Luckin Coffee once brought back several classic drinks due to popular demand from netizens, and now the much-anticipated Heart Stealer Prune Latte is also set to return next week. However, while unpacking the new product materials, employees unexpectedly discovered that in addition to the usual paper bags and cup sleeves, there was also a pack of tissues printed with the word "prune." This thoughtful yet slightly humorous move quickly sparked discussions among netizens: some joked that the company was worried consumers would frequently run to the toilet after drinking it, while others speculated that the recipe might have been adjusted. The prune latte became famous back in the day for its "smooth movement" effect and was jokingly called "the coffee world's suppository." Now, after nearly two years away, it is making a comeback, and fans are both excited and concerned. Front Street Coffee reminds everyone that no matter how the recipe changes, a good cup of coffee is always worth savoring slowly. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's prune series launches nationwide today. In addition to the returning prune latte, a new prune americano has also been introduced. The company seems to have anticipated the possible gastrointestinal reactions from combining prunes with coffee, setting the limited-edition merchandise as facial tissues. However, some customers unexpectedly received a whole strip of pocket tissues when picking up their orders, sparking heated discussion on social platforms, with some expressing envy and others questioning inconsistent giveaway standards. Luckin employees urgently spoke out to explain the promotion rules and earnestly requested customers who received extra giveaways to return them, to avoid the store being held accountable. [more…]

On March 16, Heytea trended on Weibo for using WanDianZhang facial recognition cameras. Previously, CCTV's 315 Gala exposed over 20 well-known brands, including Heytea, Kohler, and BMW, for illegally collecting facial information through WanDianZhang cameras without consumers' knowledge. Heytea responded that the cameras are only for security and will never illegally collect facial data. WanDianZhang stated that the platform's facial data volume has reached hundreds of millions and is drafting an announcement to explain its business scope and rectification measures. This incident has once again sparked public concern over the abuse of facial recognition technology and personal privacy security. [more…]

Returning home for the Spring Festival, for early-risers accustomed to a daily cup of coffee, the biggest challenge may not be snagging a train ticket, but discovering after arriving in the village that no Luckin or Cotti can be found on delivery platforms. Faced with the predicament of no chain brands and no delivery service, coffee lovers each find their own way: some stuff their suitcases full of drip bags and coffee beans in advance, some balance a large pair of scissors on a gas stove to brew with a moka pot, some use a bowl and chopsticks to prop up a drip bag, and some even pour water directly from a thermos. This article compiles various DIY tricks for the coffee-loving city dwellers returning to their hometowns, from tool substitutes to technique adjustments, so you can still enjoy a tasty cup of coffee in the countryside despite limited conditions. [more…]

Coffee has long been part of the daily rhythm for many urbanites, but most people treat it merely as a pick-me-up. In fact, coffee's uses go far beyond drinking—the grounds left after brewing are equally promising for beauty and skincare and for household life. This article systematically introduces the specific ways to use coffee grounds for facial care, hand cleansing, and hair maintenance, including practical recipes such as exfoliating scrubs, firming masks, odor removal, scalp sprays, and hair masks, each with detailed materials and step-by-step instructions. If you happen to have coffee grounds on hand, why not follow along with this article and try these simple, natural tricks. [more…]

When ordering milk tea, getting stuck by the minimum delivery price and delivery fees—wanting just a single cup but having to force yourself to add more—is a daily frustration for many consumers. Some people order an extra cup they can't finish just to meet the threshold, while others add toppings and then have to leave a note begging the staff not to include them, going to great lengths just to enjoy one cup. Recently, the established milk tea brand Yidian Dian launched a pack of pocket tissues priced at 0.57 yuan, which netizens have dubbed a "order-filler神器" (order-filling神器), with a post receiving over 19,000 likes. This pocket tissue comes in four fresh designs and is currently only sold in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Henan. As coffee enthusiasts, Front Street also often follows such consumer topics—let's see how single-cup drinkers tackle the order-filling dilemma. [more…]

