Consumption丨Evaluating the "mainstream" coffee brands, which one do you prefer?

When we talk about coffee,

Many people will think of

It is a paradise for leisure love.

It is the yearning for a leisurely life.

Why did you choose to drink coffee?

Is to indulge in its brand value

Or are you obsessed with the taste of coffee?

In order to improve the taste and spirit of our friends

Have a better experience,

On the afternoon of October 30,

The editor and two coffee lovers

Regarding several mainstream coffee shops on the market:

Starbucks

Luckin Coffee

COSTA

A comprehensive evaluation was conducted.

Brand Introduction

Starbucks

Founded in the United States in 1971, it is the world's largest coffee chain brand. The "third space" of coffee culture is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and is a leisure and social place.

Luckin Coffee

Entering the coffee market in early 2018, it is the main representative of new retail coffee. Its stores are divided into four types: flagship, leisure, quick pick-up, and takeaway kitchen. In less than a year, it has become the second largest coffee chain brand in China.

COSTA

Founded in the UK in 1981, it pays great attention to coffee quality and even holds global barista competitions in order to train excellent baristas.

APP Favorability

The Starbucks APP has also launched a takeaway service called "Star Delivery", which is currently in the testing phase, but requires joining the Starbucks Rewards Club, which means purchasing a Starbucks gift card worth RMB 100 or more . For the time being, only stores in several popular business districts in Beijing and Shanghai can accept delivery orders .

Luckin's app is the most user-friendly. Not only can you estimate the store arrival time and place an order in advance, but you can also watch the coffee making video in real time after placing the order. After the production is completed, you can scan the code in the store to pick up the food, which saves time and worry, is convenient and fast, and coupons are issued from time to time.

COSTA also has an App, but there is no Chinese version , so I can’t understand it at all. The mini program is also used to buy gift cards, which is basically useless.

Buying experience

For this review, the editor chose Starbucks in Beichen Phoenix Sea, COSTA in Bofu Plaza, and Luckin Coffee in Wanjiali Plaza , all of which are in shopping malls or office buildings with dense traffic. Today, I will show you how to buy by yourself.

Store environment:

Starbucks stores use wooden ceilings, central bar counters , and light yellow lighting. The warm color combination seems to bring people closer together. However, since the store is large and there are many people inside, it is a little noisy.

Although Luckin Coffee is a small store, it looks very good. The deer logo echoes the sky blue ceiling, which looks very high-end, and the black bar also looks classy.

COSTA's stores are decorated in a color-matching style . The walls are made up of rose red, coffee brown, and gray, and the floor is divided into log color and porcelain gray. The overall color combination is very harmonious, giving people a very warm feeling .

Waiting time:

Starbucks took the longest time . Due to the large number of people lining up, it took nearly 20 minutes for the coffee to arrive after placing the order.

You can place an order for Luckin Coffee online in advance and just scan the QR code when you arrive at the store and it’s done in 1 minute.

COSTA was very fast and the package arrived in about 7 minutes. However, on the way back, the packaging bag was too big and some of it leaked.

Scan the QR code to pick up your meal at Luckin Coffee

Overall, COSTA's environment is the most satisfactory, and Luckin's purchasing experience is the most popular.

Coffee Experience

The coffee categories tested this time are: standard American, latte, and mocha .

American:

Starbucks and Luckin Coffee have moderate sourness and bitterness, rich layers, and a sweet aftertaste.

The COSTA experience was not good, the taste was too sour and had a burnt smell.

latté:

Starbucks has a delicate taste, beautiful latte art, and a slightly burnt taste.

Luckin Coffee has the best taste, with fine milk foam and a good mixture of milk and coffee.

COSTA tastes lighter.

Mocha:

Starbucks mocha is the best, full of chocolate cream, with a smooth taste and distinct layers.

Luckin’s mocha has a smooth taste, with chocolate and coffee blending well, but it’s a bit sweet.

COSTA has a strong chocolate flavor, a bit like pure hot chocolate, and is sweet overall. You will feel a bit greasy after drinking one cup.

Juice tasting

In addition to coffee, I also tried the freshly squeezed juices from each store. It is understood that the juices of these three brands are all NFC juices, that is, 100% fruit squeezed and non-concentrated juices without additives, which are the most popular health drinks at present.

