Every year during the final exam season at the end of June, coffee shops on university campuses become students' life-saving energy stations. Campus stores of Luckin, Cotti, and others see orders surge, with pickup areas piled high with drinks, and waiting for a cup of coffee often taking nearly an hour. However, a Luckin near a university was unexpectedly empty at noon, with its pickup window blocked and a closure notice posted—staff who had not had a proper rest for two consecutive months simply could not withstand the order pressure of exam week. A Gu Ming milk tea shop on the same campus also temporarily closed. Behind this campus coffee order explosion is both students' preference for value-for-money brands and the revealed dilemma of store staffing. [more…]

A new round of subsidy battles on delivery platforms has once again ignited the tea beverage market, with Meituan handing out large numbers of tea drink vouchers, while Ele.me and Taobao Flash Sale fight back with hefty discounts. However, after claiming the vouchers, many consumers found that Goodme stores in Shenzhen, Xi'an, Chengdu, Nanning, and other places showed as "resting/closed" or out of stock on third-party platforms, making it impossible to redeem normally. Interestingly, the same stores were still open on the official mini-program, and products included in the promotion, such as lemonade, could still be ordered. The contradiction between stores actually being overwhelmed with orders and appearing "closed" online has led many to speculate that this is a measure taken by the brand to ease order pressure. Consumers have expressed dissatisfaction over the chaotic promotion, orders being automatically canceled, and no stock upon arrival at stores. Front Street Coffee continues to follow industry developments and brings in-depth observations. [more…]

Recently, many consumers have noticed that Manner coffee shops near them have suddenly closed their doors, showing "resting" on the mini-program, with no clear notice and no timetable for resuming business. It is understood that this phenomenon is closely related to Manner's internal personnel adjustments: baristas with excessive working hours are arranged to take leave, while those with insufficient hours are transferred to other stores for support, resulting in some stores having to temporarily close. At the same time, the brand has also shortened the operating hours of some stores, with morning shifts starting later and evening shifts ending earlier. Whether this adjustment can allow Manner to find a balance between chain expansion, specialty quality, and affordable positioning has become a focal point of industry attention. [more…]

Should freshly roasted coffee beans be brewed right away? How many days should you actually wait for resting? This article starts with the principles of coffee bean degassing, explaining why freshly roasted beans need to rest and how the resting period is affected by roasting method, roast level, and roasting style. It also offers practical ways for ordinary consumers to judge the resting period, helping you find the flavor peak of each bean. Drawing on Front Street Coffee's semi-direct fire roasting experience, the article explains reference resting days for medium-light and medium-dark roasts, and addresses whether fully sealed resting is feasible. [more…]

The bag of coffee beans you just bought is puffed up—has it gone bad, or is this normal? Many people who brew their own coffee have heard the term "resting the beans," but they may not fully understand the principle behind it. After roasting, coffee beans continue to release carbon dioxide, and this process directly determines how the flavor develops. This article starts with the mechanism of coffee bean degassing, explains why coffee bags inflate, analyzes the three major factors that affect the length of the resting period—heat transfer method, roast level, and roasting style—and uses Front Street Coffee's semi-direct-fire roasting as an example to give specific reference days. Finally, it shares a practical method that teaches you how to use your own senses to judge whether a coffee bean has reached its flavor peak, so you can find the resting period that suits you best. [more…]

In the coffee chain industry, standardized store operation management often brings additional execution pressure. Recently, some Luckin Coffee employees reported that in order to prepare for surprise inspections by the quality control department, night shift staff still have to stay after their regular shift to do deep cleaning, and if the inspection does not come the next day, the whole process must be repeated, with some even still busy in the store in the early morning. Since the March 31 incident, some stores have reduced staffing, and the closing tasks originally shared by two people have fallen on one person, yet overtime work rarely comes with corresponding overtime pay. In addition, the system keeps pushing clock-in reminders during off-duty hours, further increasing employees' anxiety. Some employees pointed out that when they leave their posts to count inventory, they are defaulted by surveillance as taking a break, causing their actual meal time to be invisibly encroached upon. Under the combined effect of various factors, unpaid overtime and working-hour calculation issues are becoming the main troubles for frontline employees. [more…]

Closing cleaning in the food and beverage industry has always been a major burden for late-shift employees, and coffee and tea shops are no exception. Recently, some Chagee stores have begun outsourcing closing-time cleaning to third-party professional teams, allowing many employees to get off work on time and even saving on parts replacement costs thanks to thorough equipment cleaning. However, this measure does not benefit all stores: franchise stores need to pay an additional service fee to apply for outsourced staff, and outsourcing only covers daily cleaning, while regular maintenance is still handled by store employees. What worries workers even more is that some franchise store managers have said that if outsourced closing is introduced, they may consider reducing staffing to control costs. Convenience and risk coexist—can outsourced closing truly let employees relax once and for all? [more…]

The aroma of cold brew coffee lies in low temperature and prolonged contact, and the condition of the beans directly affects what ends up in the cup. Freshly roasted coffee beans usually carry a lot of gas, and their aromas have not yet unfurled; after resting for a period, sweetness, fruity notes, and mouthfeel gradually become more harmonious. Therefore, when choosing beans for cold brew, you should look not only at the flavor description but also at the roast. [more…]

Drip bag coffee is deeply favored by coffee lovers for its convenient brewing method, but do you understand the production logic behind it? Front Street stores always insist on freshly grinding and making drip bags on the spot. This seemingly inefficient practice is actually closely related to the extremely short peak flavor period of drip bag coffee. Starting from the production process of drip bag coffee, this article will explain in detail the essential difference between the shelf life and the peak flavor period of coffee beans, analyze why pre-grinding leads to accelerated loss of aroma, and extend to introduce the basic concept of the resting period for coffee beans. At the same time, the article will also share the flavor characteristics of a variety of drip bag products such as Front Street Huakui, Flower Butterfly, Honduras, and PWN Golden Mandheling, helping you enjoy a good cup of coffee within the optimal time. [more…]

