Recently, many consumers have noticed that cold drinks at %Arabica stores are now served in kraft paper cups instead of the plastic takeaway cups used previously. According to reports, this change has been gradually implemented since last year, with stores switching to paper cups uniformly after depleting their plastic cup inventory. What was originally thought to be a temporary measure taken only in response to Hong Kong's plastic ban now appears to have expanded to more regions. However, the use of paper cups for cold drinks has raised widespread concerns among customers, including condensation on the cup walls, the cup becoming soft, the papery taste affecting the flavor, and the impact on the visual appeal for photos. At the same time, store staff are also facing challenges with efficiency in serving drinks. How to balance environmental principles with the consumer experience has become the core controversy of this packaging overhaul. [more…]

Choosing coffee beans suitable for cold brew is something you gradually learn to judge through tasting experience. When buying beans day to day, you need to consider how quickly you'll drink them, how much to buy at once, and whether you mainly make black coffee or milk-based coffee at home. The flavor notes on the packaging can offer clues, but they can't replace the actual drinking experience—whether the acidity is mellow, whether the sweetness lingers, and the mouthfeel [more…]

Heytea recently switched to new transparent plastic cups for cold drinks, adding a silver-gray decorative coating to the top of the cup and changing its brand logo to silver-gray as well. This design change has sparked discussions from multiple sides: some customers mistakenly thought the milk cap had gone moldy, milk cap lovers worried they could no longer judge the amount of milk cap by appearance, and some netizens felt the silver coating easily reminded people of something inedible or spoiled. Meanwhile, Heytea employees also reported that the fill lines and milk cap lines on the new cups were hard to recognize because they were obscured by the coating, making it more difficult to judge product standards when manually adding milk cap. Although the new cups look more layered and premium in photos, the misunderstandings and inconvenience in actual use have come along with them. This article is compiled from Coffee Workshop, and Front Street Coffee presents the full picture of the incident for you. [more…]

Recently, a "Lianhua Qingwen Coffee" that imitates the packaging of Lianhua Qingwen capsules has quickly gone viral on social media. Following the Huoxiang Zhengqi iced Americano, the coffee world has once again stirred up a trend of spoofing pharmaceutical packaging. This coffee does not actually contain Lianhua Qingwen ingredients, yet it claims to refresh the mind and relieve fatigue, and some netizens even say their cold symptoms eased after drinking it. Is this the effect of caffeine, or is it psychological suggestion? Does a merchant's imitation of pharmaceutical packaging involve infringement? This article will analyze these questions one by one, while also keeping an eye on specialty coffee developments such as Front Street Coffee. [more…]

For cold brew, there's no need to rush to use beans straight out of the roaster. After coffee beans finish roasting, they continue to slowly release carbon dioxide internally, and the aroma and flavors need time to rebalance. Cold extraction is inherently slower in pace, and if the beans are still in an unstable state, the cup may end up with only sharp acidity or thin aroma. Wait until the flavors open up, [more…]

When the December cold wind picks up, friends who order hot coffee delivery start worrying again: by the time it arrives, it's often just lukewarm, and drinking it is really not comforting enough. To preserve that warm sip, coffee shops are pulling out all the stops. Recently, netizens noticed that Manner's baristas wrap each hot delivery cup in shiny silver foil, as if adding a winter coat to the cup—a sight that is both surprising and a bit amusing. Some joked that spending ten yuan on a coffee actually gave them the feeling of being cherished. Is this layer of foil just for show, or can it really lock in the heat? Consumer feedback is almost unanimously one-sided: when peeling off the foil, the contents are shockingly hot, so much so that you have to turn on a fan to cool it down. In fact, this is not Manner's first year trying it out; it was already implemented last year. Behind heat preservation lies a common drinking principle: as temperature drops, acidity and bitterness become more pronounced. Is Manner's move just formalism or a scientific plus? Front Street is here to take you on a deep dive. [more…]

The aroma of cold brew coffee lies in low temperature and prolonged contact, and the condition of the beans directly affects what ends up in the cup. Freshly roasted coffee beans usually carry a lot of gas, and their aromas have not yet unfurled; after resting for a period, sweetness, fruity notes, and mouthfeel gradually become more harmonious. Therefore, when choosing beans for cold brew, you should look not only at the flavor description but also at the roast. [more…]

Takeout coffee has become an important part of daily consumption. From the moment a store hands off an order to the moment a rider delivers it, packaging design directly determines whether the cup of coffee the customer receives is intact, whether the temperature is right, and whether the taste is as good as it was fresh. Behind a cup of takeout coffee lies a series of detailed considerations: vent holes, leak-proof paper, foil insulation, separate packing and bagging, and even rain bags and custom packing boxes. These seemingly inconspicuous packaging steps not only affect order efficiency and the consumer experience, but also serve to spread word of mouth for the brand. This article will break down, one by one, the often-overlooked tricks of the trade in coffee takeout packaging, and look at how merchants strike a balance between preventing spills, keeping coffee warm, and preserving taste. [more…]