Starbucks

Starbucks' juice is supplied by Yangya, a juice brand under Taiwan's Jiamei Group. It only has orange juice, kiwi juice and mixed berry juice, and the taste is similar to Luckin Coffee.

Luckin Coffee

Luckin's juice is directly supplied by NFC, a brand under Taiwan Jiamei Group, one of the largest concentrated fruit and vegetable juice manufacturers in Asia. The most popular ones are the sweet and sour, refreshing and delicious kiwi compound juice, the rich orange juice, the mixed berry juice full of blueberry and strawberry pulp, the sweet lychee juice, the mango juice that is like liquid mango, etc. Each one is delicious. Unfortunately, the editor arrived too late and the mango juice was sold out.

COSTA

COSTA has three types of juices: the refreshing and delicious kiwi apple blended juice, the sweet and slightly bitter honey grapefruit cherry blended juice, and the sweet and sour mango and sea buckthorn apple blended juice.

Overall, the three brands have their own advantages and the juice tastes good.

Tasting and sharing

With drinks, of course, we can’t miss food. The editor and his friends also tried the exquisite light meals of each store: muffins, scones, croissants, etc., paired with coffee and juice, it couldn’t be better!

I ordered chocolate muffins from all three stores, and each had its own unique flavor.

Starbucks has chocolate sauce on the surface and inside, but it tastes a bit sticky and too sweet, and you will feel sick of it if you eat too much.

Luckin Coffee has chocolate beans on the surface and inside. It has a soft texture and is slightly sweet, which is very suitable for girls who like sweets.

COSTA is my favorite, with a full chocolate filling, moderate sweetness, and it tastes very soft, a bit like a honeycomb cake.

The scones vary from store to store:

Starbucks 's is the Mitty Scone, which has a crispy crust and a rich milky flavor. Although it is a bit dry overall, it can be eaten with juice. This is the one I like the most.

Luckin Coffee ’s cranberry scones have a crispy texture, with a sweet taste balanced by the sour taste, which is also very good.

I didn’t buy the COSTA scones as they were sold out when I arrived at the store.

The croissants in the three stores also have different names.

The Starbucks ham and cheese croissant has a crispy crust but is a little dry.

The editor prefers the generous portion of Luckin’s ham and cheese croissant, which is full of cheese and ham when you bite it, and is very filling.

The almond croissant ordered by COSTA was also crispy and delicious, but a bit sweet overall.

In comparison, COSTA's chocolate muffins are better, Starbucks' honey scones taste the best, and Luckin's ham and cheese croissants are the most substantial.

Price Comparison

Of course, when choosing coffee and light meals, taste is not the only reference standard, price is also very important. After this coffee evaluation, Luckin only has one cup type - large cup! The price is very attractive: Americano 21 yuan, latte 24 yuan, mocha 27 yuan, light meals are all half price, chocolate muffin 6.5 yuan, scone 7.5 yuan, ham and cheese croissant 8 yuan, 4 bottles of juice 24 yuan each, the total cost is 168 yuan, because buy two get one free, buy five get five free, and the first item is free, the total cost is only 73 yuan, which is really a good deal.

Compared with Luckin Coffee, the prices of large cups at Starbucks and COSTA are a bit scary. Among them, Starbucks Americano is 27 yuan, latte is 31 yuan, mocha is 34 yuan, chocolate muffin is 18 yuan, scones are 16 yuan, croissants are 22 yuan, and three bottles of juice are 28 yuan each, totaling 232 yuan. COSTA Americano is 30 yuan, mocha is 37 yuan, latte is 34 yuan, muffin is 15 yuan, croissants are 15 yuan, and three bottles of juice are 25 yuan each, totaling 206 yuan.

In general, the editor gives the highest recommendation to Luckin Coffee. Whether it is Americano, latte, mocha, juice, or light meal, Luckin's taste is good; the same large cup of coffee is cheaper than Starbucks and COSTA; the juice, which has almost the same taste and volume as Starbucks, is also cheaper. In addition, there are buy two get one free, buy five get five free for drinks, 50% off for all light meals, first piece free and other activities, the price-performance ratio completely crushes other brands. Moreover, Luckin is free of delivery fees for orders over 35 yuan, which is convenient and more cost-effective~