Luckin Coffee recently teamed up with Honor of Kings for a second limited-time campaign, bringing back the classic Mascarpone Cheese Latte and introducing a brand-new Rice Milk Latte. The company claims the new drink uses rice milk made from black soil–grown rice, and with temperatures dropping in many places, many netizens have hailed it as the top choice for winter. However, after tasting it, many customers were left puzzled, saying they couldn't detect any rice aroma and even suspecting they had accidentally ordered a regular latte. Faced with the skepticism, Luckin employees shared the production process, revealing that this drink does not use conventional espresso liquid but instead employs "instant-cooled freshly extracted coffee." So why has this new product sparked such a big controversy over its taste? Let's find out together. [more…]

After years of accompanying countless consumers, McDonald's Fresh Brewed Coffee is set to officially leave the menu on February 4. Once the news broke, McDonald's fans expressed their reluctance to see it go. The company quickly announced that Freshly Extracted Coffee would take its place, but the new offering retains the same drip-brewing process and configuration of creamer and sugar packets, drawing criticism that it's "a new name for the same thing." Behind this adjustment may lie McDonald's deeper intention to promote its McCafé brand. For consumers, the real concerns are whether the price will rise and whether free refills will continue. This article sorts through the ins and outs of the event to walk you through the whole story of this coffee menu change. [more…]

Recently, consumers in many places have noticed that McDonald's freshly brewed coffee has quietly disappeared from the menu. Staff have confirmed that the product has been phased out in succession, and future stores will mainly promote the McCafé freshly ground series. As a classic product that McDonald's has established in the Chinese market for more than thirty years, freshly brewed coffee once became the daily choice of countless office workers thanks to free refills during breakfast hours and its high cost-effectiveness. Now, however, it has been discontinued in many places, triggering a strong reaction among McDonald's fans. Some people exclaimed that "the sky has fallen," while others said they did not mind. This article will sort out the specific situation of the discontinuation of freshly brewed coffee, its historical background, consumer reactions, and the behind-the-scenes reasons revealed by employees. [more…]

Freshly roasted coffee beans often carry a large amount of carbon dioxide and a harsh, dry sensation. Brewing them directly will greatly diminish the flavor, and the cup will not be smooth enough to drink. This article addresses this common problem by outlining three practical solutions for dealing with fresh coffee beans: first, accelerating gas release through degassing; second, adjusting parameters such as water temperature, grind size, and blooming time to improve extraction efficiency; and third, adopting immersion-based extraction, which has a higher margin for error. Using Front Street Ethiopia Hamashu coffee beans as an example, the article provides specific details on dose, water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, and staged pouring demonstrations, and compares the flavor differences under conventional parameters, helping coffee lovers brew a relatively excellent cup even when they are impatient to drink it. [more…]

Cold brew coffee methods are endlessly varied, and when milk is introduced into a low-temperature immersion system, two distinctly different paths emerge: one is to directly replace water with fresh milk to cold-brew coffee grounds, known as milk brew; the other is to first make cold brew coffee, then mix in fresh milk according to a ratio. The two differ noticeably in extraction mechanism, flavor direction, and mouthfeel thickness. This article focuses on the practical parameters of Front Street. Queen's Estate, providing respectively the ratios, grind size, refrigeration time, and filtration key points for milk brew coffee and cold brew with milk added, and explaining the choice of medium-dark roasted beans and fruity medium-roasted beans suitable for pairing with milk, to help coffee enthusiasts make a smooth, sweetly fragrant, and clearly flavored cold brew latte in summer. [more…]

Drip bag coffee is often mistakenly regarded as less professional than pour-over, but as long as you choose quality coffee beans, insist on fresh grinding, and master the right parameters, drip bags can also deliver a wonderful flavor close to pour-over. To let more people easily enjoy fresh coffee at home, Front Street Coffee regularly updates its seasonal drip bag coffee lineup; all selected beans are freshly roasted and ground within 5 days, and orders are shipped within 24 hours after purchase. This article focuses on the flavor differences of single-origin Arabica coffees and recommends four categories of Front Street Coffee drip bag products according to roast level and processing method. It also explains in detail the standardized brewing steps for drip bags, including cup selection, water temperature control, pouring technique, and coffee-to-water ratio, to help coffee lovers brew a full and balanced cup of good coffee. [more…]

For office workers who want to enjoy specialty coffee without a grinder, drip bags are an ideal choice that balances convenience and flavor. But is drip bag coffee actually black coffee? What is the correct brewing process? And how can you tell whether a drip bag is still fresh? This article starts from the essence of drip bag coffee, breaks down the key brewing points such as blooming and pouring step by step, and shares methods for selecting fresh drip bags based on roast date, foam condition, and taste. At the end, it also compiles a variety of fresh drip bag recommendations from Front Street Coffee in different styles, covering floral, tea-like, fruity, fermented, and rich mouthfeel types, making it easy for coffee lovers with different preferences to choose as needed. [more…]

