What's Happening at Luckin Coffee? Luckin Coffee Switching to Selling Cups?!

When people think of Starbucks, what comes to mind first is often not the coffee or the light food, but the cups. You could even argue that Starbucks behaves more like a merchandise seller than a coffee company, because it releases new cups far more often than it releases new drinks. The Cat Paw Cup made a deep impression years ago: the moment it launched, it became a hit, and because it was a limited edition, some customers set up tents outside stores and queued overnight.

Few people realize that Starbucks has been selling cups since 1971. But when it comes to coffee chains that expanded into drinkware, the West has Starbucks and the East has Luckin Coffee.

On June 18, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily Community News learned that Luckin Coffee had begun selling cups alongside its beverages. The reporter then visited malls including Shunyi New World and Hualian and found that Luckin stores were not stocking cups on site; the cups could only be ordered online.

As early as August 2019, Luckin Coffee's flagship store opened on JD.com and rolled out merchandise nationwide. Its first limited edition, the Antler Portable Straw Cup, went on sale together with a "Meet Haoran" limited edition blind box.

That year's Antler Portable Straw Cup also came in pink and blue, and both looked playful next to Luckin's antler logo.

On the first day of the official launch, demand overwhelmed the app and it crashed, and the cups sold out within a very short window.

In 2019, as the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Luckin rode the momentum of the Antler Cup and immediately opened pre-sales for its "Lunar Meteorite Mug" at a pre-sale price of 93 yuan.

It sold out within 1 hour of launch. The official account later explained that the second batch would be restocked on September 26th, and that customers would be notified at that time.

In October 2020, Luckin Coffee introduced the Luckin Cup, a portable cup designed by COPCO, a casual drinkware brand that was popular in Europe and America at the time.

The Luckin Cup series carries a minimalist, Instagram-ready look with a strong sense of fashion. It comes in a range of colorways, among them Luckin blue, watermelon red, light blue and light pink. The appearance satisfied plenty of aesthetic tastes, and the practicality matched it.

The cup is made from double-layer PP material and is BPA-free, making it safer and more environmentally friendly. The double-layer construction provides natural insulation and suits both hot and cold water, while the screw-on lid prevents spills. Its capacity of over 300 milliliters is just right, given that a cup of pour-over coffee typically does not exceed 300 milliliters.

In March 2021, Luckin Coffee launched the "Spring Cherry Blossom Season" series, going so far as to change its logo from business blue to sakura pink to draw attention to the collection. It included spring drip coffee packaging and derivative merchandise, and the sakura pink colorway gave off a decidedly girly vibe.

In April 2021, Luckin Coffee introduced the "Spring Cat" series. The bright yellow color scheme paired with an adorable cat theme tempted plenty of people, whether they kept cats at home or merely followed them online. Even the toughest customers found it hard to resist. As one commenter put it, "Kids make choices, but I want them all."

Barely a month after the Spring Cat series, Luckin seized the momentum and released five new "laser cups" in mid-May. Luckin worked its signature business blue into the cups, giving them a look that felt luxurious and fashionable while remaining refined and enduring.

April and May of that year were especially busy for Luckin. The Spring Cat series and the Laser series landed less than a month apart, and just 11 days after the Laser series, Luckin rolled out its "Summer Party" collection. Pool Party Mugs, Creative Flip-Flop Mugs, Glass Cups That Aren't Soda Cans, Coconut Breeze Glass Cups, Cool Summer Double-Layer Ceramic Cups, Sweet Cherry Straw Cups, Refreshing Summer Portable Cups and more all carried an easy, breezy summer mood.

It seems Luckin Coffee, long dubbed the "Chinese Starbucks," has worked out Starbucks' real formula and moved into drinkware, winning people over with design. How many Luckin cups are in your own collection?

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Novelty cups are a great way to pull new drinkers in, but the reason people stay is what is actually in the cup. If you are building your first serious lineup of beans, FrontStreet Coffee suggests starting with origins that show clearly what specialty coffee can do. From Ethiopia, the washed Gutingting cooperative lot and the sun-dried Huakui are the classic entry points: the first brings jasmine, lemon acidity and berry over a soft tea-like body, while the second leans hard into tropical fruit, with berry, floral, jackfruit, melon and honey notes.

Brazil is the other natural starting point, and FrontStreet's Cerrado Red Bourbon and Queen's Farm lots make the case well. Brazilian coffee is grown with broad sun exposure, so the beans mature quickly, giving a softer acidity and a pronounced sweetness, and both lots read as creamy, nutty and cocoa-forward. If you prefer something heavier, the Lindong Mandheling and PWN Golden Mandheling are wet-hulled Sumatran coffees with a deep, syrupy body, herbal and spice notes and almost no acidity. Colombia Huila, Costa Rica's Mozart and Blackberry, the Yunnan lots and the Panama Boquete Geisha round out the range, covering everything from soft floral acidity to clean honey-processed fruit.

Whichever lot you choose, start simple: a V60 with a medium-fine grind, water just off the boil, and a gentle, even pour. Taste the cup at high and low temperature, since the sweetness and fruit always open up as it cools. Once a bean is dialed in, you will know immediately whether you prefer the bright, tea-like Ethiopian style or the rounder, cocoa-heavy Brazilian and Indonesian style.