The once-national soy milk brand Weiwei Soy Milk has announced a co-branded flagship store for handmade drinks with the Summer Palace, and plans to expand to tens of thousands of stores nationwide in the future. This cross-industry move has attracted widespread attention at a time when competition in the tea beverage market is white-hot. Can Weiwei Soy Milk break through with the halo of childhood memories and guochao design, or will it repeat the mistakes of Wahaha's milk tea? This article analyzes store design, brand history, market environment, product series, and other aspects, and also focuses on its franchise strategy and future layout, providing a calm observation for coffee and beverage enthusiasts. [more…]

Beyond oat milk and almond milk, soy milk is likewise a plant-based milk alternative worth trying when making coffee. However, using soy milk to make a latte isn't something that succeeds with any random combination—the roast level of the coffee beans and the ratio of soy milk to espresso both directly affect the final taste. This article will draw on Front Street's practical experience to explain why soy milk is more suitable for coffee than regular soybean milk, what type of coffee beans should be chosen, and how to achieve a harmonious blend of soy milk and espresso by adjusting the proportions. At the end, it will also share a simple set of steps for making a soy milk latte using Front Street's classic blend and Vitasoy, for coffee lovers to try at home. [more…]

Plant-based milk coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years. Alternatives to milk such as oat milk and almond milk are now commonplace in coffee shops, yet soy milk, a national staple drink, is rarely used to make milk coffee. Soy milk is also a plant-based milk, so why do coffee shops hardly ever offer soy lattes? Is it a flavor mismatch, or is there another reason? This article will use practical testing to make lattes with soy milk instead of milk, analyzing the ratio, mouthfeel, operational details, and other aspects, and sharing Front Street Coffee's testing process and conclusions, to help coffee lovers understand the feasibility and specific method of soy milk coffee. [more…]

Coffee and soy milk are often compared with each other, but the two are actually completely different from plant source to production method. This article starts with botanical classification, sorting out the fundamental differences between the coffee tree and the soybean, then compares the water-grinding and filtration process of soy milk with the process coffee must go through—roasting, grinding, and brewing—and further explains the sources of coffee's four flavors: acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and body, as well as the significance of the oils on the coffee surface for espresso. The article also introduces the four common stages of coffee roasting, helping beginners build a systematic framework for understanding coffee, making it suitable for enthusiasts new to coffee and baristas as an introductory reference. [more…]

Latte, cappuccino, flat white, and Dirty all rely on milk, but what would the final taste be if you swapped in soy milk, milk powder, banana milk, Wangzai milk, or AD calcium milk? This time, Front Street Coffee made lattes one by one using five types of non-fresh milk ingredients, all with Front Street Espresso Blend · Strawberry Candy Espresso, using a 1:5 coffee-to-milk ratio for a hot-and-cold comparison, focusing on aroma integration, sweetness, smoothness of mouthfeel, milk foam performance, and whether it is suitable for latte art. The article not only preserves parameters that can be directly replicated, but also gives judgments on the pros and cons of each ingredient, making it a reference for enthusiasts who want to make specialty coffee at home or in a shop. [more…]

The art of latte art, at its core, relies on the repeated muscle memory of the hands for milk flow and foam. But if every practice session requires freshly pulled espresso and freshly steamed milk, the cost is high, and it's truly a waste to pour out what can't be finished. So many coffee enthusiasts have figured out some money-saving yet practical practice routines to minimize waste. In this article, Front Street Coffee will explain how coffee shops practice latte art in their daily operations: we'll introduce the choice of espresso beans suitable for latte art, share how to froth milk with a French press when there's no espresso machine, and break down in detail two low-cost practice methods—using dark soy sauce with dish soap, and recycling espresso with milk—to help you build up your latte art skills step by step at home. [more…]

As the weather turns colder, hot beverages have become a new favorite among consumers, and major coffee chains are rolling out winter-exclusive drinks. Luckin Coffee launched two new products this week — the "Winter Solstice Five-Nourishment Latte" and the "Salted Cheese Soy Milk Latte." Among them, the Winter Solstice Five-Nourishment Latte, marketed with the slogan "five black ingredients for nourishment, using black to nourish black," has been dubbed "wellness coffee" by many health enthusiasts because it blends five black ingredients: black rice, black sesame, black beans, black mulberry, and black goji berries. After the launch, consumer reviews have been polarized: some find it like a combination of soy milk and coffee, suitable for pairing with breakfast; others think the coconut milk brings noticeable sweetness, and the grain aroma overwhelms the coffee flavor, making it more like black sesame paste or a grain-based breakfast milk. Combined with earlier rumors that Luckin Coffee may launch an oven, some netizens speculate that the brand intends to expand into breakfast consumption scenarios. [more…]

