Introduction:During the Spring Festival, while most people gather around the stove for reunion dinners, baristas remain busy behind the counter handling a surge of orders. This article takes you behind the scenes to explore the real working conditions of coffee professionals during the holiday season—from the allure of triple wages to the bittersweet reality of instant noodle New Year’s Eve meals. We examine who stays on the job, who has gone home, and the operational realities behind it all.
While many are enjoying time with family during the Spring Festival, for some in the coffee industry, work behind the bar remains intense and hectic. Especially on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year, the morning rush of coffee orders doesn’t slow down due to the holidays. Instead, the combination of delivery demand and scattered walk-in customers keeps many baristas extremely busy.
You might wonder, who’s still buying coffee during the Spring Festival? In fact, quite a few people are in the habit of starting the new year with a cup of coffee. Coupled with the continued operations of many businesses and delivery platforms, some cafés choose to stay “open for the holidays.” But this also means shift workers face the dual challenges of understaffing and a sudden spike in workload.
According to several baristas, the feelings about working the holiday shift are quite mixed. Some choose to stay because of the triple pay, believing that a few days of hard work is well worth the generous compensation. Others smile wryly, saying they had hoped to reunite with family but ended up spending New Year’s Eve eating instant noodles in the shop due to the shift schedule.
Especially in cases where there’s no support from food delivery riders or nearby restaurants are closed, instant noodles often become the “New Year’s Eve dinner” of choice for many on-duty baristas. One industry insider admitted: “At that time, I was the only one in the shop, and I felt bad asking others to deliver food. So I just had a bowl of instant noodles as my New Year’s Eve meal, cooking it while waiting for the occasional order.”
As for the baristas who start work on the morning of the first day, many are particularly energized—there’s no other reason than the strong appeal of “triple pay.” Many say bluntly: “Today we’re going all out; we’ll earn as much as we can.” The high holiday overtime pay becomes a major motivating factor for many coffee professionals to stick around, especially for younger baristas looking to quickly build up their savings.
Of course, not every barista chooses to work during the Spring Festival. Some finish their shifts before New Year’s Eve and return to their hometowns to reunite with family and friends, enjoying a rare long holiday. They might go traveling to relax, or gather around the stove with loved ones, forming a sharp contrast with their colleagues who remain behind the counter.
On social media platforms, many baristas share real-time updates about their holiday work—ranging from “an early morning order explosion almost broke me” to “triple pay today, so it’s worth it!” A wide range of emotions are on display, giving outsiders a glimpse into the lesser-known side of this industry during festive times.
Overall, behind the operation of cafés during the Spring Festival is a group of baristas willing to sacrifice time with their families. Some earn higher income through intense work, some uphold their service commitments on the job, and others choose to take a well-deserved break. No matter which path they take, it’s all a form of arrangement and balance between their careers and personal lives.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
