Why Did the Luckin Coffee Oolong Latte Draw So Much Attention?

Luckin Coffee released its Oolong Latte on Monday as part of a co-branded launch with Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy, titled Poems for the Moon. The drink uses a Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea base and offers an oat milk swap. Online reaction focused less on flavor and more on a reported laxative effect, with many consumers saying they needed a bathroom soon after drinking.

Some observers link the effect to the thick milk component and lactose intolerance, though responses vary by person. The drink joins Luckin's earlier tea-coffee series, which mixes tea elements into a standard latte build. Luckin's new launch days regularly generate heavy social media discussion, and this unexpected side effect pushed even consumers who had little interest to try a cup.

Luckin Coffee teamed up with Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy on Monday to launch a co-branded release titled "Poems for the Moon," alongside the debut of its new Oolong Latte. This latest addition to its tea-coffee series, brewed with Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea and offering an optional oat milk swap, quickly sparked discussion online after launch. Besides being said to taste remarkably like Assam milk tea, what drew even more attention was its post-drink "smooth movement" effect—on social media, a flood of consumers reported feeling the urge to go shortly after drinking it, with some rushing to the bathroom multiple times a day, even jokingly dubbing it the "newly crowned toilet-bombing holy water." Some speculate this is linked to the thick milk component and lactose intolerance. Though the effect varies from person to person, this unexpected function has actually made many previously uninterested netizens eager to give it a try.

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New releases torment me a thousand times, yet I treat them like a first love. When it comes to Luckin's new products, many fans seem to always hold a tolerant attitude—even if the R&D team's ideas sometimes leave people baffled, come Monday, they quickly forget how the last cup tasted, move on to try the new flavor, and share their experience on social media to find like-minded folks.

This Monday, Luckin's co-branded release and new product arrived as scheduled. This time, the collaborator is the work of Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy, with both parties jointly launching the co-branded skin "Poems for the Moon," including one paper bag and two cup sleeves, along with the simultaneous release of the new Oolong Latte coffee.

From the official information disclosed, it's not hard to infer that this new Oolong Latte is in the same vein as Luckin's previous "tea-coffee series," all incorporating a "tea" element into the original latte. In promoting this new cup, Luckin claims it includes a Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea base, and perhaps considering those with lactose intolerance, the brand also specially offers an option to swap to oat milk for customers to check.

As usual, Luckin's new launch day is bound to spark heated discussion among netizens, and the first wave eager to try it often shares their impressions on social media right after drinking it early in the morning—this Oolong Latte is no exception. Sure enough, as everyone took their seats at their workstations on time, discussions and reviews about Luckin's new product of the week began to gradually increase.

In terms of taste, perhaps influenced by the black tea base, many who tried it exclaimed, "It tastes so much like Assam milk tea." But unexpectedly this time, beyond the "does it taste good" discussion, people seemed more concerned with "does it make you go"—for instance, a cover reading "Newly Crowned Toilet-Bombing Holy Water" in six big characters was particularly eye-catching and successfully sparked a fierce debate on "whether drinking Luckin's new product lets you poop smoothly."

The person who posted first gave a detailed review of the Oolong Latte's taste, then emphasized the unexpected bonus of drinking it—"toilet bombing," and with top-notch effect. Skeptical, she ordered another hot cup this morning and soon found herself "reporting" to the bathroom, concluding: Luckin has added another fierce warrior to its gut-clearing track.

Afterward, many netizens who had personally tested it chimed in the comments with "same, in the bathroom," with some even going several times a day, leaving people astonished at this new product's miraculous effect.

"Took a sip of coffee at 9:30, by 10 I was already in the bathroom," "I drank it this morning, and I've been to the toilet three times so far," "I was wondering if I ate something bad last night, turns out it really was this," "So that's why I ran twice this morning!" "It's true, less than five minutes after drinking this morning I rushed to the bathroom," "Very friendly for dieters, instantly clears the bowels, and my belly went down a lot," "Already twice, it's a bit intense"... Some even more exaggeratedly said they made a full six trips to the WC after drinking it.

In short, since its launch yesterday, Luckin's Oolong Latte has been jokingly dubbed by netizens as "good news for constipation sufferers," "the ultimate diarrhea bomb new product," and "the newly crowned poo-poo water." As for why this phenomenon occurs, some speculate it's due to the thick milk component added to Luckin's Oolong Latte, causing varying degrees of diarrhea in people with lactose intolerance after consuming it.

Of course, just like the "fat-burning miracle" items that made the list before, not everyone who drinks Luckin's new product will successfully "get things moving," since everyone's constitution is different. But a scroll through the internet reveals that thanks to people sharing its "smooth movement" function, many netizens who originally didn't care about the Oolong Latte have become intrigued, deliberately ordering a cup and waiting to see its "diarrhea" effect.

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