A hot chocolate that should have been made with soy milk turned fatal when a barista added cow's milk, causing a 13-year-old girl with a severe dairy allergy to suffer a deadly allergic reaction after just one sip, ultimately passing away despite emergency treatment. This tragedy, which occurred at a Costa Coffee shop in the UK, has once again thrust the issue of allergen management in the food service industry into the spotlight. The UK introduced regulations as early as 2021 requiring food businesses to provide allergen training for staff, yet accidents still happen. This article will recount the incident and explore the risks and prevention of allergen cross-contamination in coffee beverage preparation. [more…]

Want to practice latte art well but hate watching espresso and milk go down the drain with every cup? In fact, many coffee enthusiasts have long since figured out a money-saving, no-waste way to practice. In this article, Front Street Coffee will share several low-cost latte art practice solutions: from the dark soy sauce plus dish soap combo that even complete beginners can handle, to the reusable espresso-and-milk cycling method, and we'll also answer how to froth milk with a French press when you don't have an espresso machine. We'll also recommend espresso beans suitable for latte art, helping beginners build up their hands' muscle memory for milk foam step by step while keeping costs under control, so that every practice session gets closer to coffee shop quality. [more…]

Starbucks recently announced that starting November 7, stores in the United States and Canada will no longer charge extra for dairy alternatives. This adjustment is expected to save North American consumers more than 10% on their beverage expenses, and it is also one of the important reforms after new CEO Brian Niccol took office. Since 1997, Starbucks has gradually introduced soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk, and oat milk, but previously switching to plant-based milk required an additional fee of up to 80 cents, which sparked consumer dissatisfaction and even lawsuits. Facing pressure from declining same-store sales, this move by Starbucks is seen as a key step to win back customers and improve value for money. Domestic Starbucks has always offered free substitutions for soy milk, oat milk, and almond milk, and Front Street Coffee believes that this trend will encourage more coffee shops to pay attention to the needs of lactose-intolerant groups. [more…]

What flavor would arise from a collision between classic Japanese cuisine salmon sushi and coffee? A coffee shop in Shanghai recently launched a special blend with a salmon sushi flavor priced at 80 yuan, claiming it can simulate the taste of liquid sushi, yet it actually contains no salmon at all. The founder's公开 recipe shows that oat milk and wasabi paste simulate the rice, avocado cream milk cap simulates the fish, and it comes with a separate "soy sauce" made from espresso. This special blend quickly sparked heated discussion online, with some people exclaiming "don't come near me," while others who tried it said the taste was not bad. Beneath its bizarre appearance, is it a dark cuisine or a creative delicacy? [more…]

If your latte art patterns aren't coming out clear and beautiful, the problem isn't necessarily your technique—the characteristics of your ingredients and the state of your milk foam play just as decisive a role. Many coffee enthusiasts have encountered the situation where, when making a latte, flat white, or cappuccino, the milk foam bleeds and spreads upon contact with the crema, and this becomes especially obvious in the latter half of drawing a pattern. Front Street Coffee will analyze the causes of this phenomenon one by one from three angles—the separation of milk foam and milk, the inherent characteristics of the coffee beans and the milk, and the amount of water introduced by the steam during frothing—and offer corresponding ideas for improvement to help you create latte art with crisp lines and clearly defined layers. [more…]

Many coffee enthusiasts who try making lattes at home often find the result less enjoyable than what they get at a café, and may even suspect the shop is hiding a secret recipe. In fact, a latte is not as complicated as it seems—just pay a little attention to a few key steps, and the taste can improve noticeably. Drawing on Front Street's practical experience, this article systematically outlines the essentials for recreating café-quality lattes at home: what roast level to choose for coffee beans, how to match milk with the beans, which parameters to control during espresso extraction, whether to steam milk foam, and how to set the ratio of espresso to milk. It also uses specific products such as Front Street's Warm Sun blend to offer bean recommendations for different flavor preferences, helping you find the cup that suits your taste best. [more…]

