Starbucks is introducing a texture-focused topping—raspberry bursting pearls—for the first time in its summer menu this year, adding them to three berry-flavored Refreshers iced drinks. This attempt was personally previewed by CEO Laxman Narasimhan at an earnings conference and is positioned as the first step in texture innovation for the years to come. Unlike traditional tapioca pearls, Starbucks is using popping boba that burst when bitten, officially called Pearls. Customers can also pay to add the pearls to other drinks and snacks, at $1.25 per scoop. In fact, as early as 2021, Starbucks tested coffee popping boba in two stores, but the response was limited. This article sorts out the formula details of the new products, the pricing rules, and Starbucks' historical attempts at pearl toppings. [more…]

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style) For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex Perhaps it won't be long before walking into a coffee shop and ordering no longer sounds like just "iced americano with Yirgacheffe SOE swap, an extra shot, light ice no water," but instead becomes "iced americano with Yirgacheffe SOE swap, plus crispy boba and lemon jelly." From Heytea putting brown sugar boba into coffee, to Luckin using brown sugar agar to create its Meteorite Latte, to Starbucks trying caramel coffee popping boba in certain regions, adding toppings to coffee is no longer anything new. This innovation path has both attracted a large number of young consumers and continually sparked debate among traditional and specialty coffee enthusiasts. This article sorts out several key moments in the tea-ification of coffee and discusses what this change means for the coffee industry. [more…]

Milk tea toppings are getting more and more elaborate, and some people even just want the toppings without the tea base. Recently, a "low-cost Heytea" hack has been trending on social platforms: spend 2 yuan on a portion of brown sugar boba, pair it with a bottle of fresh milk, shake it a few times, and you've got a mini version of brown sugar pearl milk. It's said that bringing your own cup saves even more—3 yuan gets you two portions of toppings. But does this DIY version actually taste good? How big is the gap compared with the original from the store? This article walks you through netizens' hands-on test experiences and ordering phrases, and takes a look at the consumer psychology behind the involution of milk tea toppings. [more…]

At the turn of autumn and winter, Heytea relaunched its highly anticipated Taro Mud Boba series, made with Lipu taro from Guangxi, attracting many fans to place orders and taste it. However, just days after its return, some customers discovered that the recipe for "Taro Mud Boba Real Milk Tea" had changed without prior notice, with a large amount of sago unexpectedly added to the milk tea, affecting both the taste and the portion size. Store employees revealed that the recipe was urgently adjusted in the early morning, the amount of milk was reduced accordingly, and after-sales issues occurred frequently. This change sparked discussions among consumers about the brand's communication approach and product consistency. [more…]

Heytea's classic roasted brown sugar boba series has always been a top repeat-purchase choice for many consumers; the combination of soft and chewy tapioca pearls with brown sugar syrup and hot milk tea makes it hard to give up in any season. However, recently, many enthusiasts across the country have noticed that the brown sugar boba milk tea they received has visibly "turned white" in appearance. The signature dark brown syrup coating that used to cling to the cup wall is no longer visible, and the boba no longer sinks to the bottom together with the brown sugar syrup, but instead floats distinctly as separate particles suspended in the milk tea. This change quickly sparked discussion: is it caused by the syrup dissolving due to stirring in a hot drink, or has the brand quietly adjusted its ingredients and formula? Heytea staff give differing accounts, while the official account denies any formula change and attributes the cause to some stores failing to prepare it according to standard. This article compiles consumer feedback and responses from various parties, and includes relevant recommendations from Front Street Coffee, for the reference of coffee and tea beverage enthusiasts. [more…]

Ordering a milk tea now, pudding, pearls, and grass jelly are already standard options. Thirty years ago, the earliest milk teas were far less elaborate. Starting from 1987, when Taiwan's Chun Shui Tang dropped tapioca pearls into milk tea, the matter of adding toppings has gone through a long process of being banned, recombined, cross-industry experimentation, and a rotating lineup of niche fruits. CoCo都可 combined pearls, pudding, and grass jelly into one drink, giving rise to the now-familiar "Milk Tea Three Brothers." Nowadays the direction of toppings has shifted again—lemon tea is actually more popular without toppings, and new faces like Yashixiang, bergamot, turmeric, and peach gum have appeared one after another. This piece reviews the key milestones in milk tea toppings and also shares some observations from Front Street Coffee on current tea beverage trends. [more…]

