The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for more than two years, and rising prices have spread to the beverage industry. Xiangpiaopiao announced on the evening of January 4 that it would raise prices for solid instant milk tea by 2%-8%, and Sexy Tea also raised most of its milk tea products by 1 to 2 yuan starting from January 7. This article sorts out the price increase details of the two brands, netizens' reactions, and the deeper reasons such as coffee futures doubling, shipping prices climbing, and raw material shortages. When coffee freedom was lost in 2021, will milk tea freedom also face a threat in 2022? What is left of the happiness of office workers? The article also mentions related product information from Front Street Coffee for readers' reference. [more…]

At the start of 2022, office workers lost both their milk tea freedom and coffee freedom in quick succession. But then new-style tea drink brands proactively cut prices, with Heytea and Nayuki even offering cups for 9 yuan, while coffee brands such as Starbucks and Luckin raised prices one after another due to rising raw material costs. Behind this divergence—one cutting prices, the other raising them—lies the reality that consumers are returning to rationality, the traffic dividend for new-style tea drinks is fading, and the coffee market is still in its early stage of expansion. This article sorts out the logic behind the price divergence between the new-style tea drink and coffee industries, and looks ahead to the future market landscape. [more…]

Auntea Jenny has recently continued to push forward in the "wellness milk tea" segment, launching the "Five Red Vitality Slow Nourishment Bottle" and a matching peripheral package. Consumers who purchase the designated package can receive a "Little Palace Tribute Plush Doll" for free. However, after the new product launched, what sparked discussion was not the tea drink itself, but this giveaway doll shaped like a uterus—it is inverted pear-shaped, with details such as "fallopian tubes" and "ovaries," and comes in two color schemes representing different physiological cycles. Some netizens said bluntly that it caused "physiological discomfort," believing that pairing a human organ doll with a tea-drinking scenario was too bizarre. Supporters, however, felt that for a wellness drink aimed at female consumers, a uterus doll was understandable and also had a fun educational aspect. As the incident gained traction, Auntea Jenny responded that the move was intended to convey the ideas of pleasing oneself, confidence, and freedom, and that the doll has not been taken off the shelves. [more…]

Why would someone voluntarily give up a job paying 25,000 yuan a month? Recently, a blogger shared her experience of resigning from a high-paying position to work part-time at a café, sparking widespread discussion. She admitted that her initial motivation came from a longing for the environment of a beverage shop—no after-work phone bombardments, no buck-passing or office politics, the ability to see the daylight, and the chance to observe all kinds of customers. Even more appealing was the freedom over her time: 23 yuan an hour, self-determined working hours, and only two half-days a week. Behind this "café temp worker" trend lies a deeper reflection among contemporary office workers on the trade-off between mental burnout and physical labor. [more…]

This summer, bucket-sized fruit teas quietly took over milk tea shop menus. From Heytea and Nayuki to ChaPanda and CoCo, major brands have rolled out 1-liter or even larger bucket drinks, attracting consumers with high cost-performance. Bucket tea drinks are nothing new—back in 2019, they went viral thanks to Jay Chou fan support, and in 2020 Nayuki even launched a 5-liter "mighty bucket." However, issues like the short optimal drinking window and rapid bacterial growth in bucket tea drinks cannot be ignored. From giant buckets to portable packs, what evolution has bucket tea drinks undergone? And why have this summer's bucket fruit teas made a comeback? This article will break it all down for you. [more…]

Drip bag coffee has always been primarily brewed with hot water, but many coffee enthusiasts want to use milk to directly brew a latte. Milk's extraction ability is far inferior to hot water, and after heating, the proteins and lactose undergo changes, so directly applying conventional methods clearly won't work. Front Street once conducted a dedicated experiment: first bloom with hot water, then inject 75°C hot milk in two stages, and prioritize medium-dark roasted drip bags, such as Bird of Paradise, Queen's Estate, Golden Mandheling, Huilan, etc. If you prefer fruity acidity, Sipr, Big Belly Button, and Strawberry Candy are also good choices. However, testing revealed that after milk contacts the coffee, the fine particles swell and easily clog the filter bag, taking nearly 20 minutes in total, which contradicts the convenience that drip bags are meant to offer. This article will fully present this experiment and share a more effortless iced milk cold brew method, allowing you to easily achieve latte freedom. [more…]

