Are Luckin Coffee and Fortunate Coffee Really Low-End? How to Properly Understand Coffee Knowledge?

The Coffee Conundrum: Why Affordable Coffee Matters

Whenever instant coffee, affordable coffee, or chain coffee is mentioned, comments sections inevitably fill with voices like: "Such nutritionally deficient things, I don't know why so many people like them" "There's no flavor, I don't know why so many people drink it" "This is dishwater, and you still flock to it" "This lowers the quality of the coffee industry." But have you ever considered: without these options, how many people in China would even know what "coffee" is? Without knowing "coffee," how could there be demand for "freshly ground coffee"? And without demand for "freshly ground coffee," how could there be a pursuit of "specialty coffee"?

-This is the coffee circle's "look-down chain"-

Wake up! Affordable coffee is what the mass consumers need! For most consumers in big cities, coffee is just a beverage, nothing too complicated. People drink it because many others do, so they follow along to try it. Many people simply want to use "coffee" to stay alert and don't consider how much caffeine it contains, don't consider the flavor profile, and not many people can appreciate coffee with acidic notes. Richness and bitterness are still what many people recognize as the taste of coffee.

For consumers in smaller cities, the price of pour-over coffee remains high, and Starbucks is also expensive. Very few people actually consume these products, let alone care whether coffee is "specialty" or not. Moreover, coffee shops are concentrated only in first and second-tier cities. For consumers in third and fourth-tier cities, what they can buy anytime and anywhere is only instant coffee.

The Coffee Landscape in China

According to a recent Chinese coffee consumption report, although freshly ground coffee consumption is growing, instant coffee still accounts for the largest share. The growth of freshly ground coffee is largely driven by affordable chain coffee shops.

Third and fourth-tier cities mainly consume Lucking Coffee. Due to franchise opportunities, its prices are very affordable, encouraging many people to rent a place in their hometown to invest in a Lucking Coffee, allowing more people to experience freshly ground coffee.

Second and third-tier cities are dominated by Luckin. Compared to many independent coffee shops and Starbucks, Luckin's affordable prices and numerous promotions have attracted consumer attention.

In first-tier cities, Luckin and Manner are the main players, along with Starbucks, which follows the "third place" approach. However, consumers who actually drink pour-over coffee and specialty coffee still represent a very small percentage.

The Inclusive Nature of Coffee Culture

Without instant coffee introducing people to coffee, without chain coffee introducing people to freshly ground coffee, and without affordable chain coffee penetrating the market with freshly ground coffee, how many people would be willing to try specialty coffee and pour-over coffee today? When people are willing to try specialty and pour-over coffee, it's merely that these consumers want to understand coffee more deeply, but it doesn't mean other consumers also need to appreciate and taste coffee.

(No matter how hard you insist, this is probably the most you'll get from ordinary consumers...)

Coffee can be sophisticated and elegant, or it can be affordable and approachable. You can sit by the Seine, sipping an exquisite cup of afternoon coffee, or you can walk the streets of Vietnam, sitting down at a roadside coffee stall to drink a pot when thirsty. This inclusivity is inherent to coffee itself; otherwise, how could it have endured through ancient times to modern day, spanning both East and West?

Building a Better Coffee Culture

When it comes to drinking specialty coffee, what we should do is learn and research all knowledge related to coffee, then properly share correct coffee culture and knowledge with the next person who wants to understand coffee. Instead of leading the charge to look down on ordinary coffee consumers, or using your knowledge to argue with those who are just beginning to explore coffee.

Don't feel superior about this, because such behavior is truly demeaning. This only makes more people feel that "specialty coffee" is unattainable, causing them to lose interest in exploring coffee further.

Coffee culture needs positive and correct dissemination, not "self-indulgence" in a so-called look-down chain.

Image source: Internet

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