What is white coffee, and what the Luckin pudding latte complaint shows about drink names

Luckin Coffee's Christmas Baked Pudding Latte returned as a seasonal item and quickly drew complaints that it contained no pudding and no cream. The company replied that pudding refers to the flavor rather than a topping, and that cream melting in a hot drink is normal. Promotional images showing cream and caramel pudding fed the confusion.

The episode turns on how drink names and photos set expectations. In a hot latte, cream dissolves into the liquid and cannot stay visible as a distinct layer, and a flavor name does not promise a solid ingredient. For customers, the practical point is that coffee drinks are labeled by taste, not always by what is physically in the cup.

Luckin's Christmas season limited-edition Christmas Baked Pudding Latte had barely returned when it was thrust into the spotlight for having "no pudding and no cream." Consumers questioned that its promotional images were enticing but misleading, while the company responded that "pudding" refers only to the flavor, and that the cream melting is a normal phenomenon. Behind this misunderstanding, is it actually misleading product naming and imagery, or a cognitive bias among consumers about the nature of cream in hot drinks? This article sorts out the ins and outs of the incident and reveals the scientific reasons why cream melts easily in hot drinks, helping coffee lovers view this festive special drink rationally.

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Breaking! Luckin Coffee's Christmas season limited-edition Christmas Baked Pudding Latte is back! But! Just a few days later, it's being complained about as a "two-nothing product" with no pudding and no cream? After looking into it in detail, it turns out Luckin was wrongly blamed...

Recently, a netizen posted on Xiaohongshu, saying that the Luckin Baked Pudding Latte they bought had no pudding. The baked pudding in the picture was so tempting that people couldn't help imagining the taste: "Take a sip of the rich, velvety cream clinging to your lips with caramel sauce, then take a sip of the strong coffee, and you can even slurp a bite of pudding like with milk tea." Just as the netizen was wondering why no spoon was given and how they were supposed to eat the pudding, they suddenly realized—the pudding latte has no pudding at all!

In the comments section, many netizens felt the same way, and some even said: they originally bought it precisely because of the pudding in the picture, only to be greatly disappointed. "Ahhh, then there's a big caramel pudding in the promo image! False advertising!" "!! I bought a cup today and feel deceived. If there's no pudding, can't they label it clearly?"

It's no wonder netizens misunderstood. In Luckin's official images, the cream on top of the latte and the caramel pudding beside it are both very tempting, and combined with the name "Christmas Baked Pudding Latte," most consumers would probably assume this is a product containing pudding as a topping.

In response, Luckin Coffee's official account replied: just as wife cakes contain no wife and fish-flavored shredded pork contains no fish, and the working deer doesn't like working, the Christmas Baked Pudding Latte indeed contains no added pudding. As for the controversial "misleading" images and naming, Luckin explained: although no pudding is added, there is indeed a rich egg-milk flavored latte that tastes like liquid French pudding, which is why it's called Baked Pudding Latte.

In fact, as a returning Christmas season product, this is not the first time the Baked Pudding Latte has been complained about for containing no pudding. In previous years, consumers were often confused by its images and name, and "forever young, forever misunderstanding" has become a regular annual Christmas season ritual between Luckin and consumers.

Some netizens suggested that people should develop the habit of checking the ingredient list before buying drinks. In this year's Christmas Baked Pudding Latte description, the main ingredients section clearly states that the so-called caramel pudding is actually egg-milk pudding flavored beverage concentrate and caramel flavoring sauce, and does not contain real pudding.

Besides the pudding, many consumers were also drawn in by the cream dome in the promotional images and had high expectations for this product. However, some netizens reported: the Christmas Baked Pudding Latte actually has no cream!? "I opened the lid and saw no trace of melted cream!! It's completely different from the promotional image!" They also said they were a bit disappointed and felt deceived!

This time, there was no need for the company to step in—many netizens enthusiastically explained: it's not that Luckin employees cut corners, but that the cream melted from the heat! Animal cream melts faster on the surface of hot drinks, then forms an obvious oily sheen floating on the coffee's surface. One netizen commented: "Luckin's production standards are quite strict; there's no need to skimp on cream to save money." Meanwhile, Luckin workers helplessly said that too many people raise this issue, so now every time they hand out a hot drink with cream, they have to explain that it melts easily and should be drunk as soon as possible, and for ones that have sat for a long time, they just tell people it has already melted.

Actually, Coffee Workshop has also explained the reason behind this phenomenon before. For the "hot drink + cream" combination, animal cream melts when heated, turning into a liquid state and forming a layer of oil. The white cream disappears without a trace, and the only evidence of its former existence can be found in that layer of floating oil on the surface.

All in all, "no pudding" is a misunderstanding, and "no cream" is an even bigger misunderstanding. We can only say that Luckin was indeed wrongly blamed this time!

Image source: Internet

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