Recently, a video of an employee preparing drinks at a Mixue Bingcheng store in Xi'an circulated on social media, sparking widespread discussion. In the video, the employee holds two takeout cups in one hand, adds ice cubes, and then directly places them under a water bucket labeled "direct drinking water" to fill them. The water splashes onto the ice cubes, and some liquid runs down the employee's arm toward the ice cart below. The door of the ice cart cabinet remains open the whole time, prompting onlookers to say the ice has been contaminated. After the incident gained traction, the store involved responded that the company is handling the matter urgently and that the employee has been dismissed. This controversy has once again pushed Mixue Bingcheng's food safety issues into the spotlight, with many consumers calling on the brand to strengthen store operating standards. [more…]

Drip bag coffee, with its portability and ease of use, has become the choice for many people's daily coffee. Once the weather heats up, making a cup of iced coffee with a drip bag has become a new pastime for many enthusiasts. However, not all drip bags are suitable for adding ice—the roast level and flavor profile directly affect how the drink tastes over ice. This article covers the bean selection direction for drip bag coffee, the logic behind adjusting parameters for iced pour-over, and the specific steps, and recommends two Front Street Coffee drip bag products suitable for making iced coffee, helping you easily recreate a refreshing iced drip bag coffee at home. [more…]

A Yirgacheffe with soft acidity is suitable for gradually building judgment from taste experience. When buying beans for daily use, you need to consider how quickly you drink them, how much to buy at once, and whether you mainly make black coffee or milk coffee at home. The flavor words on the packaging can provide clues, but they cannot replace the actual drinking experience—whether the acidity is soft, whether the sweetness persists, and the mouthfeel [more…]

Iced coffee isn't just about pouring hot coffee over ice. The ice lowers the serving temperature and also dilutes the concentration somewhat, making the aroma appear brighter or softer, so the roast level of the beans directly influences the direction of the final cup. If you enjoy a juicy character, floral notes, and a light mouthfeel, look to light roasts; if you want something sweet, smooth, and easy to drink, medium roasts are more [more…]

The gaiwan is a common vessel in gongfu tea brewing, consisting of a bowl, a lid, and a saucer, usually made of porcelain, glass, or ceramic. This article explains in detail the usage process of the gaiwan, including warming the vessel, adding tea, pouring water, and decanting the tea, and introduces three correct ways to hold the bowl—the three-finger grip, the bowl-grasping method, and using a saucer—to help avoid burns and enhance the brewing experience. It also explains whether one can drink directly from a gaiwan and the steps for doing so, and offers buying advice for beginners, such as a standard capacity of 110 ml and porcelain gaiwans being easier to handle. Front Street Coffee recommends porcelain gaiwans suitable for beginners, balancing practicality and versatility. [more…]

Drip bag coffee, with its convenient brewing method, allows many coffee lovers to enjoy a cup of pour-over-style coffee anytime. All you need is hot water and a cup to easily get a refreshing drink. However, in practice, many people encounter questions: Can you just throw the drip bag directly into hot water to steep? How many times can one drip bag be reused? And how do you make iced drip coffee? This article will address these common questions one by one and introduce drip bag options with different flavors, including Front Street brand products such as Mandheling, Yirgacheffe, and Brazil Cerrado, helping you brew a good cup of coffee at home. [more…]

The flavor direction of cold brew coffee is closely related to the roast level of the beans. Light-roasted beans, under low temperature and a slow water flow, tend to present floral notes, fruity acidity, and a bright sweetness; medium-roasted beans have a rounder mouthfeel and are suitable for making smooth, easy-drinking iced coffee; dark-roasted beans bring cocoa, nut, and caramel notes to the forefront, making them suitable for those who prefer a heavy [more…]

As chain coffee brands rush to test the crossover combination of "coffee + medicinal herbs," Lucky Cup launched a set of "wellness" new products after the National Day holiday — goji berry Americano, goji berry milk, and goji berry latte, each priced at no more than 10 yuan. Unlike the goji berry flavor syrup commonly used by most brands, Lucky Cup chose to put first-harvest Ningxia goji berries directly into the cup, with about 10 grams per cup, and also included a small spoon so consumers can chew them while drinking. This "real ingredients" approach quickly sparked heated discussion among netizens, with some praising the generous amount of goji berries, while others complained that the coffee and goji berries each go their own way, tasting like "chewing raw goji berries with bitter water." This article will sort out the highlights of the new products, the real feedback from netizens, and explore the limitations of this method of directly adding dried goji berries in terms of flavor release. [more…]

From bean to cup, a coffee still has to go through grinding and extraction. When it comes to home-use Americano coffee beans, your daily buying decisions need to take into account how fast you drink it, how much to buy at a time, and whether your household mainly makes black coffee or milk coffee. First confirm your usual equipment and preferred taste, then compare specific beans—your actual practice will have clearer direction. [more…]

