Why did the Luckin jasmine latte taste weaker after June 2?

Luckin customers reported that the Jasmine Latte tasted noticeably weaker from June 2, with little coffee flavor, and some described it as milky tea water. Cup labels showed the espresso note changing from Espresso Extract to Ristretto, and employees said the tea, milk and coffee ratios were all altered. The company had not publicly explained the shift.

In March, Luckin upgraded its light milk tea line, swapping tea powder for freshly brewed tea and refreshing the jasmine latte with it, which won regular buyers. The June change brought negative reviews and calls to restore the original recipe. The case shows how far a latte sits from its origin, where small ratio and extraction tweaks reshape a drink.

Recently, many Luckin tea-coffee fans noticed a clear change in the flavor of the Jasmine Latte they regularly drink, suspecting that the brand had adjusted the recipe. In March this year, Luckin had just announced an upgrade to its light milk tea, replacing tea powder with freshly brewed tea, and the Jasmine Latte was improved accordingly—its tea aroma was fresh and it blended well with the coffee, quickly becoming a daily must-order for many consumers. However, starting June 2, regulars reported that this drink tasted weaker, with the coffee flavor almost gone; some even described it as drinking a cup of milky tea water. Some customers noticed from the cup labels that the espresso annotation had changed from "Espresso Extract" to "Ristretto," and employees also revealed that the ratios of tea, milk, and coffee had all been altered. This adjustment sparked widespread dissatisfaction, with store negative reviews and complaints increasing, and loyal fans calling on the official brand to restore the original recipe.

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Recently, many consumers who love Luckin tea-coffee posted on social platforms that the Jasmine Latte they had repurchased multiple times tasted noticeably different from before, suspecting that the brand had changed the recipe without public explanation.

It is understood that in March this year, Luckin announced a comprehensive upgrade of its light milk tea series, replacing tea powder with freshly brewed tea, and other drinks on the menu containing jasmine tea base were also updated with new recipes, including the Jasmine Latte. After the adjustment, the Jasmine Latte had a naturally refreshing tea aroma and blended perfectly with the coffee, thus winning the favor of many consumers and becoming a daily must-order for many.

However, starting June 2, customers who frequently bought this drink clearly felt that the Jasmine Latte made by Luckin staff that day was completely different from the taste the day before. Some commented, "The taste is super weak, no coffee flavor at all," while others complained, "I spent 5.9 yuan as if buying a cup of water," "I only taste jasmine tea, no coffee flavor," "It has turned into a cup of milky tea water," "It's watery and bland, not a trace of coffee flavor."

The sudden change in taste caught many tea-coffee lovers off guard, and everyone suspected that Luckin had quietly changed the recipe. Some observant customers found clues from the labels on the takeaway cups, pointing out that the Jasmine Latte they bought on June 1 was labeled "Espresso Extract," but the label on June 2 showed "Ristretto."

In addition to the common rich and slightly bitter Espresso, there are actually two similar strong coffees: the short-extraction version Ristretto and the long-extraction version Lungo. Among them, the short extraction only extracts the first and middle stages of the espresso, so the final coffee liquid is usually less than regular espresso.

The official mini-program shows that although the product options for jasmine flavor do not label "Ristretto," the product promotional image includes an introduction about "Ristretto." Based on this, some netizens speculated that Luckin might have switched to ristretto, reducing the amount of coffee in the Jasmine Latte, making this tea-coffee taste less impressive than before, with a weak coffee flavor.

At the same time, a Luckin employee shared internal materials, saying that the recipe for this tea-coffee series not only adjusted the espresso extraction method and changed the amount of coffee liquid, but also modified the ratio of tea to milk in the drink.

From the images, the biggest difference between the old and new recipes is the espresso extraction method and the amount of tea. Some Luckin employees said after actual preparation that due to the change in the ratio of coffee to tea, the milk content also slightly differed from before, overall "more tea, less milk and coffee."

In addition, employees revealed that the recipe change was very sudden. After implementation on June 2, many regulars noticed the difference in the taste of the Jasmine Latte and were quite dissatisfied with the upgraded tea-coffee, leading to increased negative reviews and complaints at stores, and they had to spend time explaining to customers who suspected the drink was diluted with water.

After their suspicions were confirmed by Luckin employees, loyal fans who had grown accustomed to the original flavor of the Jasmine Latte said it was hard to accept the upgraded drink. Many even directly posted and tagged Luckin, calling on the official brand to revert the recipe so that this widely popular tea-coffee could return to its original taste.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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