As a coffee shop owner, it's become routine for me to see my social media filled with new products from Luckin Coffee. We independent coffee shops view these products from capital groups as both a threat to our survival and as effective promoters of coffee culture in China. From our perspective, their products are hard to gain industry recognition; first, the coffee-making process is fully automated, rendering the theoretical knowledge and practical experience of baristas almost meaningless.

However, if I were in a city like Guangzhou where rent is around two thousand, I would also choose Luckin over an independent shop. Their hourly wages are something independent shops can't offer, and their store management is far superior. Independent shops only provide emotional satisfaction, or rather, only those who want to start a business would work as baristas in independent shops.

This capital monster not only does things that we independent shops can't do, but it also does them well. On what basis can we say that adding sugar makes it not good coffee, or that making so many new flavors means they only follow trends? Luckin's new sauce-flavored latte has once again captured everyone's attention, with various memes circulating and even trending on social media.

Luckin's new product is a collaboration with Moutai, simply put, it's a latte with Moutai liquor added. It sounds like a dark culinary creation, but in fact, the combination of alcohol and coffee has always existed. For example, the famous Irish coffee, which many Italian coffee restaurants used to offer, is now quite rare. However, Irish coffee is more of a cocktail with coffee added to the alcohol rather than the other way around. Because the alcohol is the main component, and coffee is just an accompaniment. Because of this, this coffee cocktail is usually only found in Western restaurants or bars, as regular coffee shops typically do not have a license to sell alcohol.

Perhaps both alcohol and coffee are among humanity's favorite beverages, which is why people keep trying to mix them. It's ironic that a stimulating drink and a sleep-inducing drink are always being combined.

In recent years, many independent coffee shops have attempted similar mixes. Although coffee shops cannot sell alcohol, adding a little bit won't usually lead to complaints. The most successful example is probably the Baileys latte, which almost every independent shop has on their menu.

As someone who is lactose intolerant, I usually ignore lattes when I drink coffee outside. But when the Baileys latte first appeared in various independent coffee shops, I couldn't resist ordering takeout, and I even made my own Baileys iced coffee. From the name of this product, I knew it couldn't be bad; Baileys is often used as a coffee liqueur, and its taste is very creamy, mixing well with milk. Not only does the taste not clash, but it also enhances the flavor. Baileys is also inexpensive and easy to make, making it a seamless and successful product.

Similar options include Cointreau Americano, but none have been as popular as the Baileys latte.

Now, Luckin Coffee's sauce-flavored latte is not an original creation of Luckin, but their public relations are excellent, and their user base is enormous. Similar to the attributes of Tencent QQ back in the day, Luckin's products are bound to become popular in a short time.

About seven or eight years ago, Pacific Coffee already had similar products. I used to go to Pacific Coffee often. They had a product line called the National Liquor series, which was a mix of Chinese liquor and coffee. However, the prices were too high, with some products costing over 60 yuan a cup, which was unaffordable back then. Moreover, the understanding of flavors at that time was not as mature as it is now, and the National Liquor series' Erguotou coffee, Moutai coffee, and Huadiao coffee all seemed like dark culinary creations to me.

Look at it now; various coffee shops generally sell Baileys lattes for around 23 yuan, while Pacific was selling this product for 68 yuan. The cheapest in the National Liquor series was 48 yuan, which is incredibly expensive compared to Luckin's 23 yuan sauce-flavored latte. It's clear that Pacific's product line was aimed at the high-end market, unlike Luckin's approach targeting the masses.

With Pacific Coffee's recent poor management and the entry of various emerging brands, many new coffee drinkers have never even heard of Pacific Coffee, let alone the National Liquor coffee series.

Returning to Luckin's sauce-flavored latte, regardless of social buzz or what others think of this product, the brand's popularity is already solid. You might not trust Luckin, but you would trust Moutai, right?

From a taste perspective, I believe this product won't be bad at all. The sauce flavor comes from the various aromatic substances produced during the brewing process. If you open a bottle of sauce-flavored liquor and find it pleasant, this product will likely taste good to you. Luckin is smart; they didn't just add liquor directly but used sauce flavor technology to mix the liquor with a thick milk base to create a sauce-flavored milk. This technology likely comes from Moutai or the thick milk base.

The result of this method is that the alcohol content in this coffee is extremely low; a 250ml cup contains at most 0.5 degrees. Drinking it might be like eating an apple that's been left out for too long, and you definitely won't pass an alcohol test. Thanks to the sauce flavor technology, while the alcohol content is reduced, the sauce flavor remains intact, and milk is a great flavor enhancer.

Most importantly, ordinary people cannot easily replicate this effect; even if you have a bottle of real Moutai, you can't easily make this product.

A 250ml sauce-flavored latte contains about 2ml of Moutai. My neighbor brought over a bottle of real Moutai that had been aged for five years, and I tried making a cup with 10ml. Even though I made it hot, the taste was still not as good as Luckin's, and the alcohol flavor was too strong. This is Luckin's strength: by integrating different suppliers to create unique raw materials, they enhance their products while keeping prices low, making them affordable for everyone. They can attract fans and make a profit at the same time.

Well, I personally think this product is great, and even my white friends find it delicious. If you get the chance, everyone should give it a try.