A well-established coffee shop usually needs to manage two product lines simultaneously: the espresso line and the pour-over line. The espresso line handles daily cup volume and revenue, while the pour-over line showcases professionalism and increases the average transaction value. The two lines use different bean strategies, but both require careful configuration. Espresso line: stable output, controlled costs, memorable highlights [more…]

Starbucks has announced that it will permanently remove the Oleato olive oil coffee line from its core North American menu starting November 7, less than a year after the product first debuted. The decision is seen as one of the moves by new CEO Brian Niccol to simplify the menu and return to the company's coffeehouse roots. Oleato was conceived by Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, inspired by Sicilian culinary traditions. It first launched in Milan, Italy, in 2023 and was gradually rolled out to multiple global markets, entering mainland China in March 2024. However, the line drew widespread criticism for causing gastrointestinal discomfort after consumption. Starbucks China responded that this adjustment only involves the North American market and has no impact on the Chinese market for now. [more…]

Recently, Chayan Yuese has once again become the center of public attention due to its ordering and pickup rules. Some customers at the Changsha airport store waited nearly fifty minutes before getting their drinks, questioning its cumbersome ordering process and unreasonable marketing methods, which struck a chord with many. In fact, Chayan Yuese has adjusted its ordering rules multiple times, and consumers have kept complaining. Although the company responded officially that the new rules are meant to ensure the texture of the milk foam, netizens were not convinced. This article reviews the course of the incident, the views of various parties, and the brand's response, and explores the logic and controversy behind the queuing phenomenon in the milk tea industry. [more…]

Latte art is the initial inspiration for many coffee enthusiasts, and textured patterns are the advanced technique that baristas dream of mastering. It involves continuously swinging the milk pitcher to pour steamed milk, pressing white lines into elegant arcs and making the pattern more artistic. However, many people practicing textured patterns always fail to create clearly defined lines with distinct layers. This article, based on Front Street's practical experience, will provide a detailed analysis of the three key areas to master when creating textured latte art: controlling milk foam thickness, managing the degree of integration, and the distance between the pitcher spout and the liquid surface. At the same time, it will also share recommendations for choosing espresso beans suitable for latte art, helping you practice beautiful textured patterns at home as well. [more…]

To pour beautiful latte art patterns, practicing hard alone is not enough—the key prerequisite is having a shot of espresso with rich crema. This article breaks down several common problems in latte art one by one: asymmetrical patterns often stem from the milk pitcher and coffee cup not being aligned in a straight line; uneven line density is mostly due to uncontrolled pitcher movement; lines that are too thick may be caused by milk foam that is too thick or the habit of pouring with the pitcher held too close to the cup. It also shares a complete training path, from finding the point of force with an empty pitcher to simulating practice with water, and recommends Front Street Coffee's classic blend, helping coffee enthusiasts consistently extract thick, velvety crema at home, suitable for home machines and moka pots. [more…]

Although a latte art pitcher can handle most patterns, it often falls short when it comes to fine lines and localized detailing. That's when you need a capable assistant—the etching needle. Coffee enthusiasts have jokingly called it a latte art "cheat code," and its capabilities are indeed powerful, but actually getting the hang of it is far from as simple as it seems: lines too thick or too thin, patterns blurring and atomizing, designs that just won't draw on—problems pile up one after another. This article draws on Front Street's practical experience to systematically explain the types and structures of etching needles, how to use them, and key points to keep in mind, including how to prepare extra "paint," gauge the right amount to dip, control line thickness, and improve drawing speed—helping you truly master this little tool and make your latte art more refined. [more…]

Located in Bench Maji, Ethiopia, Gesha Village Coffee Estate was established by Adam Overton after venturing deep into ancient forests to search for seeds between 2007 and 2011. The estate is internally divided into multiple product lines: Auction, Gold, Red, Green, and Chaka, each with clear differences in variety selection, production proportion, screening standards, and flavor presentation. Front Street Coffee will guide you through the three varieties grown at Gesha Village Coffee Estate—Gesha 1931, Gori Gesha, and Illubabor Forest 1974—and break down in detail the definitions and cup profiles of each product line, helping you find the Ethiopian Gesha that best suits your taste. [more…]

