How does menu trimming shape what it costs to open up a coffee shop?
Chagee will discontinue four tea bases across all channels on May 9, 2025: Rose Narcissus, Green Mandarin Pu'er, Rose Pu'er, and Roasted Aroma Yellow Tea. Eight related drinks are affected, including limited editions Golden Crow Fuyao, Qianlong No. 1, and Qingshan Qigu, plus the permanent Qu Yunnan.
Store employees called the removal of low-selling products reasonable, since it cuts ingredient waste and eases preparation pressure, while Chagee has recently added new fruit tea items. For anyone weighing how much it costs to open up a coffee shop, the case shows that a tight ingredients list lowers waste and labor costs.
Recently, a notice purportedly circulated internally by Chagee about a full-channel delisting made the rounds on social media, sparking widespread attention and discussion among fans. The notice indicated that four ingredients—Rose Narcissus, Green Mandarin Pu'er, Rose Pu'er, and Roasted Aroma Yellow Tea—along with eight related tea drinks, would be completely discontinued starting May 9, 2025. Among them were popular limited editions such as Golden Crow Fuyao, Qianlong No. 1, and Qingshan Qigu, as well as permanent offerings like Qu Yunnan. After the news broke, many consumers expressed disbelief and voiced their reluctance in the comments. However, from the perspective of store employees, the official removal of low-selling products is entirely reasonable—it can both reduce ingredient waste and ease the pressure of ingredient preparation. Meanwhile, Chagee has recently launched a string of new fruit tea products, fueling much speculation about the direction of its menu adjustments.
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Recently, an account on social media posted a notice purportedly issued internally by Chagee regarding a full-channel product delisting, which quickly caused an uproar among netizens.
The notice specified that four ingredients—Rose Narcissus, Green Mandarin Pu'er, Rose Pu'er, and Roasted Aroma Yellow Tea—along with the eight corresponding tea drinks, would be simultaneously delisted across all channels starting May 9, 2025. Among the affected products were limited editions such as "Golden Crow Fuyao," "Qianlong No. 1," and "Qingshan Qigu," which attracted a large number of fans eager to try them after their launch last year, as well as long-standing familiar faces like "Qu Yunnan."
Faced with this sudden news, many loyal customers cried out in disbelief, and the comments section was filled with laments: "Qu Yunnan and Golden Crow Fuyao are my spiritual sustenance," "Give me back Qingshan Qigu!!", "Why delist Qu Yunnan," "With Qingshan Qigu delisted, my happiness is halved," "I really love Qianlong No. 1," "What did I do to deserve this? I just want a cup of Qingshan Qigu," "Why are all the rose ones gone?"
Amid the regret, some planned to grab a few more cups before the drinks were officially delisted, preserving the taste of their "white moonlight" in their memories. But when they opened the official mini-program to place an order, they found that several drinks on the list were already showing as sold out. In response, longtime customers revealed that this situation was not recent—months ago, consumers had reported on social media that limited-edition drinks like "Qingshan Qigu" were already unavailable at some stores.
In most people's impressions, the several tea drinks Chagee is delisting this time all garnered considerable attention when they were first launched, becoming store bestsellers within just a few days, and discussions about them on social media have remained hot ever since.
However, from the perspective of Chagee employees on the front lines of tea production, the brand's decision to delist these products is completely understandable. Take Qingshan Qigu, which has the loudest fan pleas for retention—when it first launched, it indeed won over a group of customers with its unique grain-like aroma, but its actual sales at stores are currently far from ideal: "Brew a pack and nobody buys it, it expires and gets written off as loss," "Brew a pack and it can't even sell out in four hours," "Boil a pack and you sell at most two cups."
The situation is much the same for the other drinks that have quite a few supporters. Chagee employees revealed that if the tea base for low-selling drinks cannot be consumed within a few hours, once it passes its shelf life it can only be thrown away as waste, which is quite a pity. Therefore, in their eyes, the official delisting of non-bestselling products can, on the one hand, reduce ingredient waste at stores, and on the other hand, ease the burden on staff by eliminating unnecessary ingredient preparation work.
In addition, some speculate that after cutting multiple fresh milk teas, the official menu may undergo fairly significant adjustments. Not long ago, Chagee had just launched its passion fruit tea "Wanxiang Chunhe" nationwide, then some stores introduced the strawberry fruit tea "Strawberry·Rooibos" and the grape fruit tea "Silk Road Jade Trace." Add to that recent rumors that the melon fruit tea "Summer Dream Melo" is about to return, and these various moves make people wonder whether the brand will focus on fruit-flavored tea drinks going forward.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
