Why the Luckin Coffee Ice Debate Reached Weibo Trending
Luckin Coffee drew widespread criticism after consumers posted comparison photos showing that iced drinks left only about half a cup once the ice was removed. Complaints spread on Xiaohongshu and pushed the topic onto Weibo's trending list. Luckin responded that drinks follow a unified recipe and that store training will be strengthened, while Starbucks and other chains faced similar accusations.
The case started with a user who said no-ice Luckin drinks no longer filled the cup, then manually removed ice from an iced milk coffee and compared it with a colleague's full no-ice order, finding less than half the volume. Other users joked about finding the latte in the ice, turning the ice ratio in chain coffee and milk tea shops into a consumer-facing coffee knowledge question.
Recently, Luckin Coffee made it onto Weibo's trending topics because its iced drinks contained too much ice and the cup volume dropped noticeably after removing the ice, triggering widespread consumer attention to the proportion of ice in chain coffee and milk tea shops. Many netizens posted comparison photos showing that after removing the ice, only half a cup of the drink remained, with some even joking about "looking for the latte in the ice." Luckin officially responded that its drinks are made according to a unified recipe and that it will strengthen store training. At the same time, other brands such as Starbucks have also been accused of similar practices. This article sorts out the course of the incident, netizen feedback, and official responses, and also includes professional exchange information from Front Street Coffee.
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Recently, many consumers have reported on social platforms that Luckin Coffee's iced drinks contain a relatively large amount of ice, and that if they ask for no ice, the amount of drink in the cup shrinks noticeably, which quickly sparked heated public discussion.
Yesterday, the topic "Luckin Coffee criticized for having only half a cup left after removing ice" shot straight to the top of Weibo's trending list. The incident began when a netizen posted on Xiaohongshu complaining: "Luckin's no-ice drinks not filling the cup is getting more and more ridiculous," and attached photos of the two cups of coffee they had received.
In the comments section, many netizens also chimed in, saying they had encountered situations where the amount of coffee decreased after removing the ice. One netizen "manually removed the ice" from an iced milk coffee they had bought and compared it with a full cup of coffee ordered by a colleague with the note "no ice," finding that the cup volume was less than half. Many other netizens also commented, "After removing the ice, only half a cup is left," and "Luckin's coconut latte is basically drinking latte found in ice."
Regarding doubts about "too high a proportion of ice," some netizens noticed that besides Luckin, other chain brands also operate similarly. "Starbucks doesn't have enough milliliters when there's no ice," and "It's not just coffee; all milk tea has more ice than water." If you want to keep the coffee cup volume unchanged, "you can order it hot; hot drinks are basically full cups."
In fact, regarding complaints about too much ice in Luckin Coffee, netizens on social platforms have continuously shared their "speechless incidents" over the past two years, and taken photos of the "cup full of ice" in their hands to show others.
"It seems I understand why Luckin was able to turn a profit this fiscal year," one netizen said after buying a Luckin iced latte and finding at first that there was so much ice that the straw could not even reach the bottom. "Luckin's ice doesn't cost money!" "The ice blocked the straw completely!" "Did I spend money to buy a cup of ice?" "As long as I drink fast enough, don't even think about diluting my coconut latte!"
As for the netizen who raised the issue online this time, the official Luckin account on Xiaohongshu responded in the comments section right away, saying it "will immediately verify the specific situation." It then also contacted the consumer and admitted that "the coffee cup volume is indeed relatively small."
According to a video report by Jiupai News, after communicating by phone with Luckin's official customer service, Luckin's response to the incident was: store drinks are all made according to a unified recipe and standard process, with a fixed cup volume. "This situation will be reported to the relevant departments, and later we will also strengthen training management for stores."
In addition, Luckin customer service also emphasized the procedure for customers complaining about orders. "If there are other problems with the drink you ordered, you can call us using the mobile phone number used to place the order, and we will assist you in handling the order issue."
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
