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The Bizarre Behavior of Coffee Shop Takeout: Coffee and Cup Delivered Separately??

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Once upon a time, offline coffee shops were great places for socializing, where you could order a coffee, sit in the store, chat, watch videos, and spend a leisurely day. With the development of the times, people's pace of life continues to accelerate, and more often than not, people open food delivery apps to buy coffee. For many Chinese coffee consumers, coffee delivery

Once, offline coffee shops were great social places where people could order a coffee, sit in the store, chat, watch videos, and leisurely spend a day. As times have evolved and people's life rhythms have accelerated, the more common scenario is opening a food delivery app to buy coffee.

For many Chinese coffee consumers, coffee delivery services have become an essential part of their daily lives. Some large coffee chain brands like Starbucks and Luckin Coffee, along with independent coffee shops, also enjoy delivery services from platforms like Meituan and Ele.me.

According to Deloitte's 2021 data, China's consumer market has nearly 110,000 coffee shops, with 75% of them located in first and second-tier cities. In China's coffee market, chain-operated coffee shops account for a very low percentage, only about 13% of the total number of coffee shops. This means that small but sophisticated independent coffee shops make up as much as 87%. In third-tier cities and below, the proportion of independent coffee shops is even higher, reaching 97%.

Without huge financial backing and with the recurring COVID-19 pandemic, coffee delivery has genuinely become one of the daily necessities for more and more coffee consumers. Unlike milk tea, which allows for customization of ingredients and flavors, coffee appears particularly limited in this regard.

Previous coffee delivery was criticized for not allowing consumers to choose coffee concentration or milk quantity. Additionally, spillage issues occurred due to the delivery rider's handling skills. Recently, these problems seem to have been resolved to some extent. Instead of blending ingredients into one cup, a delivery coffee can now be packaged separately by ingredient type: espresso in a spout pouch, milk in another larger spout pouch, and ice cubes in a separate plastic cup.

This approach satisfies consumers' desire for hands-on experience and provides a visual experience that is rarely seen in delivered coffee.

The Rise of "Spout Pouch Coffee"

On the Xiaohongshu platform, you can find shares of this separated delivery coffee packaging, many related to a Yangzhou coffee brand called HungryPuff. In fact, separated coffee packaging has long existed to address pain points such as milk foam dissipation, ice melting, and flavor changes. "Spout pouch coffee" with espresso in spout pouches is more like an upgraded version of delivered coffee.

Novelty and Experience

The emergence of spout pouch coffee is similar to the previously viral convenience store cocktail mixing, where small bottled spirits were directly inserted into beverages. By changing the consumption method and experience, it created a sense of novelty among consumers for this new form of coffee drinking.

Originally, separated coffee packaging was meant to preserve flavor in better condition, emphasizing practicality. However, in this era that values aesthetics, businesses have put significant effort into product appearance. There's a rule in the new tea beverage market: "Change the packaging, and it becomes popular." Here, the same applies to spout pouch coffee. Exquisite and compact packaging containers, paired with simple text and patterns, are perfect for photography.

Consumer Participation and Experience

Additionally, young people care more about participation and ritualistic experience than the taste of coffee itself. The Xiaohongshu platform is full of discussions about homemade beverages, from replicating Luckin's Raw Coconut Latte, to recreating every drink on Starbucks' menu, to innovative DIY coffee and milk tea. Separated coffee packaging provides consumers with the opportunity to mix proportions themselves, enhancing consumer participation.

Limitations and Challenges

However, separated coffee packaging is not without drawbacks. Although espresso in spout pouches can ensure the layered texture of coffee and reduce flavor loss to some extent, some consumers hope to purchase spout-pouched espresso in bulk. However, coffee liquid gradually loses flavor after being extracted and packaged for half an hour, and if stored in the refrigerator overnight, the taste quality will be halved.

Furthermore, separating delivered coffee means generating multiple delivery packages, which creates environmental sustainability issues. The coffee community advocates for environmental protection by promoting coffee grounds byproducts, while simultaneously increasing consumer participation through more packaging.