The recent collaboration between Heytea and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has sparked widespread attention, with the two parties combining polka dot art with the boba tea series under the theme "Add Some Boba to the World." This marks the first cross-industry collaboration between the 95-year-old Yayoi Kusama and a Chinese new-style tea beverage brand. Limited-edition merchandise such as mugs and metal keychains sold out quickly after launch, driving up prices in the secondary market. Some consumers turned to scalpers for proxy purchases, but questioned the contradiction between order times and store sold-out notices. Heytea employees responded to this, and the incident also reflects the scalper chaos behind the rush for tea beverage collaboration merchandise. [more…]

As the soul ingredient of milk tea, the freshness of tapioca pearls is directly related to consumer health. Recently, a Yidian Dian store at Zhoushan Ruxin Plaza was fined 15,000 yuan by regulatory authorities for using expired tapioca pearls to make and sell Bubble Milk Tea and other drinks. An investigation showed that the store involved not only used ingredients beyond their shelf life, but also failed to establish purchase inspection records as required. This is not the first time Yidian Dian has been involved in a food safety controversy; previously, a Fuzhou store was reported to have had a bug found in its milk tea. As the peak season for summer beverage consumption arrives, food safety issues have once again sounded the alarm. [more…]

In the sweltering heat of summer, beverage consumption reaches its peak. On street corners and in alleys, young people are holding either tea drinks or coffee. But upon closer observation, one will find that new-style tea drinks and coffee are embarking on entirely different development trajectories: brands like Heytea and Nayuki are cutting prices, while Luckin Coffee and Starbucks are raising them. The coffee sector's popularity is soaring, with giants such as Huawei, Li-Ning, and China Post making cross-industry forays, intensifying competition to a fever pitch. At the same time, new-style coffee is increasingly resembling milk tea, with ingredients like cheese, matcha, and brown sugar crystal boba appearing frequently. This prompts the question: will new-style coffee repeat the mistakes of irrational involution in the new-style tea drink sector? This article will analyze from perspectives such as price changes, market positioning, and product innovation, and bring professional observations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Recently, the mini-program menu at Good-Me has quietly been updated, and a cup of ice water priced at 1 yuan has attracted widespread attention. This simple drink, consisting of a plastic cup, ice cubes, and drinking water, has been creatively reinterpreted by netizens in various ways—adding espresso to make iced Americano, mixing it with milk and boba to create a topped tea drink, or even replicating preserved plum lemonade. However, controversy has followed: many consumers point out that chain brands such as KFC and McDonald's, as well as street-side cafes, provide drinking water for free, and bringing your own cup to a Good-Me store also gets you ice water at no cost. Some employees even reveal that the packaging cup alone costs 7 mao, and with ice cubes and a straw added, each cup sold is actually a loss. Last year, Mixue Bingcheng's 1-yuan ice cup was withdrawn by franchisees one after another because it was unprofitable. Will Good-Me's move this time repeat the same mistake? Some also believe that clear pricing actually saves the awkwardness of communication, allowing those too embarrassed to ask to feel at ease. Front Street Coffee takes you to find out. [more…]

These days, walking into any beverage shop, the variety on the menu is always dazzling. Boba shops are selling porridge, cafes surprisingly offer lemon tea, and industry competition has long entered a white-hot stage. More noteworthy is that the boundary between coffee and milk tea is being continuously broken: oats, fermented rice, thick milk, and osmanthus are all being added to coffee, the traditional bitter taste is weakened, and the flavor is moving closer to milk tea. A science blogger on Weibo once organized a blind test, asking participants to distinguish between coffee and milk tea with similar flavors, and surprisingly nearly half of the people could not accurately tell them apart. Coffee's localization and youth-oriented strategies, the migration of childhood milk tea memories, and various novelty pairings have jointly driven this trend. This article takes you to explore the phenomenon of coffee becoming more like milk tea and the logic behind it. [more…]

Remember ofo? That once ubiquitous bike-sharing brand is still nowhere near refunding deposits, yet its founder Dai Wei has reportedly started a new venture in the US—this time in the coffee sector. It's said that Dai Wei founded About Time Coffee in New York, specializing in iced pearl coffee, where new users can get a free cup upon registration, mirroring the marketing tactics of ofo back in the day. As soon as the news broke, netizens clamored for their money back. Front Street Coffee takes you through the whole story. [more…]

The coffee consumption boom is spreading from commercial districts to university campuses, and college students have become an important group of high-frequency coffee consumers. Luckin Coffee has seized a first-mover advantage with more than a thousand campus stores, while brands such as Starbucks, Tims, Manner, M Stand, and NOWWA have also entered universities one after another, and Mixue Ice Cream & Tea's Lucky Cup is closely pursuing with about 260 campus stores. This article sorts out each brand's layout strategy, store data, and competitive situation on university campuses, and includes Front Street Coffee's specialty bean information, to help you understand the real landscape of the campus coffee track. [more…]