Heytea recently switched to new transparent plastic cups for cold drinks, adding a silver-gray decorative coating to the top of the cup and changing its brand logo to silver-gray as well. This design change has sparked discussions from multiple sides: some customers mistakenly thought the milk cap had gone moldy, milk cap lovers worried they could no longer judge the amount of milk cap by appearance, and some netizens felt the silver coating easily reminded people of something inedible or spoiled. Meanwhile, Heytea employees also reported that the fill lines and milk cap lines on the new cups were hard to recognize because they were obscured by the coating, making it more difficult to judge product standards when manually adding milk cap. Although the new cups look more layered and premium in photos, the misunderstandings and inconvenience in actual use have come along with them. This article is compiled from Coffee Workshop, and Front Street Coffee presents the full picture of the incident for you. [more…]

Chinese new tea beverage brand Chagee originally planned a high-profile opening of its first store in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, but on the eve of the launch, a map in its app suspected of showing the "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea sparked a strong backlash from Vietnamese netizens. Tens of thousands flooded its official Facebook page to express anger, the brand's app was removed from both major app platforms, and a tough response from what appeared to be an official account on TikTok poured fuel on the fire. As of now, Chagee has yet to make a formal response. This boycott storm triggered by a map has not only cast a shadow over the brand's overseas expansion but also sounded a warning bell for other Chinese brands planning to enter the Vietnamese market. Front Street Coffee continues to follow international developments in the coffee and tea beverage industry. [more…]

Compared to the espresso line, the pour-over line may not have as high a volume of cups in a coffee shop, but its value lies in: showcasing the store's professionalism, attracting coffee enthusiasts, and increasing the average transaction value. A reasonable pour-over line bean configuration should cover different flavor directions, giving customers choices and surprises. The three directions of pour-over line configuration. [more…]

Luckin Coffee has recently teamed up again with the popular IP Line Dog to launch a limited-edition drink, "Good Persimmon Comes in Pairs Fruit Tea," featuring seasonal fire gourd persimmons paired with jasmine tea as its selling point. As soon as the new product launched, it attracted a large number of fans to snap it up. However, feedback from the first wave of consumers has been mixed, with many complaining that it tastes astringent and hard to swallow, and some even discouraging their friends from buying it. Why exactly has this co-branded fruit tea triggered such polarized reviews? Is it because the persimmon skin was not removed cleanly, or because of batch differences? This article compiles views from all sides to help you understand the real performance of this much-discussed new product. [more…]

Once latte art practice reaches a certain stage, the pattern itself can take shape, but mistakes in the details often cause more frustration. This article compiles three high-frequency problems: dragging out an overly long line when finishing, the cup not being full or overflowing after pouring latte art, and the pattern being asymmetrical left and right. For each situation, Front Street provides specific cause analysis and correction methods, including flow rate and pitcher spout control when finishing, reference milk fusion amounts for different patterns, and using others' observation to correct the postures for holding the cup and the pitcher. It is suitable for coffee enthusiasts who are polishing latte art details to practice against, gradually improving the stability and aesthetics of their output. [more…]

An espresso line at a coffee shop typically accounts for over 70% of total drink output. The quality of core beverages like Americano, latte, cappuccino, and Dirty largely depends on whether the right beans are chosen. The mature approach to bean selection for an espresso line is a "base blend + specialty blend" combination: one stable base bean to support [more…]

