Does Americano Taste Bitter? The Kumquat Version Sparks Debate

Starbucks launched three Spring Festival drinks in China: Kumquat Cloud Macchiato, Kumquat Tieguanyin Tea Latte, and Kumquat Flavored Americano. The Americano drew complaints on social media, with drinkers comparing it to cough syrup or traditional Chinese medicine, not the citrus sweetness they expected. The reaction shows how risky localization flavors can be even for a large chain.

The bitterness question matters here because an Americano's flavor comes from espresso diluted with water, so added syrups must balance that base. Customers who paid extra to switch to ristretto shots found the coffee change did not fix the taste. For specialty coffee watchers, the episode highlights the gap between festive marketing and what a flavored Americano actually delivers.

As the Spring Festival approaches, Starbucks has launched three new spring-limited drinks: Kumquat Cloud Macchiato, Kumquat Tieguanyin Tea Latte, and Kumquat Flavored Americano, aiming to attract customers with the auspicious meaning of "great fortune and prosperity." However, after the products hit the market, the Kumquat Americano quickly became the focus of complaints on social platforms. Many consumers reported that its taste resembles cough syrup or traditional Chinese medicine, far from the expected citrus sweetness. This article will review the real feedback on this new product and analyze the challenges Starbucks faces in its localization innovation.

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To welcome the arrival of the Spring Festival, Starbucks recently launched a new spring kumquat-flavored series of drinks, including Kumquat Cloud Macchiato, Kumquat Tieguanyin Tea Latte, and Kumquat Flavored Americano, delivering early New Year wishes of "great fortune and prosperity" to consumers.

(Image from Starbucks Weibo)

As soon as this festive drink was launched, it attracted a lot of fan attention. In everyone's perception, golden kumquats taste fresh and sweet, quite similar to oranges, so many people were full of expectations upon learning of Starbucks' new release, ready to pit it against citrus drinks from other brands.

However, the first customers who tried the Kumquat Americano, after experiencing this sincere offering from the brand, took to social platforms to share their true feelings: "It has a cough syrup/Chinese medicine taste," "Tastes worse than Chinese medicine," "Like a fever-reducing cold medicine powder I drank as a child," "Gasoline + essential balm + cough syrup flavor."

Those fans who had originally held fantasies admitted that they thought Starbucks' Kumquat Americano would be close to the flavor of Luckin's Orange C Americano, but never expected that after one sip, the feeling in their mouth would be "a bitter orange flavor that's neither sweet nor sour."

One customer thought for a long time and felt that only the word "bizarre" could sum up this product that exceeded expectations. Some netizens joked that this new Starbucks drink might be a collaboration with a pharmaceutical company, and even with just one pump of syrup, it still carried "a faintly sorrowful cold medicine taste." Some reluctant customers spent an extra 1 yuan to upgrade to ristretto shots, only to find helplessly that adjusting the coffee base couldn't save it.

As for the other two drinks in the same series, although reviews weren't as overwhelmingly negative as the Kumquat Americano, the overall feedback was equally discouraging. Many consumers, after trying it once to satisfy their curiosity, explicitly stated they would not repurchase this drink that failed to meet their expectations.

In recent years, to adapt to domestic market demands, Starbucks has launched many drinks incorporating local characteristics, such as the recently released Ludagun-flavored Thick Glutinous Rice Latte, each new release attracting consumer attention and making people want to buy and try it.

However, although these "Chinese-style" drinks from Starbucks are full of creativity, they don't always win praise from domestic users, and this kumquat series is a case in point. According to employees, the ingredient used in the kumquat series is not juice or jam as consumers guessed, but kumquat-flavored seasoning syrup, so users with sensitive noses will inevitably smell a distinct artificial flavor when tasting it.

In addition, if customers choose an iced drink when ordering, there may be situations where the syrup sinks to the bottom and doesn't mix evenly with the coffee, so customers who try the iced Americano feel the new drink's flavor is disjointed, tasting "both sour and bitter," making it hard to accept this Kumquat Americano.

Image from: Xiaohongshu

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