Specialty coffee brand Blue Bottle recently brought a grayish-white coffee truck bearing the brand's logo to the shores of West Lake in Hangzhou, planning to stay for three months. On the first official day of operation, consumers queued for about an hour in the cold wind to receive limited-edition small gifts and take photos with the retro coffee truck; however, just one day later, the bustling queue noticeably faded. The truck's limited menu is priced from 28 to 58 yuan, close to in-store prices, yet it cannot provide comfortable seating, prompting some consumers to question its value for money. Looking back at the controversy over its previous co-branded pop-up in Beijing, as well as the positive response to its Shenzhen pop-up store, Blue Bottle's Hangzhou pop-up model this time seems to face more scrutiny. Online speculation suggests this move may be to build hype for a future Hangzhou store, but the company has not yet disclosed any related plans. [more…]

On a sweltering 40°C day, most people would rather stay cocooned in air-conditioned rooms, yet an unusual queue formed at Suzhou's Yanlord Cangjie Commercial Plaza—outside the nation's first MUJI coffee pop-up store, customers were lining up under the scorching sun, umbrellas in hand. What drew them was not a new matcha product, but two Suzhou-exclusive brand badges. However, the queuing process was nothing short of a "roasting" ordeal, with indoor areas also unable to escape direct sunlight, weakening the air conditioning and leading to frequent complaints about insufficiently cold drinks and ice cream melting in seconds. This pop-up event will continue until November, and those who have already "braved the battle" are advising: if you're not set on the giveaways, it might be better to wait for cooler weather before going. [more…]

Recently, a limited-time pop-up coffee shop in Shanghai drew curious onlookers with a menu item priced at 359 yuan: the "Fun Magnolia Latte." This coffee pop-up, opened by the British toy brand Jellycat, doesn't actually sell real coffee but instead offers cute plush toys. After customers place an order, staff complete the "making" and packaging through a simulated scene. This theatrical, performance-style service has become a hallmark of the brand. Some find it awkward, while others thoroughly enjoy it. This article will walk you through how this unique "coffee shop" operates and the heated discussions among netizens about this phenomenon. [more…]

What kind of sparks fly when high-end jewelry meets specialty coffee? Italian luxury brand Bvlgari recently teamed up with Singaporean coffee brand Bacha Coffee to open an in-store pop-up shop, an event that will run until the end of January next year. This is not Bvlgari's first foray into the coffee arena; it previously opened Il Café, a coffee restaurant, in Osaka and has also attempted a co-branded collaboration with Manner Coffee. Behind luxury brands' frequent moves into the coffee market is the rapid rise of coffee culture and the growing ranks of young consumers. This article will walk you through the specific details of this collaboration, review Bvlgari's history of coffee crossovers, and analyze why luxury brands are increasingly turning their attention to the coffee sector. For more specialty coffee bean news, follow Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Manner Coffee has entered Changchun for the first time, opening a three-month pop-up store in MixC, with operating hours consistent with regular stores. The opening day coincided with a weekend, and on-site order volume far exceeded expectations. The mini-program was forced offline due to the surge in orders, materials were once in short supply, and even milk ran out. Some customers waited more than three hours to get their coffee but still felt it was worth it, and they hope the store can become a permanent location after the event ends. [more…]

The collaboration between Good-mee and the popular female-oriented mobile game "Love and Deepspace" opened a pop-up store in Shanghai that operated for only three days, marking Good-mee's first store in Shanghai. On the opening day, despite the heavy rain, fans arrived early to wait. Just two minutes after orders began at 10 a.m., the mini-program showed over five thousand drinks in production, forcing the store to close its ordering system for a break after only two hours of operation. This article documents the bustling scene of this collaboration event, the purchasing power of the fans, and the twists and turns caused by a previous merchandise leak incident. It also mentions Front Street Coffee's attention to industry trends. [more…]

Lin Junjie's coffee brand Miracle Coffee recently restarted in mainland China, with its first pop-up store opening on Qixi Festival on the 1st floor of Huacai Tiandi in Hexi, Nanjing. Although it is only a pop-up format, fan enthusiasm has not diminished. On the first day of opening, a long queue formed before business hours, with waiting times generally 2 to 3 hours during peak periods, and some even waited 5 to 6 hours to successfully check in. The production team for this Miracle Coffee is the champion-level brand S.O. The official Nanjing store has also begun renovation and is expected to open at the end of September, when Lin Junjie is expected to appear in person. [more…]