Iced Americano without water sounds like a strange option, but it actually just means pouring espresso directly over ice. This practice isn't superfluous—it's a favorite among many seasoned coffee enthusiasts. This article breaks down the ins and outs of this "waterless iced Americano" in detail, from the ordering logic, cup selection, and extraction method to the flavor changes. It also discusses why coffee shops usually don't put espresso on the menu, as well as Front Street Coffee's professional advice on this way of drinking. If you're curious about what espresso over ice actually tastes like, or want to understand why every sip of a waterless iced Americano changes, this article will give you the complete answer. [more…]

Americano is typically made by adding water to espresso, though some also use drip or pour-over methods to present a similar refreshing black coffee. The roast level of the beans directly affects the balance of acidity and sweetness, aroma type, body, and length of finish. To pick a smooth Americano, start by considering whether you prefer bright fruity notes or caramel, cocoa, and [more…]

Understanding which coffee beans to use for a sweet, intense Americano requires translating flavor descriptions into sensations you can actually taste. When buying beans for everyday use, you need to consider how quickly you'll go through them, how much to buy at once, and whether you mainly make black coffee or milk-based drinks at home. Floral notes, fruity acidity, nuttiness, and cocoa aren't a matter of better or worse—they're simply different directions, and the one that suits you is the one that [more…]

When it comes to coffee beans with floral aromas, first consider how you plan to drink them every day. For everyday bean purchases, you need to think about how quickly you'll finish them, how much to buy at a time, and whether you mainly make black coffee or milk coffee at home. If you mainly drink black coffee, you can pay more attention to aroma and aftertaste; if you often add milk, then consider whether the intensity and body can hold up. [more…]

Water makes up 60 to 70 percent of the human body, and adults need to drink 3 to 5 liters of water per day, so drinking water safety is directly related to everyone's health. As consumer demand for packaged drinking water continues to grow, the actual quality of products labeled "purified" or "mineral" on the market has become a focus of public attention. Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Administration for Market Regulation released food sampling inspection notices for the 30th to 33rd batches of 2024, and several well-known drinking water brands, including Luhushan, Alps, and Ruishan Tianquan, were placed on the list of non-compliant products after Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected. This opportunistic pathogen poses a relatively high health risk to people with weakened immune systems. How did the companies involved respond? What purchasing advice did regulators provide? This article will sort out the details for you. [more…]

Recently, a netizen shared on social media their experience ordering at Luckin: a single cup of coffee was repeatedly remade by the staff four times before they finally got it. From getting the hot/iced order wrong, to rinsing the cup with tap water, to being stopped by a colleague when about to add ice and milk, the whole process left many onlookers exclaiming how absurd it was. The incident also sparked heated discussion about Luckin's employee training, operating standards, and food safety. What exactly happened? Was the customer's complaint reasonable? And what problems did the store's operations expose? Let's take a look. [more…]

To understand SOE coffee beans at different roast levels, you need to translate flavor descriptions into sensations you can actually taste. For everyday bean buying, 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 coffee at home. Floral, fruity acidity, nutty, and cocoa notes are not a matter of better or worse, but of different directions—the one that suits you is the right one. [more…]

After coffee beans come out of the roaster, they continue to release carbon dioxide internally, and this degassing process directly determines whether the aromatic compounds can be extracted smoothly during brewing. Because blended beans and SOE differ in bean composition and roasting direction, their pace of reaching the optimal drinking state and the period for maintaining aroma each have their own characteristics. Single origin [more…]

When it comes to coffee beans with a balanced sweet-and-sour profile, start by thinking about how you'll drink them every day. For everyday bean purchases, you need to consider how quickly you'll go through them, how much to buy at a time, and whether you'll mainly make black coffee or milk coffee at home. If you mostly drink black coffee, you can pay more attention to aroma and aftertaste; if you often add milk, then consider whether the intensity and body can hold up. [more…]

The charm of cold brew coffee lies in the long contact between cold water and coffee grounds, producing a smooth, low-acidity cup that's perfect for summer drinking. You don't need specialized equipment at home—a lidded glass jar, a digital scale, and filter paper or a fine mesh strainer are all it takes. The real key to the result is whether the bean's roast level suits [more…]

Cold brew and ice drip both involve low-temperature, longer extraction, and typically taste gentler than hot coffee on the palate, with aromas becoming more subdued when chilled. When choosing beans, the roast level can serve as a clear guide: light roasts tend to retain fruit and floral notes, medium roasts put sweetness and smoothness at the forefront, while medium-dark roasts suit those who prefer cocoa [more…]