores how coffee shops should strike a balance between pet friendliness and hygiene standards. [more…]

Luckin's cold drinks do not offer a "no ice" option, and the problem of excessive ice has repeatedly trended on social media. To get a drink that suits their taste, consumers have begun to "report" the exact number of ice cubes in the remarks section, and even make various demands about the shape and temperature of the ice, leaving store employees utterly exhausted. From "less ice, 10–12 cubes" to "two little heart-shaped ice cubes," and even "no ice but with a frosty feel," these bizarre remarks not only reflect consumers' obsession with ice levels but also push Luckin's workers into a dilemma where "whatever they do is wrong." This article compiles a large number of real order remarks, presenting this tug-of-war over ice cubes. [more…]

Long Black and Americano are both black coffees made by adding water to espresso, but they differ significantly in preparation order, concentration, flavor expression, and even origin background. Americano originated during World War II from American soldiers' demand for a milder-tasting coffee, and is made by adding espresso first and then water; Long Black was born in Australia, and is made by adding water first and then espresso, resulting in a higher coffee concentration. Because the order of adding water affects the degree of fusion between water and espresso, every sip of an Americano has a uniform flavor, while a Long Black shows a clear difference between the first few sips and those that follow. This article takes Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend as an example to break down in detail the differences and characteristics of the two. [more…]

It's not hard to see that in almost all moka pot tutorials, we're told to fill the filter basket completely, then screw it tightly to the upper and lower chambers before brewing. In other words, whatever size moka pot you buy, you have to brew that corresponding amount each time. But some people say that sometimes they just want to drink [more…]

Cold brew coffee is becoming more and more common nowadays. We are all so busy in our daily lives that we don't even have time to go buy a cup of coffee. In that case, cold brew coffee is the quickest way to get a cup of coffee right now. The fermented aroma and refreshing coolness of cold brew instantly make you feel at ease, and even in autumn and winter, it still makes you think of its taste. You only need to spend [more…]

When interviewing a barista at a café, making a hot latte is often the most common practical test, because it simultaneously examines two core skills: espresso extraction and milk steaming. And in this latte, besides the fineness of the milk foam, controlling the milk temperature is also a key scoring point. Many enthusiasts think that milk just needs to be hot enough, but this is not the case—different temperatures bring completely different mouthfeel and sweetness. Through comparing three cups of milk at 40°C, 60°C, and 75°C and their corresponding lattes, Front Street found that 55°C~68°C is the ideal range. This article will also share a method for judging the steaming temperature by feel alone without relying on a thermometer, and will retain the recommendation information for Front Street's Italian bean series. [more…]

Same estate, same processing method—so why do some varieties fill the cup with floral aromatics while others taste utterly ordinary? Half of the underlying code for floral and fruity aromas is written into the coffee variety's genes. This article sorts through several star variety families to see how genes determine the aromatic destiny in the cup. Geisha: the pinnacle example of floral aroma. This one, from Eth... [more…]

In the world of coffee, black coffee is an all-too-familiar concept: it refers to pure coffee with nothing added besides water that could affect the flavor, and pour-over, cold brew, and Americano all fall into this category. Since there is black coffee, does white coffee also exist? The answer is yes—it's just that the definition of white coffee is not as uniform as that of black coffee, and its scope is broader. This article will sort out the two main interpretations of white coffee, review its origins in the Australian context alongside black coffee, and focus on introducing the production process and flavor characteristics of Malaysian white coffee, helping coffee enthusiasts clarify this concept. [more…]

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow our WeChat public account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Drip bag coffee and pour-over coffee share many similarities in their brewing methods. However, for the same coffee beans, pour-over coffee tastes somewhat better than drip bag coffee. Drip bag [more…]

Front Street believes everyone has probably heard of Arabica coffee. Currently, the coffee in specialty coffee shops on the market is mostly Arabica coffee beans, just like the coffee varieties at Front Street Coffee, which basically all belong to Arabica coffee. But today, Front Street wants to introduce one of the three major coffee varieties, Robu [more…]