The coffee world has its own world-class competitive stage—from barista championships to brewing, latte art, roasting, cupping, mixology, and Turkish coffee, the seven major competitions under the World Coffee Championships (WCC) each have their own highlights, testing competitors' comprehensive skills while continuously leading the trends in specialty coffee. Today, Front Street Coffee takes you through these international competitions one by one to understand their content and rules, and to see what exactly the world's top coffee professionals compete in and how they compete. [more…]

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) recently announced in Panama City a partnership with the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama and the Panamanian Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture to jointly promote the hosting of the 2026 World of Coffee trade show in Panama. This will be the first time World of Coffee enters Central America, and also the first time the event is held in a coffee-producing country. With its outstanding performance in the specialty coffee sector and geographical advantages, Panama is regarded as an ideal hub connecting global coffee producers and traders. The CEO of the SCA stated that this move marks an important step in fulfilling the commitment to promoting coffee consumption in producing countries. This article outlines the background of the partnership, statements from all parties, and details of the event planning. [more…]

The prosperity of the coffee industry is inseparable from the promotion of various professional competitions. These competitions not only promote coffee culture but also make the profession of barista more standardized and professional. Every year, many contestants from different countries around the world participate in the competition. Among them, the seven most influential world-class competitions cover multiple fields such as barista, brewing, latte art, roasting, cupping, coffee and spirits, and Turkish coffee. This article will introduce the positioning and competition systems of these events one by one, and focus on sorting out the development history, advancement rules, and past champion data of the World Barista Championship (WBC), helping coffee enthusiasts fully understand the landscape and charm of international coffee competition. [more…]

The 2023 World Latte Art Championship (WLAC) concluded successfully in Taiwan, China, with Chinese competitor Liang Fan taking the championship in one fell swoop, becoming the first Chinese world champion in the history of the event. Lu Daoqiang and Lin Shaoxing won second and third places respectively, marking the first time Chinese competitors have swept the top three. Liang Fan integrated mathematical Boolean operations and photographic composition into his latte art creations, conquering the judges with three works featuring a rooster, a dinosaur, and a kangaroo. This article takes you through a review of this peak showdown, letting you feel the rise of China's latte art power, and includes an appreciation of the champion's daily works along with Front Street brand recommendations. [more…]

With less than two months left before the end of 2023, Luckin Coffee seems to have another major move in store. On October 29, WBC World Barista Champion Boram Julio Um posted multiple group photos on social media, expressing his delight at working with the Luckin team and tagging several people in the photos. Judging from the images, this is very likely the sixth WBC champion spokesperson signed by Luckin. The photos feature not only Boram himself, but also 2014 champion Hidemitsu Izaki, 2022 champion Anthony Douglas, and 2018 champion Agnieszka Rojewska—several champions gathered together, all wearing Luckin barista aprons. This article will review the background of this collaboration, Luckin's champion spokesperson strategy, and the latest progress of its global bean-sourcing program. [more…]

Front Street Brazil Cerrado Rainforest Alliance Golden Bean New World coffee bean is a specialty coffee from the Cerrado region of Brazil. This article documents the roasting recommendations for this bean, the dry aroma performance after grinding, and the complete process of hand-brewing with a tiamo single-cup drip filter. The overall taste is balanced and mellow, clean and comfortable, with a gentle entry but a long-lasting finish, and excellent body and richness. If you prefer the balanced style of Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, this Rainforest Alliance Golden Bean New World is worth a try. [more…]

In early March 2022, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) issued a statement on the situation in Ukraine, not only strongly condemning Russia's military actions, but also announcing the suspension of Russia's eligibility to participate in the World Coffee Championships and donating all ticket proceeds from the Warsaw World Coffee Expo to the Ukrainian coffee industry. Meanwhile, the SCA's Poland and Czech chapters joined forces to find overseas job opportunities for displaced Ukrainian coffee professionals, while the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized Western sanctions as unacceptable. As coffee lovers, while keeping up with industry news, don't forget to follow the professional coffee information brought to you by Front Street Coffee. [more…]

In the world of coffee, different regions and varieties bring vastly different aromas and flavors. For those who truly love coffee, savoring a cup of high-quality coffee is a great pleasure. Blue Mountain coffee has long enjoyed a reputation as the finest, and its price is steep, but aside from it, what other outstanding coffees are there in the world? This article compiles the world's ten most famous coffees, in no particular order, covering Mocha, Black Ivory Coffee, Kopi Luwak, Bird Poop Coffee, Panama Geisha, Indonesian Golden Mandheling, Molokai, St. Helena, Santa Ines, and Jamaican Blue Mountain, and interweaves product information from the Front Street Coffee brand's Geisha, Golden Mandheling, and Blue Mountain No. 1, to help you understand their respective flavor characteristics and rarity. [more…]

Peet's Coffee's first store in South China—the Shenzhen MixC World branch—officially closed after business hours on July 16 this year, and the original site has been taken over by a chain tea beverage brand from Suzhou. This store, which had been open for nearly four years, once attracted a large number of coffee lovers to check in, and built up a loyal customer base with consistent quality and a comfortable environment. Unexpectedly, no closure notice was posted before the store shut down, and many regular customers were unable to say goodbye in time. At the same time, Peet's stores in Shenzhen, Shanghai and many other places have also quietly withdrawn from shopping malls, sparking speculation about adjustments to its market layout. The brand responded that the Shenzhen MixC World store closed because its lease expired, but the successive closures still leave some consumers worried. [more…]