They're both coffee grounds, so why do some people insist it has to be freshly ground? What are the real differences between freshly ground and pre-ground coffee? And how exactly is drip bag coffee made? From the perspective of Front Street, this article breaks down one by one the essential differences between freshly ground coffee and pre-ground coffee, explains the critical impact of freshness on flavor expression, and further introduces the birth process of drip bag coffee as well as the brewing tips that make it taste better—helping coffee lovers avoid detours in their daily choices and brewing. [more…]

Drip coffee bags offer a convenient option for enthusiasts who seek specialty flavor but prefer not to brew manually. Some question whether they are professional enough, but as long as the beans are of high quality, the packaging blocks oxygen, and the coffee is consumed within its prime drinking period, the gap between drip bags and freshly ground pour-over is actually quite small. Front Street drip bags insist on fresh roasting and fresh grinding, and the grinder is thoroughly cleaned before each production run to avoid flavor crossover. The grind size has been repeatedly tested and set to medium-fine, reducing the over-extraction and muddiness caused by fine powder clogging. This article will also share the standard drip bag brewing steps, explaining everything from coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, to pouring technique, and recommend four Front Street drip bags—Yirgacheffe, Sun-Dried Huakui, PWN Golden Mandheling, and Brazil Queen Estate—according to four flavor directions: floral and fruity, tropical fruit, low-acid and full-bodied, and balanced nuance, helping readers choose according to their preferences. [more…]

Specialty coffee brand Seesaw recently teamed up with Mengniu's fresh milk brand Daily Fresh to launch a bottled cold brew fresh milk latte. The official claim is that it uses custom cold brew beans, paired with fresh milk from a GAP Grade 1 certified pasture, with an ingredient list that highlights 0 non-dairy creamer, 0 white granulated sugar, and 0 artificial sweeteners, while the sweetness comes from natural monk fruit concentrate. After the product hit the market, online shopping platforms sold it at about 11 yuan per bottle, with a minimum purchase of 3 bottles, prompting many consumers to stock up. However, public opinion is clearly divided: some praise the clean formula of fresh milk plus coffee, while others complain of a traditional Chinese medicine taste, a sticky mouthfeel, and an inexplicable astringency, with the controversy centering on the sweetness brought by monk fruit concentrate. This article reviews the formula, price, and consumer feedback of this new product, and explores the competition and choices in the bottled coffee market. [more…]

Chain coffee brands each have their own memorable selling points, and Tims China (Tims天好咖啡) has gained popularity with its bagels and Fresh Brew coffee. Fresh Brew coffee is similar to drip pour-over, with less oil and a refreshing taste, favored by many enthusiasts. But recently, some netizens reported that the Fresh Brew coffee they bought at Tims had a large amount of coffee grounds left at the bottom of the cup when they finished drinking it, and customer service responded that "sediment is a normal phenomenon," sparking controversy. Similar complaints are not the first of their kind; as early as last November, consumers had already posted photos complaining about it. A small amount of fine powder sediment in coffee is common, but the amount of grounds visible to the naked eye has already affected the drinking experience. Is it a staff operational error or an equipment malfunction? Will Tims take measures to standardize its products? This article takes you through the whole story. [more…]

Drip bag coffee, with its portability, has become a simplified alternative to pour-over coffee—just add hot water and a cup to enjoy it anytime. However, the loss of aroma and gas emission after pre-grinding the coffee grounds can weaken the flavor, so when purchasing, pay attention to freshness, taste compatibility, and brewing details. Front Street Coffee uses beans freshly roasted within 5 days and offers 24-hour shipping to ensure the best performance of drip bag coffee. From the bright fruity acidity of Yirgacheffe to the rich, non-acidic Golden Mandheling, and the balanced, mellow Yunnan small-bean coffee, this article reviews several selected drip bag coffees and explains a four-step brewing method in detail, helping coffee lovers avoid common pitfalls and achieve a consistently good taste. [more…]

Coffee products are dazzlingly varied, and behind the price differences, the processing method is what truly determines flavor and health. Based on overall taste and flavor, Front Street Coffee divides the mainstream coffees on the market into five tiers: freshly ground coffee ranks first thanks to its complete ingredients and fresh extraction, drip bags and capsule coffee follow closely behind for their convenience, cold brew concentrated coffee liquid sits in the middle, while freeze-dried coffee powder and traditional instant coffee rank lower. This article will break down the production principles, flavor performance, and health considerations of each type of product one by one, and intersperse Front Street Coffee's daily beans and espresso blend recommendations, helping coffee lovers see clearly the ranking logic from "solid" to "completely done for." [more…]