Recently, many users on social platforms have been sharing milk tea orders that include non-drink items such as tissues. This is not a brand promotion, but rather the result of consumers being forced to add extra items to meet the minimum order threshold for delivery. Many chain tea and coffee shops set their delivery minimum at 20 to 30 yuan, while a single cup of drink often costs only around ten yuan, leaving customers who just want one cup unable to place an order directly. They can only add tissues, snacks, or upgrade to a larger size to reach the required amount. Some orders also require a minimum actual payment to qualify for free delivery, further adding to the consumer's burden. Store operators say the minimum order fee and delivery rules are set uniformly by brand headquarters and the platform, and franchisees have no authority to adjust them. This discussion surrounding delivery thresholds reflects the real conflict between the demand for single-person, single-cup consumption and platform operating rules. [more…]

Starbucks recently implemented stricter dress code policies in North America, but faced collective lawsuits from employees in three states after refusing to reimburse them for new clothing they had to purchase themselves and for the cost of removing facial decorations. Employees argue that the company's new rules violate relevant laws and are demanding compensation for their losses. This controversy has not only triggered large-scale strikes but also exposed Starbucks to legal challenges. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the sequence of events, employee demands, and Starbucks' response, giving you insight into the labor-management struggle behind this dress code controversy. [more…]

Coffee roasting is not just about applying heat—from the moisture changes inside the green beans to the expansion and rupturing of cellular structures, every stage quietly determines the final flavor in the cup. This article takes the perspective of a commercial roaster to systematically sort through key phases such as homogenization, first crack, the resting period, and second crack. It explains the principles behind the aroma that fills the air during coffee roasting and clarifies the taste differences corresponding to various roast levels, helping coffee enthusiasts gain a deeper understanding of how roasting influences flavor direction. [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently teamed up with Chengdu Culture and Tourism to launch a co-branded series, creating ice cups, paper bags, cup sleeves, and merchandise inspired by giant pandas, with a plush keychain modeled after the top-tier panda "Huahua" highly anticipated. However, after the campaign launched, many consumers found the actual products they received fell far short of the promotional images—with skewed facial features and bizarre expressions, mockingly dubbed "underbite," while the red panda version also suffered quality control issues, sparking a wave of "ugly panda" posts on social media. What was originally intended to win fans through this collaboration unexpectedly turned into a discussion about merchandise quality and fidelity. [more…]

Recently, news about a whole tissue being found in a Sexy Tea milk tea has sparked heated discussion online. Some netizens suspect this is a self-staged publicity stunt by the brand to divert attention, while others believe it could be malicious smearing by a competitor. As of now, Sexy Tea has not made any official response to the matter. What is the truth behind the incident? Netizens have reacted relatively rationally, with various opinions clashing. This article will sort out the sequence of events, present multiple viewpoints, and follow up on subsequent developments. [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently collaborated with the popular internet IP "EverydayOneCat" to launch two limited-edition drinks: Probiotic Americano and Probiotic Iced Tea. The Probiotic Americano made a brief appearance as a Shanghai-exclusive in October last year, and is now available nationwide, sparking a buying frenzy among fans. However, consumers' focus is not on the flavor of the drinks, but on their laxative effect—the combination of probiotics, caffeine, and ice has been jokingly dubbed "Poop Water" by netizens. This time, Luckin includes 3 packs of collaborative pocket tissues with each order, which, compared to the 1-pack configuration of last year's Prune Americano, has sparked even more imaginative speculation among netizens. On social media, some report "immediate results," while others say they had no reaction at all, making individual differences the focal point of discussion. This article will outline the background of the new product launch, consumer testing feedback, and various viewpoints. [more…]

Coffee grounds have transformed from waste into an internet-famous wonder, with social media platforms overflowing with clever uses for them—growing flowers, reducing facial puffiness, exfoliating in the shower, even losing weight. Yet those who try these tricks often end up with disasters: dead plants, swollen faces, clogged drains. Which of these popular uses actually hold up, and which are traps? This article starts with Starbucks' environmental initiative of giving away free coffee grounds, then examines one by one the scientific basis behind claims like using coffee grounds to grow flowers, reduce dark circles under the eyes, ease facial swelling, and aid weight loss in the shower—telling you what coffee grounds are truly good for and what details to watch out for when using them. If you've also accumulated a pile of coffee grounds and don't know what to do with them, or are thinking of jumping on the bandwagon, you might want to finish reading this first before you start. [more…]

