Can Coffee Get You High? What the Fair Isle Latte Debate Shows

The Luckin Fair Isle Latte has split consumer opinion since its November launch. Some drinkers say it recalls childhood Assam milk tea, others call it a renamed black tea latte or a cheaper stand-in for Starbucks' Black Tea Coffee Yuanyang Latte, and some reported insomnia, palpitations, and a racing heartbeat, prompting questions about caffeine content.

Luckin lists Ceylon black tea, espresso, pure milk, and light cream among the ingredients, and tasters note the coffee flavor is muted by the tea. Caffeine is a stimulant rather than alcohol, so it cannot make a person drunk, but a strong tea-and-espresso mix can still cause jitters, sleeplessness, or a fast pulse in sensitive drinkers.

As the weather turns colder in November, coffee chains are rolling out their winter drinks one after another. Luckin's "Fair Isle Latte" launched this week quickly drew attention, but consumer reviews have been sharply divided. Some find it reminiscent of the Assam milk tea from their childhood memories, some joke that it's just a black tea latte with a new name, and others see it as a "budget alternative" to Starbucks' Black Tea Coffee Yuanyang Latte. Meanwhile, some customers have reported discomfort such as insomnia, palpitations, and a racing heartbeat after drinking it, which has fueled discussion about its caffeine content. Is this new product worth trying? What are the similarities and differences between it and existing products or competitors? This article compiles the official ingredients, user feedback, and hotly debated points on social media for coffee lovers' reference.

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After entering November, temperatures across the country gradually dropped, and major chains seized the moment to start rolling out their winter warm drinks. Luckin, which has always been quick to launch new products, brought out a new item called the "Fair Isle Latte" this week, quickly drawing a great deal of consumer attention.

Judging from the three words "Fair Isle" alone, those who follow fashion might think of this year's popular "Fair Isle sweater," and it's hard to connect it directly with coffee.

Because of this, many curious fans placed orders to try it as soon as the product hit the shelves. The result was somewhat unexpected: this latte, whose name sounds quite exotic, like some kind of regional specialty, reminded many people of the Assam milk tea they knew as children when they drank it.

According to the officially announced ingredients, the Fair Isle Latte contains Ceylon black tea, espresso, pure milk, and light cream. But after actually tasting it, some consumers felt the coffee flavor was overwhelmed by the black tea and lacked much presence. On top of that, its ingredients are quite close to the Raw Coconut Ceylon Light Milk Tea launched in mid-October, which many fans described as "very much like Assam milk tea, but not as good when you taste it carefully," so the Fair Isle Latte gives a sense of "flavor overlap" when drunk.

Some longtime Luckin customers also felt after trying it that this Fair Isle Latte is essentially just a renamed black tea latte, and joked that Luckin's R&D department must be running out of ideas, putting a discontinued product back on the menu in new packaging.

Just as everyone was arguing over which old drink the Fair Isle Latte was a "reshell" of, another group of customers offered a different view.

They believe that, judging from the published ingredients, Luckin's new product may be aimed at Starbucks' Black Tea Coffee Yuanyang Latte. However, although the two are similar in flavor direction, there are still differences in strength and mouthfeel. Some felt Luckin's new item "is just a watery version of Starbucks' Black Tea Yuanyang Latte," while others described it as "like Starbucks Yuanyang black tea diluted with water," so some consumers call it a "Starbucks budget alternative."

However, in social media reviews of the Fair Isle Latte, besides discussing whether it tastes good and which drink it resembles, some consumers also reported that this product may have a relatively high caffeine content and can cause adverse reactions after drinking.

According to some customers, not long after drinking it they experienced discomfort such as insomnia, a faster heartbeat, and palpitations: "I never used to get insomnia from coffee, but tonight I drank this and couldn't sleep," "Even after drinking Chagee I don't get such a strong aftereffect, but after drinking this for a while my heart is racing," "After drinking it my heart rate shot past 120," "I drank it in the morning and by noon I started feeling palpitations, a faster heartbeat, weakness, and cold hands and feet."

Some netizens pointed out that although the physical reactions to the Fair Isle Latte vary from person to person, and not everyone will experience insomnia or palpitations, when Luckin launches drinks like this that "stack tea polyphenols + caffeine buffs," it might as well include a reminder in the product description to prevent people sensitive to caffeine from feeling unwell after trying it.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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