How to Make Coffee with Powder: Lessons from Luckin's Matcha Lemon Tea

Luckin's matcha lemon tea blends lemon juice, green coffee liquid and a matcha pre-mixed liquid with no added sugar, per the official description. Drinkers report the taste is dominated by sweet-and-sour lemon and clear sweetness, with the matcha aroma nearly absent. After sitting, the drink separates and forms sediment, and matcha particles feel gritty in the mouth rather than integrated.

The gap comes down to how powders behave in liquid. A matcha pre-mixed liquid carries the green color and some bitterness, but lemon's acidity and sugar mask the grassy, savory notes that define matcha. Using a coffee powder as the base follows a similar principle: fine particles suspend briefly, then settle, so flavor reads uneven from the first sip to the last.

After the start of summer, lemon tea drinks enter their peak sales season. Luckin seized the moment to launch two lemon teas, Classic and Matcha, among which the vibrant green matcha lemon tea quickly attracted matcha lovers to place orders and try it with its distinctive appearance. However, many consumers report that although this drink looks great, its taste is dominated by sweet-and-sour lemon flavor and an obvious sweetness, with the anticipated matcha aroma almost nowhere to be found. Some also noticed that after sitting for a while it separates and forms sediment, and while matcha particles can be felt when drinking, the flavors of matcha and lemon each go their own way. Around this new product, there is both joking and defending; this article walks you through its recipe, taste controversy and netizen reviews, and includes the perspective of the Front Street brand familiar to coffee lovers.

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As temperatures keep rising, refreshing and thirst-quenching lemon tea has become many people's first choice for beating the heat. Luckin, closely following consumer demand, has recently launched two lemon teas in succession, namely Classic flavor and Matcha flavor.

Facing the midsummer heat, Luckin's fans were thrilled to see these two refreshing lemon teas. Among them, the bright green matcha lemon tea, because of its unusual flavor combination, quickly caught the attention of matcha lovers, and as soon as it went on sale, a large number of curious customers placed orders to try it.

After receiving the drink, everyone first examined the translucent green in the cup, feeling that this touch of green was very vibrant and especially suited to the current season. Then they inserted a straw and took a sip... and couldn't help taking another sip...

Matcha fans stared at the drink in their hands and then recalled the sweet-and-sour lemon taste that had just hit their mouths, and couldn't help wondering: did I order the wrong thing, or did the barista make it wrong, and why can't I taste the matcha at all?

According to the official description, the matcha lemon tea is made from a combination of lemon juice, green coffee liquid and a matcha pre-mixed liquid, and this drink does not have extra sugar added. But some consumers who have tried it report that even without additional sugar, they can still perceive an obvious sweetness and lemon flavor from this new product, while the matcha flavor they had been eagerly anticipating is instead very faint.

In general perception, matcha usually has a fresh tea aroma and a slight bitterness, and authentic matcha should certainly not have an obvious sweetness. Yet matcha lovers did not taste the matcha flavor they were familiar with in this new product, so many people feel that in this drink, matcha is more like a decorative element rather than something that truly participates in the expression of taste.

In addition, some customers noticed that if the matcha lemon tea they bought is not finished in time, after being left for a long time the drink will separate, and the lower half of the cup looks cloudy, with some even saying that undissolved matcha powder sediment can be seen at the bottom of the cup.

Many consumers also mentioned that during drinking, matcha particles can be clearly felt, but in the mouth there is only the sourness of lemon and no matcha aroma, just like "a lemon tea that is neither sweet nor iced fighting with matcha powder in your mouth," with the two flavors each going their own way.

"Lemon water with very little matcha presence," "It's still sweet even without extra sugar, like sweetened montmorillonite powder," "It's all about the vibe—what does it have to do with matcha," "The matcha's role in it is like my role at the company—purely decorative," "The matcha in it is just like the substance in my thesis; you can't say it's bland, only that it's completely meaningless."

Regarding this new product, netizens joked that "this cup looks like a drink an employee made themselves," and felt that Luckin's recent new products lack novelty, "Now it feels like they've run out of tricks."

However, some people think this matcha lemon tea is not only worth criticizing. An office worker who spends long hours facing a computer said that as long as this bright green drink is placed on the desk, it can "serve an eye-protecting function," giving tired eyes a moment of relief～

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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