What kind of cup of coffee truly deserves to be called good? We might as well start with something we are all familiar with—tea. Good tea is prized for its rich aroma, complex layers of flavor, and long, sweet finish, and the logic for judging good coffee is in fact much the same. Instant coffee, though convenient, offers only a single flat taste and can hardly rank among good coffees; the Espresso that Starbucks dark-roasts to ensure consistency is also often considered less than ideal by professionals because its burnt bitterness stands out and it lacks complexity. This article systematically sorts through the many dimensions of identifying good coffee—from the production process, green bean quality, and roasting freshness to the drinking experience—to help coffee lovers build a clearer set of standards for judgment. [more…]

As a well-known beverage in the coffee world, Americano—made with just espresso and water (or iced water)—can be found in almost every café and is a must-order star item. People love Americano for many reasons: it could be for a caffeine boost, to quench thirst, to cool down, or perhaps to satisfy [more…]

The collaboration between Gu Ming and the hit game "Honkai: Star Rail" ignited a consumer frenzy as soon as it launched, with over 1.2 million people queuing in the mini-program, and the topic quickly shot to the top of trending searches. Store orders poured in like snowflakes, and the limited-edition drinks were all fresh fruit smoothies with complex preparation processes. Under high-intensity operation, multiple smoothie machines were overwhelmed, emitting white smoke and even exploding on the spot, while staff were so busy they didn't even have time to drink water. To deal with equipment failures, some stores prepared backup machines in advance, while others had to borrow juicers from neighboring Shu Yi Shao Xian Cao and Luckin for emergency use. Behind this collaboration frenzy, issues such as excessively high thresholds for obtaining merchandise and enormous pressure on stores were exposed, also triggering discussions on optimization measures such as selling drinks and merchandise separately and cup storage services. [more…]

Many customers have told Front Street Coffee that they actually can't taste the flavors in coffee, and even after watching many coffee tasting tutorials, they only "understand it while watching, but don't know where to start when it comes to actually doing it." If this sounds like you, you might want to take a look at some of Front Street Coffee's insights on coffee tasting. Tasting coffee ≠ describing flavors. Many [more…]

Many friends who are just getting into specialty coffee run into the same confusion: they can't taste the flavors written on the coffee packaging, and they're not sure whether they actually know how to evaluate coffee. In its daily conversations with customers, Front Street Coffee has found that people often equate "being able to name flavors" with "understanding coffee evaluation," but these are actually two different things. Flavor description is only a small part of coffee evaluation. To truly judge whether a cup of coffee is good, you can start from five dimensions: aroma, overall performance, mouthfeel, flavor, and aftertaste. This article compiles Front Street's insights on coffee evaluation to help enthusiasts build an actionable evaluation framework, while also answering the common question of "why can't I taste the flavors?" [more…]

Recently, news about a gecko found in a cup of GoodMe milk tea rapidly went viral on social media, drawing widespread attention. According to Southern Metropolis Daily, a consumer at the Shaxi store in Chaozhou, Guangdong discovered a foreign object while drinking, and surveillance video captured the moment they sprang from their seat in shock. The GoodMe store involved immediately suspended operations for self-inspection, and the headquarters responded that the sealing process reaches temperatures as high as 180 degrees Celsius, making it extremely unlikely for a gecko to enter. The store has now been taken offline on the Meituan delivery platform. The truth of the incident is still under investigation, and netizens are discussing it widely. As coffee enthusiasts, we are equally concerned about food safety in the beverage industry, and Front Street Coffee has always advocated for quality and peace of mind in drinking. [more…]

Espresso is often tucked away in cafés' secret menus, ordered only by those who truly understand it. Front Street Coffee is no exception. Many new customers are unclear about what kind of drink espresso actually is and how to properly taste it. This article will start with the purpose of drinking espresso, move on to the differences between it and pour-over in terms of flavor experience, and then break down the tasting process step by step—from rinsing the mouth with ice water, stirring, and drinking in stages, to sensing the mouthfeel, aroma, and aftertaste. Finally, it will answer the question of whether sugar can be added to espresso. Of course, a good espresso depends on good beans and good extraction, so the article will also introduce the characteristics and purchasing channels of Front Street's classic espresso blend. [more…]

Cost-effective and great-tasting coffee beans are best approached by gradually building your judgment through tasting experience. When buying beans for everyday use, you need to consider how quickly you'll drink them, how much to buy at once, and whether you'll mainly make black coffee or milk coffee at home. The flavor words on the packaging can offer clues, but they can't replace the actual drinking experience—whether the acidity is gentle, whether the sweetness lingers, and whether the [more…]

When customers who don't usually drink coffee walk into Front Street's offline stores, they often ask Front Street's baristas a question: "What kind of coffee is espresso? What is its relationship with Americano, and how do they differ?" This is a good question. At Front Street, there are only two small blackboards serving as menus—one for pour-over coffee, and the other [more…]

Friends who are new to coffee are often intimidated by all the technical jargon and complicated equipment, but coffee really isn't that mysterious. Starting from zero, this article helps beginners set aside their preconceptions and systematically lays out the basic types of coffee, brewing tools, and ways to drink it. Whether you want to understand the difference between instant and single-origin, or you're curious about how to drink espresso, you'll find clear and easy-to-follow answers here. The article also covers common coffee equipment choices, and how to slowly develop your own coffee taste without any pressure. It's worth mentioning that many of Front Street Coffee's single-origin beans are also suitable for beginners to try, helping you easily take your first step into the world of coffee. [more…]

