Is Americano Coffee Bitter When Goji Berries Are Added

Lucky Cup launched a wellness series after the National Day holiday, including goji berry Americano, goji berry milk, and goji berry latte, each priced under 10 yuan. Instead of syrup, the brand drops about 10 grams of Ningxia first-harvest goji berries into each cup and provides a small spoon. Online reaction has been split.

Some drinkers praised the generous portion of real fruit, while others said the coffee and berries do not blend, describing the taste as chewing raw goji berries with bitter water. The question of is americano coffee bitter remains central: the dry berries release little flavor into the drink, so the espresso dominates and the two ingredients stay separate in the cup.

As chain coffee brands rush to test the crossover combination of "coffee + medicinal herbs," Lucky Cup launched a "wellness series" after the National Day holiday — goji berry Americano, goji berry milk, and goji berry latte, each priced under 10 yuan. Unlike most brands' usual goji berry flavored syrup, Lucky Cup chose to drop Ningxia first-harvest goji berries directly into the cup, about 10 grams per cup, and even includes a small spoon for consumers to chew while drinking. This "real ingredients" approach quickly sparked heated discussion online, with some praising the generous amount of goji berries, while others complained that the coffee and goji berries each go their own way, tasting like "chewing raw goji berries with bitter water." This article will review the highlights of the new products, real feedback from netizens, and explore the limitations of this direct dry goji berry method in terms of flavor release.

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When it comes to the crossover combination of "coffee + medicinal herbs," many people's first thought may be the time-honored brand Tongrentang, whose "good medicine tastes bitter" East-meets-West approach opened up a new direction of involution for the coffee track. Over the past two years this trend has continued to ferment, and chain brands have also begun to move ingredients originally meant for the kitchen into coffee cups, such as goji berries commonly used in soup.

On October 7, the first working day after the National Day holiday, Lucky Cup targeted the moment when office workers return to their posts and students return to school, launching a series of "wellness series" new products in one go: goji berry Americano, goji berry milk, and goji berry latte, all priced under 10 yuan.

Once the news came out, many netizens were eager to try and see just how healthy this cup of "coffee with soaked goji berries" really was. But surprisingly, everyone had assumed it would use goji berry flavored syrup or prepared milk like most stores, yet Lucky Cup's R&D team chose to "directly grab a handful of red berries and toss them in," taking the real-ingredients route.

According to Lucky Cup's official introduction, the ingredient is selected from the finest goji berries — Ningxia first-harvest goji berries — with each cup containing about 10 grams of goji berries, which can be chewed and eaten. Netizens who personally tested it also mentioned that when purchasing these wellness drinks, Lucky Cup includes a small spoon with the cup, making it convenient to "drink and eat at the same time," which is quite thoughtful.

As everyone enthusiastically tried the new products, during this seven-day work week, Lucky Cup's goji berry coffee became a hot topic among netizens during their work breaks, and what was most shocking was the super generous amount of goji berries.

Regarding Lucky Cup's generous ingredient drop, netizens described it like this: "With this amount of goji berries, I feel like I'll be rejuvenated right after drinking it." "Shocking! There are actually 70 goji berries in one cup of coffee!" "Unbelievable, this Americano has way too many goji berries..." "It doesn't taste good, but there really are a lot of goji berries." "How weak am I that they gave me such a big spoonful of goji berries!" "A big spoonful of goji berries for only 90 cents more"...

OMG!! Some even said after drinking it they were "so nourished they got a nosebleed."

Besides the down-to-earth goji berry amount that's even more generous than toppings, how the new products taste is also what everyone is most curious about.

People who regularly practice wellness should know that soaking goji berries in water requires at least 15–20 minutes to soften them and release their flavor, and the water temperature must be kept above 80 degrees.

As for the goji berry coffee launched by Lucky Cup, the goji berry component does not come from flavored syrup or pre-made mixed drinks; it really is just the "red berries" themselves, and dried goji berries at that. Therefore, without enough time to soak and expand, the goji berry flavor is hard to fully release. If you order an iced drink, the only way to taste the goji berry flavor is probably by "chewing."

Let's see how netizens who have tried goji berry coffee describe it: "The goji berries and Americano each go their own way." "The taste is still the taste of an Americano, except at the end you can eat goji berries." "It's just dishwashing water with a hint of goji berry flavor." "It's completely the drinking method of chewing raw goji berries with bitter water." "I was wondering why this latte has no goji berry flavor — turns out they just put goji berries in directly."... Suddenly it seems I understand why it's called "goji berry coffee."

Image source: Internet

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