Why Coffee Enthusiast Debate Follows Luckin's 15-Minute Cold Brew

Luckin Coffee rolled out cold brew in cities such as Beijing and Wuhan at under 20 yuan a cup, with coupons dropping it to 9.9 yuan. Some buyers say the drink looks pale and tastes thin, comparing it to an Americano with added water. Employees counter that the brew follows standard steps: a bag of ground coffee is steeped in drinking water for 15 minutes, then the bag is removed and the liquid chilled.

That 15-minute steep sits far from the 14 hours used at Starbucks and the 16 hours at Tims, which is the heart of the dispute. Cold brew normally extracts coffee at low temperature over many hours, so the short version reads to many drinkers as under-extracted. The question remains whether this is a deliberate process choice or an operational error, and no brand statement has settled it yet.

During the peak season for summer iced drinks, Luckin has rolled out cold brew coffee in some cities, attracting many first-time tasters with its affordable prices. However, some consumers report that its cold brew is pale in color and weak in taste, with some even describing it as "an Americano with added water." Employees explain that the production process involves only a 15-minute steep, in sharp contrast to Starbucks' 14 hours and Tims' 16 hours. Coffee enthusiasts have begun discussing whether this is a process issue or an operational error. This article walks you through the whole story, along with related recommendations from Front Street Coffee.

▲ Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

In the scorching summer heat, iced drinks hit their sales peak, and major coffee brands are rolling out cold beverages one after another—Luckin Coffee is no exception. Recently, Luckin launched cold brew coffee in cities such as Beijing and Wuhan.

Compared with the cold brew at independent cafés, which often costs twenty to thirty yuan, Luckin's pricing feels very down-to-earth. The mini-program shows that a cup of cold brew is under 20 yuan, and some users with coupons can even get it for 9.9 yuan. Thanks to its high cost-effectiveness, Luckin's cold brew quickly became a favorite among many consumers in the limited cities where it's available.

However, recently some customers who bought Luckin's cold brew reported that the coffee they received was pale in color and mild in overall flavor, as if they were drinking a glass of iced water with a hint of coffee. Such reviews are not isolated cases—some netizens who tried it echoed the same sentiment, saying it "feels like an Americano with water added."

Faced with customers' doubts, Luckin employees feel helpless, stressing that the cold brew is made entirely according to the standard process and that nothing was skimped on in the finished product. Some employees posted photos of the cold brew-making steps, explaining the process: take a whole bag of ground coffee, add direct drinking water in proportion, stir so that all the coffee grounds are fully soaked, remove the coffee bag after 15 minutes, and refrigerate the coffee liquid directly.

This process greatly surprised coffee enthusiasts. Cold brew coffee is originally made by extracting coffee liquid at low temperature; you can simply mix room-temperature or ice water with coffee grounds, soak them, then refrigerate for a period of time before filtering.

The finished cold brew doesn't look very different from an Americano, but to get a delicious cup of cold brew, besides factors like the coffee beans and grind size, the steeping time of the coffee grounds is equally crucial. Too short a time and the flavor is weak; too long and it may become too strong.

But there is actually no unified standard for how long cold brew should be steeped. Starbucks' cold brew steeps for 14 hours, Tims for 16 hours, and independent cafés' cold brew steeping times also vary, though they are usually controlled between 8 and 24 hours.

By contrast, Luckin's cold brew made in 15 minutes can be called "instant cold brew," which has left many netizens puzzled about Luckin's cold brew-making process. "Steeped for 15 minutes—if I didn't know better, I'd think they were giving the coffee grounds a bath." "Steeping for 15 minutes at most just makes the coffee grounds lose a bit of color." "If you didn't say it was cold brew, I'd think it was an Americano that had water added after I drank half of it."

But some consumers who have bought the product believe that Luckin's cold brew tasting "as bland as water" may be due to employees making a mistake with the ratio, or forgetting to stir and not letting the coffee grounds soak fully. If operated normally according to the process, Luckin's cold brew would not be so weak and tasteless.

And in the eyes of Luckin users, being able to drink a cup of cold brew without spending twenty-something yuan—what more could you ask for!

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original authors' copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large volume, a few images and texts may not have been credited in time; please forgive us. If the original author has any disputes, they can contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop"; please indicate the source when reprinting. If there is any infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

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