Classic Coffee Chain Peet's Gingerbread Latte Complaints

Peet's Coffee launched two Christmas drinks, the Gingerbread Man Flavored Latte and the Holiday Mulled Wine Americano, plus three limited-edition merchandise items. Customers who ordered the gingerbread latte complained that the powder pattern on the milk foam looked nothing like the promotional poster, and some said too much cinnamon powder overpowered the taste.

The drink was expected to be a safe pick for a classic coffee chain's holiday menu because of its conventional flavor, and buyer photos showed a dark smeared blob instead of the neat figure on the poster. Baristas have since explained the powder sprinkle failure, which customers summed up as the product not matching its description.

As December reaches its midpoint, Christmas draws ever nearer, and major coffee chains are rolling out festive limited-edition drinks one after another. Peet's Coffee recently launched two Christmas new items—the Intellectual Gingerbread Man Flavored Latte and the Holiday Mulled Wine Americano—along with three limited-edition merchandise items, attracting many loyal customers to place orders. However, the Gingerbread Man Latte sparked collective complaints from customers because the powder pattern on the milk foam differed too much from the promotional poster; some exclaimed that the product did not match its description, while others complained that too much cinnamon powder affected the taste. Just how does this new item actually taste, and how do baristas explain the failure? This article will take you on a journey of discovery.

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December is already one-third over, and Christmas, the biggest holiday of the year, is getting closer and closer. Major chain brands have begun decorating their stores one after another and launching various limited-edition drinks full of Christmas atmosphere.

Peet's Coffee recently also launched two new items whose names alone are full of Christmas spirit—the Intellectual Gingerbread Man Flavored Latte and the Holiday Mulled Wine Americano—while also introducing three cute limited-edition merchandise items that customers can get by purchasing a designated two-cup set.

After learning about Peet's new launch, loyal customers naturally did not want to miss out, and they placed orders at nearby stores one after another, snapping up both the new drinks and the limited-edition plush toys. Among them, the Gingerbread Man Latte, decorated with a cute little figure, became many people's first choice thanks to its appearance and relatively conventional flavor.

However, when customers received the drinks made by the baristas and looked at the dark blob on the surface, then compared it with the new product poster displayed in the store, the thought "the picture does not match the text, the product does not match its description" immediately came to mind.

Judging from the buyer shows posted by customers, the Gingerbread Man Latte they received was completely different from the official promotional image. The powder sprinkled on the white milk foam in the mug smeared into a blob, and it was impossible to make out the gingerbread man's proper appearance at all.

This shapeless look forced customers who wanted to take photos as souvenirs to ask for another cup to be made, but even when the barista scraped off the failed attempt and sprinkled powder again, the final product the customer received was still less than satisfactory and far from the gingerbread figure they had imagined.

There were quite a few netizens who encountered similar patterns. From the pictures they posted, the patterns "drawn" by the baristas either had lines that were too thick, turning the gingerbread man into a "gingerbread ghost" or "gingerbread monkey," or were smeared into a blob with no recognizable shape at all, to the point that customers who received such a latte could not help complaining that it was "too appetite-killing" and "sprinkled into a complete mess."

In addition, many people reported that although this new item is called "Gingerbread Man Flavored Latte," what is actually sprinkled on the milk foam is cinnamon powder. Once the barista sprinkles too much, customers can smell a strong cinnamon aroma before even taking a sip. Some consumers who dislike cinnamon said bluntly that it was "not very tasty," believing that this decoration more or less affected the coffee's own aroma and taste, making it more like a cinnamon latte.

In response, Peet's workers explained that the gingerbread man pattern on the powder stencil this time was made of thick lines, and the stencil size did not match the mug, making it awkward for baristas to use. When sprinkling powder, as long as their hand trembled, the snowy white milk foam would be covered with cinnamon powder, turning into a disastrous failure scene too awful to look at.

Although some baristas said in the comments section that "it has already been reported upward," with no confirmation yet that the stencil will be changed, the first batch of "victims" of Peet's Gingerbread Man Latte reminded other users: if you buy this new drink with the idea of taking photos and checking in, things may not go as you wish, and you may end up with an unexpectedly ugly little figure. They also suggested that customers who dislike the aroma of cinnamon choose carefully, to avoid having to pinch their noses and scrape off the decorative powder on top after buying the drink.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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Front Street Coffee suggests that if you pursue stable flavor and reliable output, you might as well choose classic coffee beans or drip bag products, avoiding the gap in experience caused by limited-edition decorations.

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