Why the 300ml Specialty Coffee Cup Stirred Complaints

Tea Baidao released three hot specialty drinks under its Global Flavors series: Caramel Crunch, Vanilla Cocoa, and Dark Chocolate Cocoa. Each takeaway cup holds 300ml, listed in the mini-program, against the 500ml or 1-liter milk teas common on the market. Prices run 14 to 17 yuan depending on platform discounts. Most buyers called the taste good but questioned the portion and value.

The long, thick straws paired with the palm-sized cups became the main target of online jokes, with some customers comparing the drink to a freebie or a topping. That gap between presentation and expectation sits at the center of the discussion in Chinese coffee culture, where large-format milk tea has trained buyers to expect more volume per yuan.

Tea Baidao recently launched its Global Flavors series, rolling out three hot specialty drinks all at once: Caramel Crunch, Vanilla Cocoa, and Dark Chocolate Cocoa. The wintry atmosphere in the promotional posters drew many milk tea fans to place orders and give them a try. However, once the drinks arrived, quite a few customers discovered that the takeaway cup was only about the size of a palm, with the mini-program listing a capacity of 300ml—a stark contrast to the 500ml or even 1-liter milk teas commonly found on the market. On pricing, the three drinks fall in the 14–17 yuan range depending on platform discounts, which some users consider stingy for the price. On top of that, the thick, long straws supplied by stores stuck into these mini cups sparked all kinds of online mockery. Still, when it came to taste, most people gave them a "tasty" verdict—it's just that value for money has become a hurdle on the road to repurchasing.

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Recently, Tea Baidao launched its Global Flavors series of new products, bringing three specialty milk teas at once. According to the official introduction, these three hot drinks are Caramel Crunch Specialty, Vanilla Cocoa Specialty, and Dark Chocolate Cocoa Specialty. Judging from the promotional posters, the overall presentation is full of wintry vibes, sparking the interest and attention of quite a few milk tea lovers.

After the new products hit the market, many users eagerly picked the flavor they liked and waited for delivery. But unexpectedly, when they took their long-awaited specialty drink out of the bag and saw a cup only the size of a palm, they sighed "too small" and joked, "I thought Tea Baidao sent me a freebie," and "When the delivery arrived I really thought it was a topping."

As everyone knows, most milk tea drinks on the market today are 500ml, and some brands have even rolled out 1-liter milk tea buckets to meet consumers' demand for large portions at good prices. The three specialty drinks Tea Baidao launched this time, however, show a capacity of 300ml in the mini-program product information, which breaks most milk tea consumers' preconceived notions. Some said bluntly, "Not enough to drink," "Two big sips and it's gone," "This little bit isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

Another point that users find hard to accept is that such a 300ml hot drink is "not cheap." Because the discount mechanisms differ across purchasing platforms, the three drinks' prices vary slightly, ranging from 14 to 17 yuan.

Compared with other milk tea drinks on the market, Tea Baidao's new products seem small in volume and high in price. Some consumers said, "It's expensive even with a coupon—a can of soda has 330ml," "Why is the capacity so small but the price hasn't dropped at all," "Not even as much as a cup of soy milk I bought in the morning."

Besides the small capacity and poor value, the straws the stores provided with the drinks also became a point of complaint for many customers. From the buyer shows users posted, what they received were basically the thick, long straws meant for regular milk tea cups. When inserted into these specialty cups, the scene instantly had an absurdity that made people chuckle.

Onlookers, meanwhile, fired off witty remarks, offering sharp commentary on these buyer shows: "The straw is so long the drink's cold by the time it reaches your mouth," "Good thing I didn't order three cups—this straw looks like burning incense for my job," "Like two antennas," "Tea Baidao has already built a space elevator," "A pillar holding up the sky." One imaginative netizen whipped out a comparison image that had the comment section howling with laughter, saying they couldn't stop laughing.

Still, although consumers reported that Tea Baidao's new products are too small, not cheap, and don't come with matching straws, when it comes to taste, most people exclaimed "tasty" after trying them, showing no hesitation in expressing their love when sharing their "tasting notes" on social media.

But amid the praise, many couldn't help sincerely adding one line at the end because of the "mini milk tea's" poor value for money: "It's really expensive." They said Tea Baidao's new products were genuinely surprising—the flavor and texture left a deep impression after trying them, even sparking the thought of "one more cup." But at the thought that this specialty drink is "small and pricey," some consumers admitted they were put off and probably wouldn't repurchase.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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