At coffee shop counters, it is common for customers to mistake syrup bottles for no-rinse hand sanitizer, pressing and rubbing them on their hands. Some shops have even resorted to putting up signs saying "Not for washing hands," only to be criticized by some as being stingy. Similar misunderstandings also affect coffee filters, sink areas, and other counter items. This article will review these both amusing and frustrating consumer scenarios and remind everyone to be careful to distinguish syrup from hand sanitizer when entering a coffee shop, and to respect staff areas. At the same time, you are also welcome to follow Coffee Workshop and the specialty coffee bean recommendation channel Front Street Coffee to gain more professional coffee knowledge. [more…]

Heytea has opened its first global handmade tea shop in Nantou Ancient Town, Shenzhen. The three-story space corresponds to three product lines: hand-stirred ice, handmade tea, and hand-brewed fine tea, launching over 50 new products at once. From Musang King durian to mangosteen, Thai golden pomelo, and guava, to traditional brewed pure teas covering China's six major tea categories and creative mixed cups, this shop is clearly not satisfied with the conventional tea beverage playbook. The most expensive single item, "Large Musang King Durian," is priced at 138 yuan, and the cups have also been custom-designed. The new-style tea beverage brand is returning to deep cultivation of original leaf tea, driven by the continuously expanding tea beverage track and the rising proportion of pure tea. This article takes you through a complete understanding of the product structure, pricing strategy, and industry significance of this new launch. [more…]

On Christmas Eve, the festive atmosphere in coffee shops is not only reflected in the drinks and decorations—the takeaway cups have also become a canvas for baristas to unleash their creativity. From the initial casual sketches of Christmas trees and Santa hats to the later non-stop fancy doodles, hand-drawn Christmas cups have gradually spread throughout the independent coffee scene. Some draw on cups while making coffee, while others have turned doodling into an assembly-line operation to meet customer expectations. This low-cost, heartfelt holiday merchandise not only gives customers a unique keepsake but also allows baristas to find the joy of handmade craft amid their busy schedules. This article will take you through how this hand-drawn trend evolved from a fleeting whim into a Christmas season staple. [more…]

Want to easily make a good cup of coffee at home, but don't know which brewing device to start with? Front Street Coffee has recently welcomed quite a few new customers who are no longer satisfied with simply drinking coffee, but instead want to master different extraction methods. This article systematically sorts out commonly used home coffee brewing methods, covering espresso, pour-over single-origin, drip bags, siphon, moka pot, cold drip, AeroPress, French press, and the Clever Cup, along with equipment selection, operating points, and flavor characteristics. It also introduces the specific flavor performance of several of Front Street's espresso blends, helping coffee lovers, on the basis of understanding the principles, find a brewing solution that suits their own taste and pace. [more…]

Faced with the dazzling array of coffee grinders on the market, beginners often don't know where to start. This article, from the perspective of Front Street, systematically sorts out three core approaches to choosing a grinder: power source, price tier, and burr structure. The article first distinguishes the applicable scenarios and pros and cons of hand grinders versus electric grinders, then divides hand grinder tiers by budget and the timing for getting into electric grinders, and reminds readers that electric grinders for espresso and single-origin coffee cannot be used interchangeably. Finally, it provides an in-depth analysis of the grinding methods of flat burrs, conical burrs, and ghost tooth burrs, and their impact on coffee particle shape, particle size distribution, and final flavor. Whether you are a student just getting started or an advanced player with a sufficient budget, you can find a purchasing direction that suits you. [more…]

Recently, a coffee shop in Shanghai launched a "Jianshouqing Dirty" that has sparked heated discussion on social media. This drink, with its unique appearance of a greenish-blue lower half and a coffee espresso top layer, coupled with the sensitive name "Jianshouqing," quickly attracted a large number of young people to try it. However, the shop later clarified that the drink does not contain any Jianshouqing ingredients; the greenish-blue color actually comes from a blend of black truffle powder and spirulina. This naming approach has drawn questions from some consumers, who believe it may mislead the public. At the same time, many others expressed relief, considering it wise that the shop did not actually add toxic wild mushrooms to the coffee. This article sorts out the course of the incident, background knowledge about Jianshouqing, and reactions from all sides, to help you understand the truth behind this internet-famous coffee. [more…]