When coffee beans have just left the roaster, the bean body will still continue to release carbon dioxide. At this point, opening the bag gives a very strong aroma, but that does not mean it immediately reaches the ideal state for brewing; too much gas can make espresso flow fluctuate, and can also cause pour-over blooming to expand too quickly. When choosing beans for a shop, what matters is not "the closer to the roast date the better," but how it [more…]

Many people mistakenly believe that freshly ground equals fresh. However, to truly savor the aroma of coffee, the roast date of the coffee beans is just as crucial as freshly grinding them. Front Street Coffee has always regarded freshness as the foremost factor for high-quality coffee beans, because beans that have been roasted for over 50 days lose almost all their flavor. Therefore, every bag of coffee beans sold includes a note that the optimal flavor period is within 30 days, with the best drinking window being 14 days after the resting period ends. This article will systematically explain how to select fresh coffee beans, the principles and duration of resting, the difference between the optimal flavor period and the shelf life, and the correct storage methods, while also explaining why coffee beans should not be ground and stored. [more…]

SOE beans need to go through a degassing process from the completion of roasting to the unfolding of flavor. Freshly roasted beans contain a lot of carbon dioxide, so when brewing, the contact between water and coffee grounds can be uneven, and the aroma may also seem closed off; after proper resting, the acidity, sweetness, floral notes, and finish will gradually come together. Therefore, the closer the date does not necessarily mean the cup [more…]

Friends who brew their own coffee may already have some concept of bean resting. It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of it before—below we'll explain why coffee needs resting and how long it should rest. When everyone is brewing coffee, the moment water touches the coffee grounds, the coffee begins to bubble and swell, "watching the coffee slowly [more…]

Many people believe that as long as coffee is freshly ground, it counts as fresh, but in reality, whether the coffee aroma can be fully released depends not only on the timing of grinding but also on time management after roasting. Once coffee beans have passed 50 days after roasting, their flavor is almost entirely depleted, so Front Street Coffee has always regarded freshness as the first prerequisite for good coffee. This article focuses on four core questions: how to tell whether a bag of beans is fresh, why beans need resting, how the peak flavor period differs from the shelf life, and how to store them properly in daily life. It also compiles suggested resting times for different roast levels from light to dark, special considerations for espresso beans, and the pros and cons of three storage options—sealed jars, one-way degassing valve canisters, and original packaging—to help beginners avoid common pitfalls. [more…]

The floral aroma, citrus notes, and tea-like quality of a cup of Yirgacheffe depend not only on its origin and roasting method, but also on how long it has been since it left the roaster. Freshly roasted beans are not necessarily ready to drink right away; brewing too early may result in scattered aromas, while leaving them too long will gradually cause them to lose their brightness. When choosing where to buy, first confirm the roast date, then plan your [more…]

Staying up late on New Year's Eve, exchanging New Year's greetings on the first day of the lunar new year — most workers can finally set aside their jobs and take a break. But in the coffee industry, there are still a group of people standing behind the bar, facing the morning rush of overwhelming orders, advance delivery orders, and the fluctuating customer flow after office buildings close for the holiday. Some are full of energy, driven by triple pay; some hold out on instant noodles in their posts until the New Year bell rings; and some set off on the road home well before New Year's Eve. This article records the real situations of coffee workers during the Spring Festival, taking a look at who is busy, who is slacking off, and who is secretly treating themselves to a latte during this holiday. [more…]

How should you store coffee beans once you've bought them to keep the flavor at its best? Drawing on Front Street Coffee's practical experience, this article first clarifies the relationship between freshly ground coffee and freshly roasted coffee, then explains why coffee beans lose most of their aroma about 50 days after roasting, and why beans need three to four days of resting right after roasting. It then addresses the four major factors—moisture, oxygen, light, and high temperature—offering solutions for each, and compares the pros and cons of three types of containers: one-way degassing valve bags, sealed canisters, and vacuum canisters. Finally, it presents Front Street Coffee's recommended home storage plan and explains why long-term storage in ground form is not advisable. [more…]

From the day coffee beans finish roasting, the internal gases, aromatic compounds, and extraction state are constantly changing. When made into an SOE Americano, these changes are stretched out by the hot water: drink it too early, and the acidity may seem jumpy while the aroma has yet to unfold; once it enters the right stage, the transition between acidity and sweetness becomes smoother, and the fruit notes are more complete. Therefore, judging [more…]

Many coffee enthusiasts who try making lattes at home with Front Street Coffee's espresso blend discover a gap between the flavor they achieve and what the café produces. This article focuses on the differences between making hot and iced lattes, breaking down everything from coffee bean selection and resting periods to milk pairing and espresso extraction parameters. It explains in detail the characteristics and suitable applications of Front Street Coffee's classic espresso blend, and provides specific steps for making a hot latte, including key data such as extracting 40g of espresso from 20g of grounds, steaming 220ml of fresh milk to 50-60°C with about 1cm of milk foam, helping readers understand how differences in cup size and ratios affect the final taste, so they can replicate a latte close to café quality at home. [more…]

The state of espresso beans changes over time: when freshly roasted, the gases are active, then the aromas gradually unfold, and finally they slowly settle into a gentler state. Therefore, "the closer to the roast date, the better the taste" does not apply to all espresso extractions. When selecting beans, understanding the roast date, giving the beans an appropriate rest, and planning a reasonable schedule for opening the bag make it easier to [more…]