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…]

Recently, a class-action lawsuit in Canada has thrust Starbucks, Tims, and Second Cup into the spotlight, accusing the three coffee chains of long-term surcharges on non-dairy alternatives, allegedly amounting to price gouging. The plaintiffs point out that plant-based milk does not cost more than regular milk, yet coffee shops have profited tens of millions of Canadian dollars from it. Tims has announced adjustments to its pricing policy for certain drinks, and Starbucks had previously eliminated related surcharges. This lawsuit is not only about consumers' wallets but has also sparked widespread industry discussion on the reasonableness of plant-based milk pricing. [more…]

Recently, Oatly, a giant in the oat milk industry, attempted to register the word "Barista" as a trademark in New Zealand, but encountered strong opposition from local food wholesaler Bidfood. Bidfood argued that the term has long been a generic name in the plant-based milk sector and should not be monopolized by any company. The New Zealand Intellectual Property Office ultimately supported Bidfood's position, determining that "Barista" is a descriptive term when used for dairy alternatives. This incident not only highlights the challenges of determining generic names in international trademark registration but also brings to mind similar cases in China, such as the trademark squatting of "Geisha Coffee." Where exactly is the boundary of trademark protection? What potential risks does the registration of generic names pose to the industry? This article will provide a detailed analysis for you. [more…]

Oat milk, as a dairy-free plant-based milk, has attracted much attention in coffee circles and the field of healthy eating in recent years, and chain brands such as Starbucks have also adopted Oatly oat milk as a milk alternative. It is especially suitable for vegans, people with lactose intolerance, and consumers allergic to milk. During production, oat milk is made by soaking oats, filtering the slurry, and often adding extra nutrients such as calcium and vitamin B12, making its nutritional value richer. Front Street Coffee will guide you through understanding the specific health benefits of oat milk and compare its nutritional differences with whole milk and low-fat milk, helping you choose the dairy drink that suits you in a more scientific way. [more…]

For coffee lovers who are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy, plant-based alternatives such as oat milk and almond milk allow them to enjoy lattes without worry. However, the American coffee chain giant Dunkin recently faced a class-action lawsuit for charging extra for non-dairy drinks, with the plaintiffs arguing that this practice constitutes discrimination against people with lactose allergies and intolerance, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is not the first time the U.S. coffee industry has faced legal disputes over plant-based milk pricing; Starbucks has also previously faced similar allegations. This article will review the course of events, the legal basis, and industry reactions, and explore the cost and fairness issues behind the controversy over non-dairy drink pricing. [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…]

In recent years, coffee shops have been rolling out alternative dairy products such as oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk to cater to diverse needs. However, a café in Melbourne wrote "Next week: breast milk A$5" on its menu, surprising customers. Although the shop later said it was just a joke, a café in Russia did once make cappuccinos with breast milk, priced at as much as 650 rubles per cup. It is worth noting that in our country, human breast milk is explicitly prohibited from being sold as a commodity. This article will walk you through the ins and outs of this "breast milk coffee" controversy. [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…]

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…]

For friends who are lactose intolerant, an oat milk latte is an excellent alternative for enjoying a milk coffee. But many people who make lattes at home with oat milk often find the taste somewhat bitter and not as smooth as the milk version. In fact, oat milk and dairy milk differ noticeably in composition and characteristics, so simply applying the traditional latte method often yields poor results. Drawing on Front Street's practical experience, this article provides a detailed analysis of the differences between oat milk and dairy milk lattes, and focuses on three key areas—choosing oat milk, adjusting the ratio of coffee to plant milk, and milk frothing techniques—to help you make a full-aroma, smooth-textured oat milk latte at home. [more…]

The Binglang incident has made milk tea consumers especially wary of ingredients such as non-dairy creamer and base milk, while 1 Dian Dian, having long used A2 milk to make its drinks, is seen as a breath of fresh air in the industry. Recently, however, many regular customers have noticed that stores no longer accept "remove the tea base" requests in the notes. Why was this thoughtful service, originally designed to accommodate caffeine-sensitive groups such as pregnant women and children, suddenly discontinued? Behind it lie milk consumption costs, store operating standards, and contractual constraints with suppliers. At the same time, consumers who are used to ordering a tea-base-free milk drink with toppings have also lost a cost-effective option. For those who easily suffer insomnia after drinking tea at night, whether an alternative exists has become their biggest concern. [more…]

With more and more plant-based milk options available today, oat milk often sparks discussion because of its relatively high price: what exactly makes it so expensive—is it a marketing premium or the result of underlying costs? This article begins with the production process of oat milk, breaking down the complete flow of how it is made from oats and water through steps such as enzymatic hydrolysis and filtration, and compares the differences between almond milk and dairy milk in nutrition, taste, and price. At the same time, by examining supply and demand dynamics and shelf-life constraints, it explains why oat milk sells for more in cities, and what more budget-friendly alternatives exist, including feasible methods for making oat milk at home. The article also retains recommended channels for specialty coffee beans for coffee enthusiasts to reference. [more…]

