Café
Latest articles, industry insights and brewing guides
Why Successful Coffee Shop Owners Won’t Teach You
No one owes you their hard-won coffee shop success secrets. Here’s why those who thrive often won’t share—and how to earn their knowledge.
How to Open and Run a Successful Coffee Shop
Learn why most coffee shops fail and how to succeed through smart planning, customer focus, and daily operational discipline.
How to Calculate Coffee Shop Break-Even Costs
Learn the exact numbers behind running a profitable coffee shop—break-even sales, daily targets, and what really eats into your profit.
How to Open a Coffee Shop on a Budget Like Ye Shop Style
Learn how to open a coffee shop with minimal spending by focusing on essentials, avoiding unnecessary design and equipment costs.
How Caffebene Used Equity to Incentivize Store Managers
In 2014, Caffebene launched a 'give-store' program awarding equity and profit shares to top-performing store managers and staff.
How to Pair Coffee with Desserts: A Complete Guide
Learn how to match coffee types with different desserts using roast level, origin, and flavor intensity for the perfect after-dinner balance.
How a Small Coffee Shop Thrives Off the Beaten Path
A small café in Changchun avoids busy commercial streets, roasts its own beans, and keeps prices low by choosing a smart location.
How Beast Garden Coffee Streamlined Offline Payments with QR Codes
Beast Garden Coffee introduced custom QR codes per table, cutting queues and lowering costs while boosting WeChat Pay adoption steadily.
How City Story Coffee Made Business Meaningful for One Entrepreneur
A former idle heir turned café owner shares how joining City Story Coffee helped him build a business, grow personally, and connect with a professional network.
How Sustainable Are Startup-Focused Coffee Shops?
Most startup-themed coffee shops fail to turn a profit. Only 10% are profitable, 30% break even, and 60% operate at a loss, industry data shows.
How 50 College Students Crowdfunded Their Own Cafe
Fifty third-year hotel management students at Zhejiang Industry & Trade College pooled 20,000 RMB to launch Da'an Cafe, with five running daily ops.
How Paris’ First Cat Café Became a Beloved Coffee Spot
Paris’ first cat café opened in 2013 and quickly became a hit, requiring advance bookings and offering coffee, pastries, and feline companionship.
How a Tech Firm Hosted China’s First WBC Regional Event
In 2015, Qianwang Smart Systems hosted the Nanjing regional round of the World Barista Championship, showcasing how tech professionals pursue coffee excellence.
Why Campus Coffee Shops Fail: Lessons from China
Most campus coffee shops close within 3 years due to poor design, part-time management, and unrealistic expectations. Here’s what data shows.
How Nankai Alumni Crowdfunded 8 Dorm Coffee Shop
Nearly 200 global alumni of Nanjing University helped crowdfund 8 Dorm Coffee in Shanghai, inspired by campus nostalgia and a shared desire for connection.
Starbucks Shanghai Hosts Monthly Classical Music Evenings
Starbucks People's Square in Shanghai partners with a local arts group to host two classical music salons per month for three months, blending live performances with coffee.
How Starbucks Boosts Profit by Managing Seating Time
Starbucks maximizes profits by keeping customer turnover high. Data shows most patrons stay under an hour, driving high turnover in busy locations.
How Maan Coffee Achieved Rapid Success in China
Maan Coffee turned profitability within a year by focusing on atmosphere over coffee, with all 36 China stores in the black.
Three Key Elements of Successful Coffee Shop Management
To run a successful coffee shop, focus on clear positioning, consistent quality, and a welcoming environment—three essential factors for long-term success.
What Singapore Asked About China’s Specialty Coffee Scene
A senior editor from FrontStreet Coffee shares insights from a Singapore Strait Times interview on China’s coffee culture, shop growth, and entrepreneurship.