Another hot and true review! Luckin Coffee landed in Haikou, here we come

A few days ago, the mobile phones of Haikou's fashionistas were flooded with advertisements for a new store.

It is the internet coffee that has emerged in the past two years: luckin coffee! After entering the Hainan market, Luckin Coffee opened 5 stores at lightning speed. Recently, every store is packed with people, and many people are holding up the little blue cup to check in and take photos.

The impression of Luckin Coffee is its overwhelming advertising, numerous promotions, and wild growth, which have made it a coffee shop chain that competes head-on with Starbucks.

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In the past few days, we have received many private messages from cute people, calling on us to do a comprehensive review of Luckin Coffee. As someone who would die if he didn’t drink coffee, I was also curious about Luckin Coffee, so I took my camera and set off!

01

A tortuous evaluation journey

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Luckin Coffee’s first store in Haikou is located in Baifang Plaza. At 2pm on the second day of the opening, we rushed to the store and were told, “Sorry, we are out of coffee beans and will have more in the evening.”

2pm??? Out of stock???

I was once again amazed by the enthusiasm of Hainan people for new things. The next morning, I woke up at 7:30 and opened the Luckin Coffee app. I saw the following screen and couldn’t help but doubt my life… “Will I still be able to drink Luckin Coffee this year?”

We changed our schedule temporarily and went to Nanyang Building. The store is on the first floor, there is no dining area, and it was just opened, so the small space was crowded, and the bar was piled with coffee bags for delivery.

This is related to the fact that Luckin's consumer group is positioned at office workers, white-collar workers and students. In addition, it focuses on the take-out model, and most of its locations are near office areas and schools.

Luckin’s subsidies are still very generous. New users can get a cup of coffee for free, plus various coupons and promotions, so the three of us bought 8 cups of coffee and the total cost was only 104 yuan.

Compared with Starbucks, which never offers discounts and never delivers, the price is nearly half off. There is no other way. For those of us who have been eating local food for a long time, such temptation is fatal to us.

The first time I bought Luckin Coffee, the experience was pretty good. I ordered through the APP, paid online, and picked up the food by scanning the code. It took about 10 minutes to wait for the coffee to be made. It was really boring and I could take a photo with my "blue friend" Liu Haoran. Hehe~

02

<Master Coffee + Little Deer Tea>

"Enjoy this cup of Master Coffee with me"

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We bought 8 drinks in total, because the three most popular drinks, milk tea, matcha latte and meteorite latte, were always sold out, so we had no choice but to choose 5 cups of the existing master coffee and 3 cups of the signature deer tea. The snacks seemed to have not been officially put on the shelves yet, so we didn't buy them. (It seems that we have to come again)

Luckin Coffee

Master Coffee

Luckin’s Master Coffee costs 27 yuan per cup.

I checked the official website and found that everything from the selection of coffee beans to the equipment of the coffee machine is of great importance: for example, the coffee beans that won the gold medal in the 2018 IIAC International Coffee Tasting Competition, the blending by a team of world champion baristas, and the world's top coffee machine equipment, etc.

To be honest, for a layman like me who loves coffee but has never studied it in depth, evaluating Luckin Coffee from a professional perspective is indeed a bit "unfair, irregular and unfair."

Therefore, this review will focus on the taste, aroma, and cost-effectiveness. (If there are any mistakes or unprofessionalism, criticism and correction are welcome)

「Caramel Latte/O-Brien: 27 yuan」

These two products are among the most frequently ordered coffees among Master Coffees. You can’t tell what they look like in a small blue cup, so we poured them into a transparent glass cup to observe: the color of the caramel latte is darker than that of the aubergines, and of course it smells sweeter too.

Many people compare Luckin's Flat White with Starbucks' Flat White, but in fact, the two are not exactly the same. One is Ristretto+milk, and the other is Espresso+milk.

The first sip was filled with the bitterness of coffee, and after swallowing it, a mellow milky flavor gradually emerged, gradually covering the taste of coffee. Overall, it was not bad. If I were to say based on my personal preference, I prefer Starbucks. The freshly made flat white had a thick but light milk foam, but the Oreo didn't have that.

The caramel latte smells very sweet, and the smooth taste of milk and coffee makes it the perfect choice for girls who love sweets. After a few sips, I felt it was too sweet. If you can't accept sweet coffee, I suggest you order low-sugar coffee or make another choice.

"Black Gold Sparkling Americano: 24 yuan"

Americano is probably one of the most common types of coffee. Almost every office worker has a cup of it to refresh themselves. Luckin Coffee has 4 standard Americano and 4 sparkling Americano. Since I am a person who will be successfully discouraged by the bitter and sour Americano, I chose the black and gold sparkling Americano with a very high appearance.