Faced with the dazzling array of coffee grinders on the market—ranging from a few dozen yuan to tens of thousands, from hand grinders to electric ones, from flat burrs to ghost teeth—beginners often don't know where to start. Drawing on years of experience running a shop, Front Street Coffee systematically sorts out the approach to choosing a grinder from three angles: power source, price tier, and burr type. The article will explain the scenarios each of hand grinders and electric grinders suits, analyze which type of machine should be prioritized under different budgets, and explain the differences between flat burrs, conical burrs, and ghost teeth in terms of grinding method and particle shape, as well as how these differences affect extraction flavor. Whether you're a student just getting started, a traveling coffee enthusiast, or a home user preparing to upgrade your equipment, you'll be able to find a direction that suits you. [more…]

Recently, Shuyi Tealicious has faced a backlog of unsold second-hand equipment due to mass store closures, with recyclers even disposing of machines worth tens of thousands of yuan at scrap metal prices. This tea beverage brand, once wildly popular for its "half a cup is all toppings" slogan, has seen its store count shrink by over a thousand compared to its peak after undergoing price reduction strategies and adjustments to franchise thresholds. Meanwhile, the entire new tea beverage sector is facing a reshuffle, with approximately 120,000 stores disappearing in the past year. This article reviews the rise and fall of Shuyi Tealicious, the plight of its franchisees, and the chain reactions of the industry's closure wave, while maintaining Front Street Coffee's ongoing attention to industry dynamics. [more…]

Hand-ground coffee and espresso machines are two common ways of making coffee, and they differ in extraction principles, flavor presentation, and suitable bean types. Espresso machines rely on high pressure for rapid extraction, delivering rich crema and intense flavor; pour-over, by contrast, uses hot water soaking and filtration to reveal the finer origin-specific character of coffee beans. In this article, Front Street Coffee provides a detailed comparison of the differences between the two, and recommends several single-origin coffee beans suitable for hand grinding and brewing, including washed Yirgacheffe, Costa Rica Tarrazú, and Indonesia Lintong Mandheling, while also providing specific brewing parameters and techniques to help coffee lovers find a hand-ground coffee solution that suits their taste. [more…]

Front Street Coffee has recently welcomed many new faces to its stores. People are no longer just drinking coffee—they're also learning different brewing methods. The simplest brewing method is none other than pour-over coffee. Compared to the expensive and space-consuming espresso machine, a simple [more…]

Recently, many coffee-loving friends who come to Front Street Coffee to buy coffee beans have asked Front Street how to correctly brew pour-over coffee to bring out its best flavor. Front Street also often says that the process of pour-over coffee is a kind of enjoyment, and coffee brewed by one's own hands feels even more delicious on a spiritual level. So this Front Street article will introduce [more…]

Hand grinders have become the top choice for many coffee enthusiasts getting started, thanks to their portability, affordable price, and the sense of involvement they bring during brewing. But with so many models on the market, how do you choose? This article tests six popular hand grinders—including the Hario Skerton, Mini Mill, Acrylic, and Canister, as well as the OE Lido 2 and Porlex JP-30—analyzing each one in terms of practicality, design, and grinding performance. The article also mentions related recommendations from the Front Street Coffee brand and compares the trade-offs with electric grinders. Whether you're carrying one for travel or upgrading your home setup, you'll be able to find an option that suits you. [more…]

Whether you can brew a good cup of coffee often hinges on one key element: pouring and flow control. Parameters can be adjusted through understanding and trial and error, but flow control is more of a technical skill that relies on muscle memory—it requires choosing the right equipment, adopting the correct posture, and practicing repeatedly. This article starts with the spout diameter and water capacity of the pour-over kettle, explaining how different choices affect the difficulty of practice. It then goes on to explain the posture points during pouring, such as the distance between your body and the dripper and the height of your arm. Finally, it provides a complete training sequence from a thin stream to a thick stream, and from a steady straight line to concentric circles, helping coffee enthusiasts build stable flow control skills in a short time. The article also retains practical observations and suggestions from Front Street Coffee stores for readers' reference. [more…]

