Why Is SOE Coffee Talk Dominating Manner's New Drink Buzz?

Manner has released an Orange Iced Tea Latte combining orange, jasmine green tea, and coffee, and many customers say it closely resembles the chain's existing Clear Orange Latte in both appearance and taste. The launch has also renewed discussion of the brand's SOE coffee beans and its recent shift toward fruit-and-tea drink formulas, which some longtime customers view as a move away from its specialty identity.

Regulars point out that the new cup's jasmine tea infusion is largely masked by orange syrup, so the flavor differs little from the existing flavored latte. Manner has released several cold drinks in just over a month, including an Apricot Iced Tea Americano, and the pace has raised questions about how far the brand still leans on its specialty coffee roots rather than sweet, fruit-forward menus.

Recently, Manner has noticeably accelerated the pace of launching new drinks. Within just over a month, multiple cold beverages have debuted one after another. The latest release, "Orange Iced Tea Latte," combines orange, jasmine green tea, and coffee, yet it has drawn complaints from quite a few consumers that it is highly similar to their own "Clear Orange Latte." At the same time, regulars have noticed that Manner has lately favored a formula approach of "fruit + tea infusion + coffee," from "Apricot Iced Tea Americano" to multiple flavored beverages, which has been teased as a "pricey substitute for a certain Luckin," and the issue of the taste being on the sweet side has also been frequently mentioned. Manner, once known for its specialty coffee image, now in the eyes of longtime customers seems to be gradually turning into a "saccharin assassin," with expectations for new products continuously declining.

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Recently, many consumers have noticed that Manner has significantly increased the frequency of launching new products. In addition to updates to its SOE coffee beans, in just over a month the brand has successively put out multiple cold drinks with distinct flavors, successfully attracting a large number of fans to visit stores and try them.

The new product Manner brought this week is called "Orange Iced Tea Latte," blending the currently popular orange, jasmine green tea, and coffee into the same cup. The name alone is enough to spark interest among tea-coffee lovers and fruit-coffee fans. After the menu was updated, people soon went downstairs with cups to buy one and give it a try.

However, customers who have tried this new product say bluntly that it is really too similar to Manner's own "Clear Orange Latte" already on sale. Judging from buyer photos posted by netizens, the appearance of the two drinks is almost impossible to distinguish, with both cups containing orange slices as decoration.

In terms of taste, the two products are likewise not very different. Some consumers pointed out that although the new product does add jasmine tea infusion to increase layering, after sipping, the presence of the tea infusion is overshadowed by the aroma of orange syrup. People with less sensitive palates will probably only feel that the new product "clashes in flavor" with the brand's own popular flavored latte.

This discovery left some consumers slightly disappointed with Manner's latest launch, but at the same time, some regulars also noticed that several drinks the brand has recently promoted basically all follow the route of "fruit + tea infusion + coffee."

Looking at the current coffee beverage market, fruit-flavored tea-coffee is already nothing new. Brands such as Luckin and Cotti all have similar products and they are quite popular. However, in the eyes of some users, Manner's successive launches of the same type of product seem more like taking elements customers prefer and rearranging and combining them. The resulting tea-coffee not only fails to convey any sense of novelty, but is also overly similar to competitors on the market and lacks its own characteristics.

For example, the previously launched tea-coffee "Apricot Iced Tea Americano" also used jasmine tea infusion, but some customers felt after trying it that the tea flavor was on the weak side, and that it tasted more like an apricot Americano from another coffee shop. Therefore, this apricot-flavored tea-coffee priced at 20 yuan has been jokingly called by some a "pricey substitute for a certain Luckin."

In addition, regulars also pointed out that several of Manner's newly launched drinks mostly taste like a cup of sweetened water with little coffee flavor. After launch, consumers have successively reported that the overall taste is too sweet, and some even say that today's Manner has degenerated into a "saccharin assassin," discouraging those who have tried it with an unacceptable level of sweetness and making them unwilling to repurchase.

Some longtime users admit that in their minds Manner has always been one of the representatives of specialty coffee, and most of the products sold in its stores can match the tastes of coffee consumers.

But perhaps influenced by market demand, in the beverage formulas the brand develops today, syrup, thick milk, and the like have gradually become indispensable ingredients, making what you drink taste more like a sweet milk tea mixed with coffee liquid. After trying them, regulars have been doused with a mouthful of sweetness and say bluntly that their expectations for Manner's new products are getting lower and lower.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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