The dark brown espresso and soda water collide to create a beautiful layered effect. Bubbles rise up, with a cool "sizzling" sound and a refreshing feeling. From the outside, it even looks like a glass of ice cola and sparkling water?

This is totally recommended to those cute little ones who don’t like American coffee. You can definitely accept it. The presence of sparkling water reduces the sourness of American coffee, while retaining the aroma of coffee. It is extremely refreshing. You feel that your whole body is activated all of a sudden, and your sleepy brain in the morning turns on at high speed!

「Caramel Macchiato: 27 yuan」

It was my first time to drink iced caramel macchiato. The iced milk and coffee plus a layer of caramel also created a beautiful layering. It is very suitable for those who prefer milky and sweet flavors.

But compared to hot caramel, I personally like iced caramel more! The bitter first and sweet later macchiato, with the continuous blending of milk and coffee, can also taste the delicate caramel, and reduce a lot of the sweetness of caramel, surprisingly, it is quite refreshing to drink.

「Matcha Reina Ice: 27 yuan」

Judging from the shape and color, this one is very similar to Starbucks' Matcha Frappuccino.

If we compare the two cups, I observed in the store for half an hour that the order rate of Luckin's Ruina Ice is far less than half of that of Starbucks. The same cup volume and the same production method, but Luckin's price is 7 yuan cheaper, which is indeed a lot of money.

But maybe it was left out for too long, so the sorbet and cream had melted a lot, so I couldn't feel the strong matcha flavor. To be fair, I can only let you know after I drink it next time.

「Peach/Mango/Guava Cheese Gem Tea: 27 yuan」

This year, luckin coffee launched the Little Deer Tea series, the most famous of which is the Dahongpao agar-agar milk tea. But I got up at 9:30 in the morning and couldn't buy it. The real milk tea girl felt deeply regretful that she couldn't drink it.

We chose three cheese teas, namely Guava, Peach and Mango, from the available Xiaolu Tea. In fact, fruit teas like this are very common in the market. I wonder what kind of surprise Luckin will give us?

The first cup I drank was guava! There was a surprise as soon as I opened the lid! The strong tropical fruit aroma hit me. I drank it at a 45-degree angle from the cup mouth, and the salty and mellow cheese milk cap gave me a critical hit. The guava without seeds was sweet, fragrant and pure. The taste blended in my mouth, you milk tea girls will definitely understand.

I also like the mango cheese tea. The milk-topped mango sauce smoothie and jasmine tea base make it the best ending to this summer.

Maybe because the first two were too amazing, Taotao was a little average in all aspects. The only advantage was that the Taotao flesh was very large and cut very finely, with a perfect taste.

03

<Evaluation Summary>

App one-click operation is simple and convenient, cost-effective

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Today's review of Luckin Coffee has given me a new and more comprehensive understanding of this Internet coffee brand.

It has many advantages. The one-click operation of the APP saves a lot of waiting time. The main model of delivery and take-out, as well as the selection of geographical locations, allow office workers who love coffee to finally no longer be restricted by various time and area restrictions.

Since Luckin Coffee came to Haikou, I have seen people sharing its 50% discount coupons in the group almost every day. It may be due to my consumption concept, but this kind of marketing really suits my taste. If I feel a little sad to drink a cup of coffee that costs more than 30 yuan every day, I would actually prefer Luckin Coffee, which can buy a cup of coffee for just over ten yuan.

The review is finished. For a coffee lover like me who doesn’t like American coffee and can’t accept coffee that is too sweet, the ones I recommend most to everyone are Iced Caramel Macchiato, Black Gold Sparkling American Coffee and Guava Cheese Treasure Tea. I would also like to try Meteorite Latte and Dahongpao Milk Tea. If they are available, please notify us as soon as possible!

Luckin Coffee is still opening stores in Haikou. You can check the app and choose the nearest store. Remember to claim the first-order free coupons and various discount coupons before placing an order!

Luckin Coffee

Average price: 27 yuan

Currently open stores:

(Baifang Store) Lobby, 1F, Baifang Building, No. 105 Binhai Avenue, Longhua District

(Nanyang Building Store) Room 104-1, 1st Floor, Nanyang Building, No. 81 Binhai Avenue, Longhua District

(Haikou Institute of Economics Branch) No. 103, 1st Floor, Nanyang Fengqing Street, Guilinyang Development Zone, Haikou Institute of Economics

Video shooting & editing: Feifei

Editing & Typesetting: Mo Xingxing

Photography & Post-production: Da Mu

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