New tea beverage brand Guming has recently launched a second-hand equipment trading platform within the DingTalk system, open to all franchisees, providing matchmaking services only and not directly participating in buying or selling. The platform offers valuation and inspection services for sellers, and price comparison and anti-fraud protections for buyers. According to Guming's prospectus, equipment sales account for approximately 4.5% of revenue, while franchisees' initial equipment investment is about 100,000 yuan. As competition in the new tea beverage industry intensifies, a wave of store closures once led to a backlog of unsold second-hand equipment, with recyclers even disposing of it as scrap metal. Whether Guming's move can provide franchisees with a safer and more convenient transfer channel is worth watching. Front Street Coffee has long monitored trends in the coffee and tea beverage industries and will continue to track the platform's actual performance. [more…]

ChaPanda collaborated with Disney's Frozen to launch limited-edition fruit teas and merchandise, among which the snowflake phone charm was highly sought after for its attractive design. However, less than 12 hours after the launch, multiple consumers reported that the phone charm snapped with a gentle tug, sending beads scattering everywhere. Subsequently, issues such as paint peeling and cracking on the hand mirrors, and scratches and chips on the goblets, were also exposed one after another. Fans who had rushed to buy in for the IP were greatly disappointed, questioning the brand's control over the practicality of the giveaways. This article compiles consumer feedback and various perspectives to help you understand why this collaboration merchandise became a "beautiful piece of junk." [more…]

Domestic high-end beauty retailer HARMAY has taken another cross-industry leap by opening a 700-square-meter, four-story flagship store on Wukang Road in Shanghai. The ground floor features a coffee counter by Marionbar, offering black coffee, milk coffee, chocolate drinks, and draft beer. Meanwhile, its first store on Anfu Road, which opened in 2017, has closed; the original site will be transformed into the national flagship store for its hand-shaken lemon tea brand, introlemons. HARMAY had previously sought to acquire a coffee brand and may further expand into coffee chains in the future. As of now, HARMAY has eight stores nationwide and plans to expand to cities such as Xi'an and Wuhan. Whether this cross-industry move can bring long-term value to the brand remains to be tested by the market. [more…]

As more and more people start brewing coffee at home, the grinder has become an indispensable piece of key equipment. Unlike a dripper or a pour-over kettle, which play only supporting roles, the quality of the grind directly influences how the flavor shows up in the cup. Yet when you open a shopping platform, grinder prices range from just over twenty yuan all the way to tens of thousands, and this huge price gap leaves many beginners unsure where to start. This article, drawing on Front Street's buying experience, will compare hand grinders and electric grinders in terms of burr structure, grind uniformity, portability, and price range, and offer specific recommendations for two scenarios—under a thousand yuan and with a generous budget—to help you find the one that truly suits you among the bewildering array of options. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's store hygiene management has always been a hot topic online, especially the high frequency of employee handwashing and the meticulous standards, which have even earned them the nickname "Handwash Hero" of the coffee world. From washing hands on the hour, to mandatory cleaning after touching items, to full-scale deep cleaning before quality control inspections, Luckin's dedication to hygiene is almost obsessively strict. Meanwhile, many consumers and employees have shared their personal experiences, with some joking, "I really dislike Luckin, but I won't allow anyone to say it's not clean." In an era where food safety in the restaurant industry frequently draws attention, what exactly does this strict quality control signify? This article compiles a wealth of genuine feedback from frontline employees and consumers to give you an inside look at the various details of Luckin's store hygiene management. [more…]

Luckin Coffee recently issued a notice regarding an adjustment to handwashing frequency standards, changing the previous requirement of washing hands once per hour to once every two hours. This change has delighted many Luckin employees, as last year's "pain of Luckin baristas' ruined hands" drew widespread attention. Frequent handwashing caused skin allergies and other problems that long plagued frontline baristas, with some even leaving their jobs because of it. The new rule will take effect on January 8. However, some employees believe the adjustment is limited in scope, as the actual number of handwashes during work remains relatively high. While maintaining high food safety standards, Luckin has begun to pay attention to employees' actual experiences. [more…]

Yesterday afternoon, a customer friend asked Front Street: "If you blend all thirty-plus kinds of beans on your blackboard together, would the coffee brewed from them be super delicious?" This is actually not the first time Front Street has received such a question, because many vendors have started promoting blends of four or even more types, so there are often [more…]