In the coffee industry chain, silver skin is often overlooked as a roasting by-product. However, Japan's Ito En and Tully's Coffee have teamed up to transform this thin protective layer into water-resistant straws. Every 10 grams of coffee beans produces enough silver skin to make two straws, and it does not interfere with the flavor of the drink. In fact, Tully's Coffee had already launched eco-friendly napkins containing silver skin as early as 2012. Although these products are currently limited to some stores in Japan, silver skin-blended paper has already taken an eco-friendly step in reducing pulp usage. This article will guide you through the transformation of coffee silver skin from waste to practical accessories, and revisit coffee grounds recycling cases such as Starbucks' ground coffee straws, exploring the possibility of fully utilizing the entire coffee fruit. [more…]

Nayuki launched limited-edition plush dolls for its ninth-anniversary birthday season, attracting a large number of fans to snap them up. However, after a consumer put a newly bought grape plush into the washing machine to clean it, the doll fell apart completely, turning from a whole bunch into scattered individual "grapes." This was not an isolated case; several other users also reported that parts fell off the plush after washing and drying. The reason is that these dolls are bonded with hot-melt adhesive rather than sewn, and the label clearly states they must not be washed in water. In addition, some consumers received "hidden edition" dolls with missing or incorrect facial expressions, sparking widespread dissatisfaction with the quality control of the merchandise. [more…]

Beyond being a daily drink, coffee also has many unexpected practical uses. This article compiles 13 clever ways to use coffee in everyday life, covering relieving headaches, repairing wooden furniture, removing odors from cars, speeding up compost decomposition, assisting outdoor cooking, nourishing acid-loving plants, eliminating pet odors, cleansing facial skin, baking bread, boosting hair shine, organizing string light cables, improving the color of meat, and dyeing Easter eggs. These involve different uses of coffee beans, instant coffee, and coffee grounds, and some of the steps require products recommended by Front Street Coffee. Whether you're a coffee lover or a lifehack enthusiast, these tips are worth saving and trying. [more…]

It is standard practice for tea beverage brands to launch Longjing series new products in spring, but Gu Ming and Nayuki sparked heated discussion by choosing the same West Lake Longjing intangible cultural heritage inheritor, Fan Shenghua. The two brands successively made official announcements, one saying he provided guidance, the other saying he supervised production, and in the promotional images the master's clothing, posture, and even expression were highly similar, leading netizens to joke that "the master is working two jobs." Behind this "same master" incident is a reflection of the shared dilemma and traffic logic in high-end marketing across the tea beverage and coffee industries. [more…]

Freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable teas have become the new trend in the tea beverage industry, with ingredients such as kale, carrots, and beetroot being widely used. While consumers are paying for health, some have found mud and sand in Nayuki drinks. A customer discovered stains remaining on the decorative kale leaves at the bottom of the "Slim Little Green Bottle" cup, and after wiping the stem with a tissue, obvious mud and sand were visible. The post attracted a great deal of attention, and some netizens claiming to be Nayuki employees left comments revealing that stores are short-staffed and the washing of fruits and vegetables is perfunctory. Behind the genuine ingredients of fruit and vegetable teas, food safety issues are cause for concern. [more…]

For its seventh anniversary, Chagee launched the "Good Friends Always Together" campaign, giving away 700,000 free cups over seven consecutive days, along with features like a clink-cups card-collecting game for a chance to win free drinks for a whole year. The campaign stayed high in popularity with huge participation, but it was followed by a string of technical problems: black screens when scanning the page, AI recognition failures, abnormal consumption of attempts, and more, triggering a flood of complaints. Surprisingly, netizens discovered that scanning feet, tissues, books, or even trash cans could be judged by the AI as a successful cup clink. Faced with the backlash, the official response was only that it "adds fun," while dodging questions about the loopholes. [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…]