The Ice Cube Battle: How Custom Orders Are Straining Coffee Shop Workers

Luckin's cold drinks do not offer a no-ice option, and the issue of excessive ice has repeatedly trended on social media. Consumers have started specifying exact ice cube counts in order notes, from 'less ice, 10–12 cubes' to 'two little heart-shaped ice cubes.' These demands, while aiming for a personalized drink, create a dilemma for store employees who must balance customer satisfaction with product consistency.

The trend intensified with the 9.9 era, leading to increasingly bizarre requests like 'double coffee liquid' or 'five or six ice cubes, espresso halved.' Such modifications can alter the drink's intended taste and ratio, as the liquid volume is fixed. Baristas struggle to comply, facing threats of bad reviews. This tug-of-war over ice highlights a growing tension between consumer expectations and operational realities in the coffee industry.

Luckin's cold drinks do not offer a "no ice" option, and the problem of too much ice has repeatedly trended on social media. To get a drink that suits their taste, consumers have started "reporting" the exact number of ice cubes in the remarks section, and even making various demands about the shape and temperature of the ice, leaving store employees miserable. From "less ice, 10–12 cubes" to "two little heart-shaped ice cubes," and even "no ice but it has to feel frosty," these bizarre remarks not only reflect consumers' obsession with ice levels but also push Luckin's workers into a dilemma where "whatever you do is wrong." This article compiles a large number of real order remarks to present this tug-of-war over ice cubes.

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As everyone knows, ordering a cold drink at Luckin does not come with a "no ice" option, and Luckin has repeatedly been blasted onto Weibo's trending topics for being too heavy-handed with ice.

In response, many netizens offered advice online: you can leave a note when ordering and ask the worker to reduce or simply remove the ice as appropriate. This can effectively solve the problem of too much ice, and you can even be as precise as specifying just a few cubes. Some Luckin stores have also posted tips: note "less ice, 10–12 cubes," "very little ice, 5–8 cubes," and if you have other ice requirements (no ice + specific number of ice cubes).

Gradually, these customers also developed a habit: whenever they order Luckin iced coffee, they默认 leave the words "no ice," or simply "report" the number of ice cubes. With the arrival of the 9.9 era, this kind of "counting ice cubes" behavior not only became more frequent, but the content of order remarks also became increasingly bizarre, with all kinds of unreasonable demands almost refreshing the entire coffee industry.

"Double coffee liquid"

"Two ice cubes! Less latte"

"More coffee liquid ratio, less raw coconut ratio"

"Five or six ice cubes, espresso halved, coconut milk halved, top up with milk"

Since asking for no ice/less ice results in a cup that isn't full, some people request using (or swapping in) other ingredients to fill it up. Never mind that the product's taste itself comes from these ingredients, and that more or less will change the concentration. The liquid volume of each cup of coffee is fixed, yet they ask for more coffee. Luckin's workers say: I'm afraid I can't comply!

"I want two little heart-shaped ice cubes, or else a bad review"

Many customers, every time they report the number of ice cubes, wish they could be precise to one decimal place—and now they've even started making demands about the shape of the ice??? At this point, all one hears is Luckin employees lamenting: why must workers make things hard for fellow workers.

Anyone with ordering experience should know that under the scorching summer sun, a no-ice drink will without exception quickly become room temperature after delivery, and the taste will be greatly compromised. So, in order to drink a cool beverage that has no ice yet still feels frosty, this generation of customers has switched to another way of expressing themselves in notes to the workers, for example:

"No ice! Must feel frosty"

"Room temperature, not too hot"

"No ice, please heat to 30°C"

There was even one person who clearly noted "no ice," and the Luckin worker honestly followed the request and added no ice cubes—only to end up with a bad review: "It's not about not putting ice in! It still feels warm in my mouth! How am I supposed to swallow it!" To give a bad review even for this—anyone who sees it would have to cry injustice on Luckin's behalf! If you don't do what the customer asks, bad review; if you do what the customer asks, you violate the rules. This is just too torturous for the workers.

Whenever they see these harsh remarks and requests, most Luckin partners just exchange a smile, either do as requested or call the other party to explain the situation, and if it's truly unacceptable, they can only cancel the order. However, a few "hot-tempered" workers choose to "vent" on the internet, like the one below, who (mild and polite on the surface, but actually with fists clenched) says: you can mess with me, but this will be your future food, and serves up a plate of Luckin's exclusive specialty: ice cubes.

Although the issue of too much ice in cold drinks has repeatedly become a hot topic of public discussion, Luckin official has not directly provided a truly effective solution, and excessive ice volume remains a "pain point" for many people. Judging by the current trend, for consumers who want to satisfy their actual ice-level needs, there seems to be no other way besides relying on remarks when ordering. However, everyone always assumes those unreasonable demands are making things hard for the capitalists, when in fact the ones suffering most are those workers.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.