The World Health Organization has in recent years repeatedly emphasized the health hazards of trans fats, even calling them lethal toxic chemicals that should not exist in food. Trans fats not only have no known benefits but also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and are widely hidden in packaged foods, baked goods, fried foods, and some coffee drinks. Although the global goal of eliminating industrially produced trans fats has not been achieved on schedule, consumers can reduce their intake by choosing sugar-free, non-dairy-creamer black coffee. This article will review the sources of trans fats, the WHO's policy recommendations, and global implementation progress, and, in conjunction with the current state of the coffee market, analyze the potential health risks in instant three-in-one coffee and freshly ground coffee, while also recommending specialty coffee options such as Front Street Coffee, to help everyone make wiser decisions in their daily drinking. [more…]

Instant coffee has carved out a place for itself in everyday drinks thanks to its convenience, and Sizhimao, Nescafé, and Vietnam's G7 are currently three of the most widely discussed instant coffee brands in China. Each has its own emphasis in raw material regions, flavor performance, and pricing strategy, while also sharing the inherent health concerns of instant products. This article will go through these three brands one by one in terms of their coffee bean sources, taste rankings, and value for money, and further introduce the advantages of drip bag coffee as an alternative, including Front Street Coffee's specific recommendations on freshness control, flavor choices, and brewing methods, to help coffee lovers find the option that better suits them between convenience and quality. [more…]

Can a refreshing glass of iced Americano really not be made without an espresso machine? This article first gives the standard answer and the classic method: use Front Street Coffee's classic blend to extract a double shot of espresso, then pour it into an ice-water mixture, and it's done in three steps. For those who don't have a coffee machine at home, the article analyzes the difference between iced coffee made by pour-over or drip bags and a true Americano, and recommends Front Street Coffee single-origin beans suited to making iced coffee according to three styles: fruity, balanced, and full-bodied. In addition, it also covers the benefits of Americano such as aiding digestion, reducing water retention, and helping burn fat, along with drinking reminders, and gives the optimal tasting temperature for dark roast, medium roast, and light roast respectively, helping you get the best flavor out of every cup of Americano. [more…]

Everyone is familiar with lattes, but do you know what a "half latte" is? It's not a small latte, nor a latte with less espresso, but rather a popular Italian-style coffee in the United States—the Breve. The Breve is almost identical to a latte in cup size and preparation method, with the key difference being the dairy: milk makes up only half, and the other half is replaced with cream. Because of this, it's jokingly called a "half latte." The fat from the cream makes the texture richer and smoother, and the coffee flavor more pronounced. This article will guide you through the origins of the Breve, its specific differences from a latte, and share Front Street Coffee's complete preparation process and ratio recommendations, including the proportions of espresso, milk, and cream, as well as steps like frothing, blending, and latte art, to help you easily recreate this rich and smooth coffee at home. [more…]

Once upon a time, oat milk coffee was seen as the star product of plant-based beverages, and Oatly quickly rose to fame because of it. However, as the market environment changes and consumer enthusiasm wanes, the status of oat milk in coffee shops is quietly declining. This article sorts out the reasons behind Oatly's cumulative losses of more than US$641 million (about RMB 4.41 billion) from 2019 to 2022: over-reliance on the B2B market, the impact of the pandemic, weak expansion into the consumer market, and a series of controversial marketing moves. At the same time, the article also explores the health controversy surrounding plant milk and future strategies for the Asian market. To follow developments in the coffee industry, you are welcome to add Front Street Coffee's private WeChat (WeChat ID: qjcoffeex) for more specialty coffee bean information. [more…]

Buffalo milk has long been a specialty dairy product in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and in recent years it has been increasingly used by coffee enthusiasts to pair with espresso. It contains higher levels of protein, fat, and calcium than regular milk, with a lower water content, making it sweeter and silkier to drink. So, is buffalo milk actually suitable for latte art? And what does it taste like in an iced latte or a Dirty? This time, Front Street Coffee selected the refrigerated fresh buffalo milk from the local Foshan brand Baifulu, paired with Front Street Coffee's classic blend coffee beans, to make three drinks: a flat white, an iced latte, and a Dirty. From milk foam texture and latte art performance to the flavor on the palate, we tested each one to see whether the combination of buffalo milk and coffee can achieve an effect where 1+1>2. [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…]

Recently, many coffee enthusiasts have been asking about Si Zhi Mao Coffee—how good it really is, whether it's more worth drinking than Nescafé, and some even claim it's a fake scam and wonder why it's sold so cheaply. This article will compare Si Zhi Mao and Nescafé from the perspectives of ingredients, flavor, and health, and explain the reasons behind its low price. It will also introduce healthier alternatives, such as Front Street Coffee's freshly roasted drip bags and specialty Catimor coffee beans from the Baoshan region of Yunnan. After reading, you'll be able to clearly judge whether Si Zhi Mao Coffee is suitable for you. [more…]