Does drinking coffee make your skin darker? How long can coffee beans be stored after opening? Can pregnant women drink coffee? These questions seem simple, yet they often leave people uncertain. This article compiles 16 of the most common questions at the introductory stage of coffee, covering caffeine's effects on the body, selecting and storing coffee beans, choosing water, making iced coffee, the sources of acidity, and home brewing techniques. Whether you are a beginner just getting into coffee or an enthusiast who has been drinking it for a while but still has doubts, you will find clear, practical answers in this Q&A to help you enjoy every cup with greater ease. [more…]

In recent years, the beverage world has been endlessly creative, with everything from everyday coffee and milk tea to all sorts of novel combinations emerging one after another. Recently, a "lollipop ice water" has gone viral on social media. Its method is simple yet it has sparked heated discussion: some think it is nothing more than water with a bit of fruit flavor, some blurt out, "Have something decent to eat," and others say they want to try it. Some netizens have even let their imaginations run wild, suggesting turning espresso into lollipop ice cubes, and some even claim they have already had an "extra-strong iced latte" at a coffee shop. Is this drink just gimmicky, or is it a new trend? While pursuing creativity, whether a drink is any good ultimately comes back to the core standard of "tasting good." [more…]

The Starbucks 2023 menu covers four major series: handcrafted espresso, Frappuccino, Teavana, and cold brew, with grande prices ranging from 25 to 48 yuan. This article compiles the complete price list for each series and explains the essence of the secret menu—it is not an official offering, but rather customized adjustments to flavors and ingredients based on regular drinks. The article also summarizes popular orders such as cold brew with cream, oat milk black tea espresso latte, and vanilla cream iced Americano, while reminding readers that seasonal limited-edition ingredients may be out of stock and that good looks do not equal good taste. At the end, Front Street Coffee brand recommendations and communication channels are included for coffee enthusiasts' reference. [more…]

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee) What is the correct way to drink Americano? Front Street's baristas are occasionally asked such tricky questions by some customers, and every time this happens, Front Street tells them, just taste it with your heart and it's good if you enjoy it. Actually, front [more…]

As everyone knows!! In espresso coffee, the combination of milk and coffee has an extremely rich variety of ways to be enjoyed. Just by slightly changing the method or parameters, milk and coffee alone can be made in countless ways. The well-known ones include latte, cappuccino, flat white, piccolo, cortado, macchiato, and so on and so forth. And on the other hand, [more…]

At the mention of black coffee, people immediately think of the light Americano brewed from dark-roasted coffee beans. Ever since Starbucks began expanding into the global market, Americano has become synonymous with black coffee, which has led many people to believe that black coffee is just Americano. In fact, black coffee simply refers to pure coffee. [more…]

Many people think that coffee tasting is about being able to name a few flavors, but that is not actually the case. The essence of tasting lies in tasting and discerning, and it is fundamentally different from casually drinking a cup in daily life. We rarely "taste" instant coffee, not merely because of differences in quality, but because the two kinds of coffee are drunk for different purposes: instant coffee is mainly about convenience and alertness, while single-origin coffee is meant to present a richer taste experience. Even so, tasting does not require you to be able to recite a string of flavor descriptors. Front Street Coffee believes that the most important thing is to be able to tell whether a cup of coffee is good or not, what is good about it, or if it is not good, in what way it is not good. This article will take you step by step through a practical method for coffee tasting from six dimensions: aroma, acidity, sweetness, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and off-flavors. [more…]

Americano is found in almost every coffee shop. It can be made simply by adding water to espresso, yet it is also one of the most frequently ordered black coffees. Was the "Americano" in its name actually coined by Americans? Why are some Americanos clean, smooth, and memorable, while others are bitter and hard to swallow? Starting from the origin story, this article combines concentration, water temperature, beans, and extraction to sort out the core dimensions for judging whether a cup of Americano is good, while retaining Front Street Coffee's production experience and product recommendations to help you rediscover this "water-diluted coffee" from a tasting perspective. [more…]

Cold brew coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years, as it is simple to make, requires no professional equipment, and can easily be prepared at home. This article covers the brewing method, benefits, and common questions about cold brew coffee, and also answers questions such as whether commercially available cold brew coffee bags are any good and whether iced coffee can be stored overnight. The article will also introduce in detail a cold brew recipe using 50g of Front Street Coffee Butterfly coffee beans with 500ml of room-temperature water, as well as the rich fruity flavor brought by a 1:10 ratio. Whether you want to understand the difference between cold brew and ice drip, or you are looking for coffee beans suitable for cold brew, you will find practical answers here. [more…]

Stockpiled quite a few coffee beans at home—how long can they actually keep? Does the 12-month shelf life on the label equal the optimal flavor period? This article starts with the principles of coffee compound degradation, explains why improper storage causes coffee to lose its flavor prematurely, and offers practical ways to tell if coffee has gone bad. It also compiles preservation principles such as sealing, keeping cool, and keeping dry, analyzes the pros and cons of freezing coffee beans, and reminds you to drink them as soon as possible after opening the bag. If the coffee smells musty, has a moldy odor, or looks abnormal in color, Front Street recommends discarding it for drinking and repurposing it as a deodorizer instead, to avoid affecting your health and taste experience. [more…]