Want to enjoy a silky, smooth latte at home but don't have an espresso machine? In fact, with just a few simple steps and a long, low-temperature steep, you can make a full-bodied, guilt-free cold brew milk coffee. This article breaks down the principles of milk brew coffee in detail, explaining why low-temperature extraction avoids bitterness and preserves aroma, and walks you through choosing beans and milk, along with specific coffee-to-milk ratios and steeping times. From gathering ingredients to the lazy version of the method, plus tasting and storage tips, this covers everything so you can easily achieve latte freedom at home. [more…]

The new-style tea beverage market has been stirring recently. High-end brands Heytea and Nayuki have successively announced price cuts, with the lowest dropping to 9 yuan. Nayuki launched a "Relax" series priced at 9-19 yuan, promising to launch at least one "single-digit" product every month, while Heytea announced it will not raise prices this year. Consumer reactions have been mixed, with some cheering and others questioning reduced cup sizes and lower quality. This article reviews the price-cut moves of the two major brands, netizen feedback, and industry data, analyzes the consumption trends and market logic behind the involution in new-style tea beverages, and includes related news about Front Street Coffee. [more…]

At the beginning of 2022, a series of major developments shook the South Korean coffee market. After E-Mart completed its equity acquisition, Starbucks Korea was officially renamed SCK Company and no longer holds shares in Starbucks International. Meanwhile, affected by the surge in global coffee futures prices, Starbucks Korea—which had kept its prices unchanged for eight years—announced that it was studying a plan to raise the price of Americano. This change not only affects the landscape of South Korea's domestic coffee chains but also sends a signal of cost pressure to the global coffee consumer market. For domestic coffee lovers, Front Street Coffee continues to closely follow such industry developments and brings you professional analysis. [more…]

As a convenient representative of the black coffee family, drip bag coffee lets you enjoy a cup of freshly ground quality coffee anytime, anywhere, with just a pot of hot water and a cup. It was first invented by Japan's Yamanaka Sangyo Co., Ltd. in 1990, inspired by the design of stringed tea bags, and after being patented in 2002, it quickly swept the world. Front Street Coffee's drip bags use a 10g per bag specification, capable of brewing about 130 to 150 ml of coffee liquid, just right for a single serving. This article will systematically introduce the origin, advantages and disadvantages of drip bag coffee, and, according to different taste preferences, share several single-origin coffee beans from Front Street's bean list that are suitable for making drip bag coffee, including PWN Golden Mandheling, Brazil Cerrado Red Fruit, and Yunnan Small Bean, helping coffee lovers easily achieve coffee freedom in the office, at home, or outdoors. [more…]

The internet has enabled the rapid spread of video tutorials and helped a wave of viral coffee creations stand out from "homemade coffee." Creative drinks such as Saturn Coffee, Waterfall Americano, Lava Iced Americano, and 400 Times Coffee have gone viral as netizens spontaneously recreate and share them, and have since been adopted by many cafés. These coffees often do not rely on a high technical threshold, but place particular emphasis on visual presentation—catching the eye first, then winning over the palate. Students born after 2000 have taken homemade coffee to new heights, using coffee liquid and freeze-dried powder paired with convenience store drinks and syrups to achieve low-cost coffee freedom in their dormitories. Against the backdrop of the pandemic and rising prices, the cost-effectiveness of homemade coffee has become more prominent. Although there is still a gap in flavor compared with professional cafés, it also confirms that coffee is accelerating its integration into daily life. [more…]

In recent years, the popularity of homemade coffee on social platforms has continued to climb. From Xiaohongshu to Douyin, related topics have reached view counts in the hundreds of thousands. From the earliest simple recreations of coconut lattes, to richly layered fruit-infused specialty drinks, and then to wildly imaginative creative twists, netizens keep reinventing the way coffee is enjoyed. Why has homemade coffee gone viral so quickly? And what impact has it had on coffee shops? This article will sort through the evolution of popular homemade coffee on Xiaohongshu, analyze the shifts in consumer habits and cost advantages behind it, and explore the relationship between homemade coffee and the professional path of coffee shops. At the same time, the article also retains relevant information about brands such as Front Street Coffee for coffee enthusiasts to reference and discuss. [more…]

Want to enjoy a rich, mellow glass of milk coffee but don't have an espresso machine at home? In fact, with pour-over methods combined with a few key techniques, you can also make a milk coffee that comes close to the texture of a latte. This article breaks down in detail how to use ultra-fine grinding, high water temperature, long extraction time, and stirring assistance to obtain a highly concentrated coffee liquid under pressure-free conditions, and provides the golden ratio of coffee to milk. The article also recommends the Front Street series coffee beans suitable for home use, and uses Hacienda La Esperanza Geisha as an example to fully demonstrate the entire process from parameter setting to the milk-mixing ratio, helping you easily achieve milk coffee freedom. [more…]