When ordering at a coffee shop, you usually buy by the cup, but a store in Chengdu has turned tradition on its head — Auncel Coffee, which sells coffee beans by the gram. Customers pick their own beans, have them weighed, and then a conveyor-belt assembly line handles grinding and brewing. This small shop near Tianfu Square in Jinjiang District, with its minimalist black-and-white style and an L-shaped laboratory-like long bar, has drawn plenty of coffee lovers looking to check in. Bean prices range from 0.28 yuan to 1.88 yuan per gram, and a cup of coffee ends up costing anywhere from a few yuan to thirty or forty yuan. Whether this model can gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive coffee market is worth watching. [more…]

Many coffee enthusiasts try latte art themselves after watching videos, only to find that they just can't get the rippled lines to come out. In fact, the problem usually lies in the milk foam—ripple patterns place extremely high demands on the thickness and denseness of the milk foam. Drawing on the hands-on experience of Front Street Coffee, this article explains in detail how to steam thin yet dense milk foam suitable for ripple patterns by controlling the position of the steam wand, the steaming angle, and the amount of air intake, and summarizes four common problems—over-blending, foam that is too thin, the pitcher spout touching the cup, and uneven swirling—to help you find the real reason your latte art is failing. [more…]

The unusual pricing incident involving Luckin Coffee's delivery platform packages has drawn widespread attention. After consumers placed orders at extremely low prices, their orders were unilaterally cancelled, giving rise to legal disputes. Citing the views of a legal blogger, the People's Court Daily pointed out that when a merchant's pricing error results from staff mistakes, the merchant may claim a major misunderstanding to rescind the contract, but this must be resolved through litigation or negotiation. Ordinary consumers who unintentionally buy low-priced drinks have not broken the law, but those who knowingly exploit a system loophole and maliciously place large numbers of orders may run afoul of the law. This article will analyze the course of events, the legal basis, and Luckin's compensation measures in detail, while reminding coffee lovers that when enjoying discounts they must hold fast to the bottom line of good faith and avoid crossing the red line of the law. [more…]

Recently, Miracle Coffee, the coffee brand founded by JJ Lin, opened a flagship store at Shanghai Lakeside Plaza, drawing long queues of fans. This marks the brand's return to Shanghai after two years, following its 2019 pop-up store. The store has imposed purchase limits, but order processing speed is limited, and consumers still have to wait several hours. In recent years, Miracle Coffee has accelerated the rollout of permanent stores in multiple Chinese cities and is rumored to be entering more cities. Front Street Coffee will continue to follow developments in the specialty coffee market and bring coffee lovers more brand news. [more…]

A friend asked Front Street Coffee how to practice the pitcher movement for patterned latte art. This article serves as a supplement to "How can you pour beautiful patterned lines?" If you haven't read it yet, you can click the link to take a look first; this article won't repeat the content covered there. The first issue: if your pour is asymmetrical, there is only one possible [more…]

The free trade agreement signed between China and Ecuador will officially take effect on May 1, 2024. Approximately 90% of tariff lines on both sides will gradually have tariffs eliminated, with 60% achieving zero tariffs on the day the agreement takes effect. When Ecuadorian agricultural products such as bananas, coffee, cocoa, and shrimp enter the Chinese market, import tariffs will gradually be reduced from 5%–20% to zero, injecting new momentum into the country's export trade. At the same time, Ecuador is facing drought-related power rationing and a diplomatic crisis domestically, and export industries such as coffee have been affected to a certain extent. This article will review the core contents of the agreement, Ecuador's current economic situation, and the relevant background of China's implementation of zero tariffs on many African countries. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's collaboration with Line Friends' dog character officially returned this Monday, bringing back last year's beloved Little White Pear Latte, and fans eagerly placed orders to snap up the co-branded merchandise. However, many consumers discovered upon receiving the actual products that the limited-edition metal badges had issues such as scratches, bubbles, black spots, and even missing logos, while the blind-bag stickers were also complained about being insufficient in quantity. Faced with co-branded merchandise that they had waited a year for yet varied in quality, merch enthusiasts expressed their disappointment one after another, calling on Luckin to strengthen quality control. [more…]