Recently, Luckin Coffee has sparked controversy due to issues with the volume of “less ice” drinks. Some consumers have reported that when ordering a drink from Luckin and choosing “less ice,” the drink they receive is noticeably less full. In response, some store employees stated that “not adding liquid for less ice” is standard procedure.
According to a report by Sina Finance’s “BUG” column on June 6th, the topic of “Luckin Coffee’s oversized cup with half ice” has trended on Weibo recently. Some consumers ordered an oversized latte and chose “less ice,” only to find that the drink in the cup was only about half full. When confronted with questions, employees justified it by saying that “not adding liquid for less ice is standard procedure.”
In another report by mainland media, a consumer in Shanghai named Mr. Zhang encountered a similar issue. He expressed that he purchased an oversized latte with less ice, but the drink he received was only about half full. The employee explained that this was in accordance with the company’s standard recipes and that they do not add extra milk or coffee just because ice was reduced.
Tests have shown that for Luckin’s Coconut Latte, for example, the coffee liquid only fills about half of the cup after ice is removed, indicating a significant difference in volume before and after. The newly introduced Ice Black Mocha by Luckin has also been criticized for using a large amount of ice, with netizens joking that they “spent over ten yuan on a cup of ice, with a bit of coffee on the side.”
The responses from various Luckin stores regarding this issue are not entirely consistent. An employee at a store in Beijing’s Xicheng District stated that for latte-type drinks, milk should be added after reducing ice, and it shouldn’t be only half full. In cases where the cup is not filled, consumers can request a refund by providing their order details.
In response, Luckin Coffee stated that their drinks are made according to fixed recipes, and some products do not support “less ice” or “no ice” requests due to flavor considerations. Products like the Coconut Latte can be ordered with less ice, and the stores will supplement the ingredients according to standards. Luckin also mentioned that they have enhanced related training at all their stores nationwide.
Currently, the ordering page of Luckin has added small text warning that “less ice may result in less liquid in the cup.”
This incident has sparked discussions among netizens. Polls conducted by Sina Finance showed that nearly half of the participating netizens believed that the issue of “only half a cup left after less ice” could be considered deceptive. Some netizens also suggested that if liquid is not added after reducing ice, businesses should clearly inform consumers on the ordering page.
This is not the first time Luckin has faced controversy over ice ratio issues. As early as July 2023, some consumers reported that after ordering a “normal ice” drink from Luckin, they found that about two-thirds of the cup was filled with ice, sparking similar discussions.
The “BUG” column cited industry insiders in the coffee sector who explained that the concentration of espresso in a coffee drink is usually relatively fixed, and ice mainly serves to cool and fill the cup. Adding milk or other ingredients after reducing ice would increase the production cost per cup.
According to reports in mainland media, complaints related to Luckin Coffee on platforms like Hei Mao Complaints have exceeded 25,000, with over 800 new complaints in the past 30 days, covering issues such as after-sales customer service, membership fees, food safety, and false advertising.