From a substitute choice for the lactose intolerant to an eco-friendly trend embraced by Gen Z, plant-based milk is infiltrating café menus at an unprecedented pace. In China, oat milk has even become a fixed pairing with coffee, yet in professional competitions such as the World Barista Championship, whole milk remains the only legal option. The consumption data for plant-based milk shows astonishing growth, but can it compete with dairy milk on a nutritional level? Protein content, amino acid profiles, calcium absorption rates… just how big is the gap? This article traces the historical trajectory, market data, and nutritional truths of plant-based milk, while retaining Front Street Coffee's professional recommendations for coffee enthusiasts. [more…]

Sidamo is a highly representative specialty coffee region in southern Ethiopia, famous for its bright fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and delicate floral and herbal aromas. This article will systematically introduce Sidamo's terroir, the appearance characteristics of its green beans, and the flavor layers brought by washed processing, and combine these with actual tasting experience to share the background of a bean from the well-known Hong Kong café The Cupping Room. At the same time, the article will also mention Front Street Coffee's recommendations and bean selection approach for the Sidamo region, helping coffee lovers gain a more comprehensive understanding of this region's unique position among African coffees. [more…]

The pairing of coffee with Chinese-style breakfasts is rapidly expanding across the country. M Stand recently launched a coffee set featuring youtiao croissants and beef shaobing, a Shanghai jianbing guozi coffee shop once had people queuing for over an hour, and in Ningbo, Chaozhou, Kunming, Jingdezhen, Shantou, Guangzhou, and other places, combinations such as cifantuan, wumiguo, meigancai pork patty, youtiao with mochi, Chaoshan rice noodle rolls, and even beef offal rice with coffee have emerged. Data from Ele.me and Koubei Life Network in 2021 shows that the top two breakfast preferences of Shanghai residents are soy milk and coffee, and coffee has entered the ranks of the most popular breakfasts in multiple regions. This article reviews typical examples of this trend and retains relevant recommendations from Front Street Coffee for coffee enthusiasts' reference. [more…]

“Huh? Why does this coffee smell kind of like soy sauce?” a customer asked cautiously, full of confusion, after sniffing the dry aroma of the coffee grounds Front Street had handed over. This was not actually the first time Front Street had received such a question. Besides “soy sauce,” there were also things like “ [more…]

Starbucks Japan has announced that it will raise the prices of coffee beans and beverages starting April 13, with coffee beans increasing by about 90 to 300 yen and beverages by about 10 to 55 yen, while soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk lattes will be reduced in price by more than 10 yen. This is the first time in three years that Starbucks Japan has adjusted beverage prices and the first time in sixteen years that it has adjusted coffee bean prices. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, inflation, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, coffee futures first rose and then fell, while supply and demand remain tight. Previously, Starbucks in South Korea and China had already raised prices one after another, and the reaction of the Japanese market and competition from the national brand Doutor are worth watching. Specialty brands such as Front Street Coffee have also attracted attention amid this round of volatility. [more…]

In recent years, plant-based milks have quickly gained popularity with labels like eco-friendly and healthy, especially oat milk, which has almost become a standard offering in coffee shops. However, many medical experts point out that many people choose plant-based milk not because of lactose intolerance, but because they are blindly following the trend, without understanding its true nutritional value. For this reason, on February 22, the U.S. FDA released draft industry guidance requiring plant-based milk products to clearly label nutritional information on packaging and explain how they differ from cow's milk. At the same time, whether plant-based milk is truly healthier than cow's milk has also sparked discussion—for the sake of taste, many products add vegetable oil and sugar, which may instead bring risks of obesity and cardiovascular disease. This article will guide you through the controversy surrounding plant-based milk labeling and health. [more…]

After mastering the basic heart and the more advanced multi-layered heart, the leaf pattern is another hurdle to overcome in latte art practice. It may look similar to the multi-layered heart, but in reality there are clear differences in milk foam condition, the amount of integration, the pour point, and the swinging method. This article will break down the key points of making leaf latte art one by one, from milk foam thickness, the amount of milk used for integration, the pour point for creating the pattern, and swinging techniques to the complete hands-on steps. It will also explain the impact of different pitcher capacities on the process, and how to find the right position for creating the design by adjusting the amount of integration. Front Street Coffee suggests first practicing repeatedly with dish soap and soy sauce, and once the technique is proficient, then using milk and espresso for real practice, so you can pour a leaf pattern with clear stripes and a beautiful finish. [more…]