In 2024, the Specialty Coffee Association announced that the Thermoplan Black&White4 CTS would become the designated fully automatic espresso machine for the World Latte Art Championship, marking the first time a fully automatic machine has appeared on the stage of this competition. As soon as the news broke, it quickly sparked heated discussion on social media: does a world latte art champion not need to know how to steam milk? Some netizens believed this undermined the artistry of baristas, while others felt that automation is already an irreversible trend. What kind of performance can a fully automatic machine actually deliver? And how will the role of the barista evolve? This article takes you through the whole story and the views of all sides, and explores the path to balance in the coffee industry amid the wave of automation. [more…]

Coffee, as a globally beloved beverage, spans an enormous price range, from everyday affordable to jaw-droppingly expensive. This article rounds up the ten most expensive coffees in the world, from Kopi Luwak at $160 per pound to Puerto Rico's national treasure coffee at $24 per pound, introducing each one's origin, flavor characteristics, and price. Whether you're a coffee enthusiast or a curious reader, this list gives you a glimpse into the rarity and allure of top-tier coffee. At the same time, the article also retains related recommendations from the Front Street brand for readers' reference when making purchases. [more…]

In 1721, the first coffeehouse opened in Berlin, marking the beginning of Germany's coffee industry, which started slowly amid policy restrictions but rose rapidly in the 19th century through Latin American plantations and immigrant networks. German merchants once controlled more than 80 percent of Guatemala's coffee bean exports, and two world wars caused this coffee domain to rise and fall several times. After the war, Germany's economy recovered, and its position in the coffee trade was rebuilt accordingly. Today Germany is the world's second-largest coffee-consuming country, and its per capita consumption far exceeds that of the United States. This article sorts out the complete thread of German coffee culture from its budding beginnings and expansion to its revival, and is suitable for readers interested in coffee history and the industrial landscape to savor carefully. [more…]

The World Barista Championship is the highest-level competitive stage in the coffee industry, where competitors convey the multi-dimensional charm of coffee to professional judges through exquisite skill and vivid expression. In 2022, Anthony Douglas from Axil Coffee Roasters in Melbourne, Australia, took the crown at the WBC held in Melbourne. This barista, a high school dropout who started out in the deli section of a Spanish restaurant, went from regional competitions all the way to world champion in seven years. This article reviews his growth experience, competition preparation details, and winning performance, and shares his understanding of the role of a barista. [more…]

The 2024 World Brewers Cup (WBrC) and World Cup Tasters Championship concluded in Chicago, USA, with Austrian competitor Martin Wolf taking the crown. One of the biggest highlights of this year's event was that four of the six finalists independently chose blended coffee beans, ranging from two-bean blends to three-bean blends, and from cross-origin mixes to combinations of different processing methods, showing an unprecedented diversity in blending strategies. This article reviews the competition results, analyzes the competitors' blending approaches, and explores why blended beans have become a new trend in specialty coffee competitions. [more…]

Kopi Luwak, officially known as Kopi Luwak, is a highly talked-about traditional specialty from the Indonesian archipelago. Its raw material comes from beans excreted by wild civets after eating coffee cherries. Annual production is only about 500 pounds, the production process is complex and requires strict hygiene handling, and the finished product has a unique aroma, which is why the price is astonishing—a 4-ounce cup can sell for $168. This article will guide you through Kopi Luwak's origin and distribution, how it is obtained, the details of brewing and extraction, and its display at the Indonesia Pavilion at the World Expo, while also preserving related recommendations from the Front Street brand. [more…]

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world, but do you know which countries underpin the global coffee supply? This article sorts out the rankings of the countries leading in global coffee bean production, giving you an understanding of the production shares, main varieties, and processing characteristics of major producing countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and India. Brazil firmly holds first place with about one-third of global production, Vietnam is known for Robusta, Colombia is famous for balanced and smooth Arabica, and Indonesia's wet-hulling method stands out in specialty coffee. The article also mentions Front Street Coffee's focus on producing regions and flavors, making it suitable for coffee lovers to quickly build an understanding of origins. [more…]

In the world of coffee, some beans command soaring prices due to their rare origins, unique processing methods, or historical heritage. This article ranks the world's ten most expensive coffee varieties, from Hawaiian Kona to Indonesian Kopi Luwak, detailing their estates of origin, flavor characteristics, and price per pound. Whether you want to broaden your coffee knowledge or are looking for your next bag of specialty beans worth investing in, this list will give you a clearer understanding of the high-end coffee market. The article also specifically mentions the Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee on Front Street Coffee's bean list for interested enthusiasts to consider purchasing. [more…]

The world of coffee is rich and diverse, with different varieties offering vastly different aromas and flavors. For those who truly love coffee, being able to enjoy a cup of outstanding quality is undoubtedly a great pleasure. Names like Blue Mountain, Kopi Luwak, and Geisha are already well known, and they are not only unique in flavor but also staggering in price. Today, Front Street Coffee sorts out the world's ten most expensive coffee beans for you, in no particular order, guiding you through their stories, origin characteristics, and flavor profiles one by one, to see how many of them you recognize. [more…]

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The world of coffee is wonderfully diverse, with the terroir of different origins giving coffee beans strikingly different personalities. This article rounds up the world's top ten premier coffee-producing countries, as selected by a number of industry opinion leaders. From Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, and its iconic Yirgacheffe, to Kenya, Colombia, Guatemala, and other renowned producing regions both old and new, it analyzes the flavor characteristics and cultivation traditions of each country's coffee one by one. The article also recommends related products from Front Street Coffee. Whether you are chasing delicate floral and fruity notes or prefer a rich, sweet body, this guide can help you open a door to the world of specialty coffee. [more…]