The sweetness or body of a homemade cold brew is often partly decided before you even start brewing. Once coffee beans come out of the roaster, the gases inside them gradually release, and the aroma goes through a change from tight to open. When buying beans, check the roast date first, then plan when to drink them—this is more practical than just staring at the flavor words on the packaging. "Peak flavor [more…]

As the cold season arrives, Manner Coffee has once again introduced foil packaging to keep takeaway hot drinks warm, a move that has sparked widespread discussion on social media. Many customers are touched by the brand's thoughtful detail, believing that the foil effectively maintains the drink's temperature and improves the takeaway experience. However, store employees face extra work pressure, especially during peak ordering periods, when packing efficiency is affected. This article reviews the history of Manner's foil packaging, analyzes the different perspectives of customers and employees, and explores whether there are better insulation solutions. [more…]

Cold brew isn't simply about chilling coffee liquid—low temperatures and a slow water flow stretch out the bean's aroma and sweetness, and they also magnify the differences that freshness brings. If freshly roasted beans are used right away, the cup may have a noticeable fizzy mouthfeel and a harsh acidity; once they've rested to a stable state, the fruity notes, sweetness, and finish are more likely to flow together. [more…]

Home cold brew coffee isn't just about memorizing a few names. When buying beans for everyday use, you need to consider how quickly you'll drink them, how much to buy at once, and whether your household mainly drinks black coffee or milk coffee. What's truly worth referencing is the sweet-to-sour ratio on the palate, the body's thickness or thinness, and the lingering aftertaste once it cools—then, combined with your brewing habits, your range of choices will gradually [more…]

Recently, a netizen in Fuzhou placed a cold Heytea drink, cup and all, into a microwave to heat it up. Just 30 seconds later, flames erupted inside the microwave, and the upper half of the cup was burned. The person involved described that halfway through heating, the microwave suddenly began crackling, and the moment it was opened, flames burst out. The fire only went out after the cup was knocked over with a spatula. Heytea customer service responded that the drink uses a paper cup containing metal materials, which is not suitable for microwave heating. In fact, many milk tea lovers on social media have a habit of directly heating milk tea, and similar dangerous incidents are not isolated cases. Whether brands should label packaging with microwave use warnings has also sparked discussions among consumers and legal professionals. [more…]

Iced coffee is very sensitive to the freshness of the beans. Low temperatures hold back some of the aroma, and ice further dilutes the concentration. If the beans are still in an intense degassing phase, the cup can easily show sharp acidity and a thin, hollow mouthfeel; if left too long, the floral and fruity notes and sweetness gradually fade. When selecting beans, besides looking at the flavor description, also pay attention to the roasting [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…]

When water is added to Americano black coffee, the concentration of the coffee liquid decreases, and the aroma and aftertaste become easier to identify, so the freshness of the beans is very important. Freshly roasted coffee does not immediately present its full flavor; drinking it too early may have an obvious gassy sensation, while leaving it too long will cause it to lose its vitality. When selecting beans, the roast date and your own [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently relaunched last year's hit Coconut Cold Brew, and has announced that in May it will bring back popular products such as Orange Golden Sparkling Americano in phases. However, the reformulated zero-sugar version has sparked polarized reviews among consumers—some complain it's like "waiting for a cheating scumbag to change," with a taste vastly different from what they remember, while others question the medicinal taste brought by artificial sweeteners. From packaging updates to health controversies, this round of comebacks reflects the brand's difficult balancing act between the sugar-reduction trend and faithful flavor reproduction. This article sorts through the details of the product iterations and genuine feedback from netizens, and cites a University of Southern California study on how artificial sweeteners affect appetite, to explore whether zero-sugar drinks are truly healthier. [more…]

As 2023 draws to a close, it's worth looking back and counting just how many cups of coffee and milk tea you drank this year—there's a simple, blunt way to do it: see how many drink packaging bags you've stockpiled at home. Some of these bags are nicely designed, some are sturdy and durable; throwing them away feels wasteful, but keeping them takes up space, and the more they pile up, the more they become a burden. So netizens have come up with creative ideas, transforming packaging bags into storage boxes, tissue covers, commuter bags, and even journals; now that winter has arrived, they've unlocked a new skill—using coffee paper bags to make handlebar covers for electric bikes, which are windproof and save money, and can be upgraded into thermal bags for waterproof warmth. This article compiles these practical DIY ideas and includes related recommendations from Front Street Coffee to help you turn "junk" into little joys in life. [more…]

The aroma of coffee beans is not completely set the moment roasting ends. In the days after coming out of the roaster, the beans continue to slowly release carbon dioxide, and the floral, fruity, and sweet notes need a little time to recombine. The so-called peak-flavor window is more like a period when the flavor is relatively active, not a hard expiration date printed on the package. Once you understand this change, [more…]

The aroma of coffee beans does not decline in a straight line from the moment roasting ends. Fresh out of the roaster, the beans are rich in carbon dioxide; when ground, they smell lively, but during brewing the degassing may be too vigorous, making it hard for water to penetrate the coffee bed evenly. After a few days, as the gas gradually escapes, the floral notes, fruity sweetness, and finish actually unfold more easily. Therefore, roasting [more…]