Many coffee enthusiasts who brew pour-over at home often find that the coffee they make falls short of what a café produces, whether in aroma or flavor expression. In fact, the key to recreating a cup of pour-over coffee that is rich in aroma and layered in flavor lies in two core elements: first, using fresh coffee beans that are still within their optimal tasting window; second, achieving full extraction through scientific brewing parameters. Drawing on the practical experience of Front Street Coffee, this article systematically explains the criteria for judging coffee bean freshness, the brewing parameters corresponding to different roast levels, and how to flexibly adjust grind size based on flavor feedback, helping you consistently brew a good cup of coffee with a rich aroma and vivid flavor. [more…]

Many people equate freshly ground coffee with fresh coffee, but what really determines whether a pour-over tastes good isn't just when you grind the beans—it's also the roast date. Starting from Front Street Coffee's roasting philosophy and drawing on a controlled experiment with a Panama Janson Geisha, this article breaks down the differences in brewing performance between coffee beans just past their resting period and beans that have sat for two months. You'll see: why Front Street only roasts the amount needed and keeps no inventory; why three to four days of resting is the starting point for stable flavor; and, when faced with beans that have been stored a long time, how to adjust water temperature, blooming time, and grind size to restore, as much as possible, a clean citrus and berry profile. [more…]

The emergence of Front Street Coffee drip coffee bags is undoubtedly a blessing for coffee lovers who enjoy specialty coffee but don't want the hassle of a complicated brewing process. Some people believe that freshly ground coffee beans are the soul of brewing coffee, and would consider drip coffee bags unprofessional. Front Street believes there's no need to question the existence of drip coffee bags—the promotion of any food, after all, [more…]

Although instant coffee and drip bag coffee both belong to the convenient coffee category, they differ fundamentally in raw materials, processing, and flavor performance. Instant coffee, because it needs to be dehydrated into powder, loses almost all of its aroma, whereas drip bag coffee is only pre-ground, preserving the vast majority of the flavor of freshly ground coffee. Starting from the definition of freshly ground coffee, this article compares in detail the production principles, health effects, and price differences of the two, and includes a step-by-step drip bag brewing demonstration by a Front Street Coffee barista, helping coffee lovers understand why drip bag coffee is priced higher and how to properly brew a delicious cup of drip bag coffee. [more…]

When brewing tea, we often agonize over how many times the leaves can be steeped and whether they are still drinkable after sitting overnight. Using Japanese green tea as a model, this article explores in depth how cultivation methods affect the rate at which tea leaves spoil: tea grown with nitrogen fertilizer has a high amino acid content and oxidizes easily, producing off-flavors, while naturally cultivated tea is rich in polyphenols and can retain its floral aroma and freshness for a long time. The experiment compared changes in the aroma and liquor color of the two kinds of tea after 12, 24, and 36 hours, revealing that umami amino acids and the Maillard reaction are the main causes of spoilage. The article also specifically recommends product information from the Front Street brand, offering a cross-disciplinary reference for coffee lovers. Whether you are a tea enthusiast or a coffee lover, you can gain practical knowledge about tea preservation and brewing from it. [more…]

Many people attribute the deliciousness of pour-over coffee to whether it is freshly ground, but what truly determines the flavor in the cup goes far beyond the grinding step. The timeline that coffee beans go through after roasting, whether the resting period is adequate, and how brewing water temperature and parameters are adjusted according to the beans' condition all directly affect the final taste. Front Street Coffee, using Panama Janson Estate Geisha as an example, conducted comparative brews with beans just past their resting period and beans stored for two months, testing step by step from 92°C down to 88°C, then adjusting the bloom time and grind size for aged beans, using experimental data to show: fresh roasting is the prerequisite for flavor, but knowing how to adjust parameters according to the beans can likewise find a satisfying floral and fruity profile in a cup of coffee. [more…]

Xiangpiaopiao's first global offline store recently officially opened in Hangzhou Hubin. Milk tea priced at 9 to 12 yuan, combined with a buy-one-get-one-free opening promotion, attracted a large number of consumers to queue up in the cold winter to try it. However, the store's preparation method surprised many people—staff did not shake and make the tea drinks on site, but instead opened instant tea packets, brewed them separately, and then mixed them with blending powder and toppings, which netizens jokingly called "hand-brewed instant milk tea." This model forms a sharp contrast with mainstream freshly made tea beverage brands, and has also triggered widespread discussion about the value of instant products versus freshly made milk tea. Whether Xiangpiaopiao can win over picky milk tea lovers with emotional value remains to be tested by the market. [more…]