How Does Luckin Coffee Prepare Its New Milk Deluxe Latte?

Luckin Coffee has partnered with Mengniu's Milk Deluxe to launch a limited-edition drink, the Milk Deluxe Exclusive Pasture Latte. Priced from 14.9 yuan, or 17.9 yuan for an upsized cup, it is the highest-priced item on Luckin's mini-program menu. For the iced version, staff stir espresso and Milk Deluxe milk for eight rounds, whip the mix in a smoothie blender for over ten seconds, then add ice.

Early buyer feedback suggests the finished drink lacks a dense layer of milk foam and tastes close to a regular latte. Staff say the foam dissipates quickly and advise drinking it right at the counter, while the hot version simply mixes espresso and milk in a pitcher and heats it. The showy preparation has sparked online debate, with many a coffee enthusiast weighing ritual against practicality.

Luckin Coffee has partnered with Mengniu's Milk Deluxe to launch a limited-edition new drink, the "Milk Deluxe · Exclusive Pasture Latte," priced from 14.9 yuan, or 17.9 yuan for an upsized cup, making it the most expensive item on the mini-program menu. The preparation method for this latte is quite distinctive: for the iced version, the espresso must first be stirred with Milk Deluxe milk for 8 rounds, then poured into a smoothie blender and whipped for over ten seconds, and finally topped with ice and sealed; for the hot version, the espresso is added to a milk pitcher, mixed with milk, and heated. However, feedback from the first batch of consumers indicates that the finished product does not have a dense layer of milk foam on the surface, and the taste is not much different from a regular latte. Staff explained that the milk foam dissipates very easily and recommend drinking it immediately at the bar. Front Street Coffee has noticed that this innovative process has sparked online discussions about "ritual" versus practicality.

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Recently, Luckin Coffee announced a collaboration with the well-known dairy brand Milk Deluxe to jointly launch a limited-edition new drink, the "Milk Deluxe · Exclusive Pasture Latte."

Speaking of Milk Deluxe, the slogan "Not all milk is called Milk Deluxe" has long been deeply ingrained in people's minds. Coupled with the brand's years of accumulated market recognition, when consumers learned that Milk Deluxe had appeared on the operation counters of Luckin stores, many coffee enthusiasts became keenly interested in finding out what exactly made this new latte special.

It is understood that the "Milk Deluxe Latte" uses Luckin's award-winning coffee beans, freshly ground and extracted, combined with milk supplied by Milk Deluxe. The product is priced at a flat 14.9 yuan, or 17.9 yuan for an upsized cup, currently making it the highest-priced item on Luckin's mini-program menu.

For this limited-edition latte priced at nearly 18 yuan, Luckin has adopted a unique process to highlight its limited-edition nature. From preparation videos shared by Luckin employees, the method for making the iced Milk Deluxe Latte is noticeably different from the usual iced latte routine of adding ice, milk, and coffee.

Staff must first pour Milk Deluxe milk and the extracted espresso into a takeaway cup and stir for 8 rounds to fully mix the two, then pour it into a smoothie blender and whip for over ten seconds. After the latte has been whipped into milk foam, it is poured back into the takeaway cup, topped with an appropriate amount of ice, and sealed with a lid.

The hot version is relatively simpler to make, but employees report that its process also differs from other hot lattes in the store: the espresso must first be added to a milk pitcher containing milk, and the mixed liquid is then heated to a certain temperature before being poured into the takeaway cup.

After learning about this "ingenious" latte-making method stipulated by the brand, many onlooking netizens joked that the process of using a blender to whip up milk foam for the Milk Deluxe Latte is "so ritualistic," remarking bluntly that "it wouldn't deserve its price without such a production process." Some users were also full of curiosity about the taste of an iced latte made differently from the traditional method, and couldn't wait to place orders and try it as soon as the new product was launched.

However, the first wave of "guinea pigs" reported that although the official process was adjusted in an attempt to add milk foam to the iced latte for a smoother, richer mouthfeel, the drink they actually received was overall light brown in color, with no dense milk foam on the surface, and tasted not noticeably different from a regular latte.

In response, some consumers who posted their buyer shows thought it might be their own taste buds not being sensitive enough that they couldn't detect the "uniqueness" of the Milk Deluxe Latte; others believed the official new method was "forcing something that isn't working," saying that adding the smoothie-machine whipping step does not produce dense milk foam in an iced latte, and remarking bluntly that the extra step "seems like doing useless work."

Regarding customer feedback, Luckin employees feel helpless, saying that the iced Milk Deluxe Latte made according to official requirements does indeed have a layer of milk foam when first completed, but this layer of foam dissipates extremely easily. If users want to experience an iced latte with milk foam, they had best stand right at the bar and drink the beverage just made by the staff.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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