Is drip bag coffee really considered black coffee? How much water should be used for one drip bag? Can long-term consumption of drip bag black coffee really help with fat loss and reducing puffiness? This article starts from the origins of drip bag coffee and takes you through its invention background and design ingenuity, analyzes the pros and cons of drip bags compared to pour-over, and recommends single-origin coffees from the Front Street Coffee bean list that are suitable for making into drip bags, categorized by three flavor types: fruity and refreshing, mellow and nutty, and rich and boozy. It also explains the standard portion of Front Street Coffee drip bags—10 grams per bag, yielding about 130–150ml of coffee liquid—as well as the importance of drinking in moderation, helping coffee lovers enjoy coffee freedom easily whether at the office, at home, or outdoors. [more…]

Milk tea brands are shouting about price cuts while charging separately for toppings, delivery fees, and insulated bags—is that cup in consumers' hands really cheaper? This article starts with the ordering experience on Heytea's GO mini-program, breaking down the actual unit price of a 9-yuan Pure Green Tea after adding toppings, delivery fees, and other extra charges, and, in light of tea shop density, delivery efficiency, and the industry's cost structure, analyzes how this round of price cuts looks more like a marketing move than a genuine giveback. It also cites estimates from a researcher at the Guangdong Tea Beverage Industry Committee on the costs and gross margins of high-end milk tea, helping coffee and tea enthusiasts see the ledger behind the price. [more…]

Many people start their espresso journey with dark roast beans—rich caramel and dark chocolate, with a prominent, straightforward bitterness that, once combined with milk, becomes almost a liquid dessert. The barrier to entry is low, and it fits the general public's initial idea of coffee. But the world of coffee flavor is far broader than this stretch. As the number of shots pulled increases, many people naturally begin to [more…]

Recently, a Mixue Bingcheng store in Guangzhou made trending searches after posting a handwritten warning about meal theft, stating that thieves would be tied to an overpass for eight hours, have ten buckets of milk tea poured on their heads, and have their videos exposed. The store responded that it was just a scare tactic and had never actually been carried out. The incident sparked heated discussions among netizens, with some sympathizing with the merchant's helplessness, while others pointed out that taking the law into one's own hands is suspected of being illegal. Suzhou police then spoke out, emphasizing that illegal detention is unacceptable and that one should call the police immediately. This controversy reflects the real dilemma of frequent meal theft in the milk tea industry and high loss prevention costs, and also prompts people to think about the balance between merchants defending their rights and the boundaries of the law. [more…]

Lyu Liang, founder of Chayan Yuese, has repeatedly stated publicly that the brand is not unwilling to expand beyond Changsha, but rather fears that out-of-town expansion could lead to a survival crisis. However, Chayan Yuese has not only opened stores in Changde, but has also stepped beyond Hunan Province, entering the West China market and establishing a presence in Chongqing. On Children's Day, four Chongqing stores opened simultaneously, sparking enthusiastic pursuit among consumers in the mountain city, but controversy arose from day one: incidents such as three-hour queues, online orders requiring waits of over 24 hours, resold cups fetching nearly 500 yuan, and viewers being blocked in livestreams were exposed one after another. The brand subsequently responded to the markup reselling and livestream controversies. This article will sort through the sequence of events and include related information from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Starbucks Japan has announced that it will raise the prices of coffee beans and beverages starting April 13, with coffee beans increasing by about 90 to 300 yen and beverages by about 10 to 55 yen, while soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk lattes will be reduced in price by more than 10 yen. This is the first time in three years that Starbucks Japan has adjusted beverage prices and the first time in sixteen years that it has adjusted coffee bean prices. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, inflation, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, coffee futures first rose and then fell, while supply and demand remain tight. Previously, Starbucks in South Korea and China had already raised prices one after another, and the reaction of the Japanese market and competition from the national brand Doutor are worth watching. Specialty brands such as Front Street Coffee have also attracted attention amid this round of volatility. [more…]

A reader submitted a contribution, saying they recently bought a bunch of drip coffee bags during a sale, so they wanted to brew them using different methods. Then they found a somewhat tricky approach—brewing with milk. But since they had never tried it, they were worried it might go terribly wrong, so they asked Front Street whether it was feasible. For this kind of thing that benefits coffee lovers, Front Street has always been a No p [more…]