China’s coffee culture is brewing up something new as it embraces the fusion of coffee and alcohol. This blossoming trend, currently a hot topic online thanks to the Luckin x Maotai collaboration, is sparking curiosity and discussions about its lasting impact on coffee culture in China.

Would you like a shot with that? Recently, a trend involving the fusion of alcohol and coffee seems to be taking off in China, blending established liquor brands with popular domestic coffee labels.

The concept of mixing alcohol with coffee is relatively new in China, where classics like Irish Coffee never achieved the same recognition as they did in Western countries.

But also, the way in which ‘coffee + alcohol’ is introduced to consumers is different, with brands such as 7-Eleven and Luckin promoting their ‘coffee + liquor shot’ or ‘alcohol lattes.’

As a tea drinking nation, coffee culture is not part of Chinese traditional culture. However, over the past decade, China has witnessed the remarkable growth of a distinct and immensely popular Chinese coffee culture. In this evolving landscape, companies and consumers are continuously finding innovative ways to incorporate coffee into daily city life.

Coffee in China is typically an out-of-home purchase, particularly favored by the middle class (Ferreira & Ferreira 2018, 785). It has become intrinsically linked with modern urban life in China, taking on new cultural meanings related to status, lifestyle, aesthetics, urban communities, and the acquisition of new tastes. Millennials and Gen Z are at the forefront of shaping China’s coffee culture.

The pursuit of unique flavors is a defining aspect of China’s coffee culture, with a strong emphasis on specialty coffee. In fact, Shanghai alone boasts over 7,000 independent coffee houses, surpassing coffee hubs like London or New York (Xu & Ng 2022, 2349). Chinese coffee shops are known for introducing innovative concepts such as fruit-infused coffee, spicy chili coffee, garlic coffee, and liquor-flavored coffees.

Rather than introducing coffee into China’s drinking culture, alcohol is now being integrated into China’s coffee culture, providing consumers with yet another way to enjoy their coffee and explore new flavor experiences.

 
7-Eleven Blending Coffee with Alcohol
 

At various 7-Eleven convenience stores in China, you can now purchase a shot of alcohol to go with your coffee. For just 5 yuan ($0.70), customers can add a shot of their preferred liquor, such as Havana or Malibu, to their take-away coffee. It’s also possible to add it to your soda.

7-Eleven DIY counter: adding a shot of Malibu to takeaway coffee. (Image via Xiaohongshu user 今天怎么还没睡).

While we first noticed this option at a Beijing 7-eleven somewhere during the summer of 2023, Radii and Phoenix News reported that the first DYI counter was piloted at a Beijing store in October of 2022.

The counter, that specifically promotes the coffee + alcohol combo, is meant to serve customers who would previously purchase their coffee and then separately buy a full-priced mini bottle of liquor for anywhere in between 20-40 yuan ($2.75-$5.50) for 50ml.

DIY liquor counter at 7-Eleven in Beijing, promoting its “coffee + shot of alcohol” option (Photo by What’s on Weibo).

In late 2022, 7-Eleven in Taiwan also promoted the liquor + coffee combo as it exclusively offered the Hennessy cognac x City Prima coffee “Liquor Latte Set.”

City Prima x Hennessy at 7-Eleven Taiwan (Image via tw.com).

 
Luckin x Maotai Collab: Introducing Baijiu Latte
 

While the trend of adding alcohol to coffee seems to be taking off in China, Luckin coffee became all the talk on Chinese social media this week for its collaboration with Maotai (茅台), also known as Moutai, a renowned Chinese brand of baijiu – a type of strong distilled liquor.

Luckin launched the drink on Monday for 38 yuan ($5.20) under the name “酱香拿铁” (jiàng xiāng ná tiě) or “Sauce-Flavored Latte,” soon selling out at various stores and becoming a trending topic online. The ‘sauce’ reference is because of the distinct flavor profile associated with Maotai, often described as having a soy sauce-like aroma (“酱香型”).

The collaboration has become super popular for various reasons, one major one being the unexpected yet exciting combination of two such well-known Chinese brands coming together.

Promotion of the Maotai coffee on Luckin’s Weibo page.

Luckin Coffee (瑞幸咖啡) was founded in Beijing in 2017, opened its first shops in early 2018, and it has seen incredible growth over the past five years. The brand’s primary emphasis lies in providing top-notch coffee at accessible prices in convenient locations. Due to its ubiquity and dominant position in the market, it’s sometimes also referred to as “China’s Starbucks” (“中国星巴克”).

Maotai, made in Maotai in Guizhou Province, prides itself for its 2000-year history and it became the first Chinese liquor to be produced in large-scale production. The strong luxury spirit (53%), known as China’s national liquor, is especially popular among middle-aged and elderly men.

With Luckin being particular popular among China’s younger generations, while Maotai is especially loved among the elder generations, one popular Weibo post about the recent collaboration said: “For young people, it’s their first cup of Maotai, for the elderly, it’s their first cup of Luckin.”

It is also one of the reasons why the trend has become so big this week: many consumers are just curious to try this novel combination, although not everyone likes its special taste.

Trying out the new Luckin x Maotai combo (photos via @互联网欢乐指南).

The blend of coffee with alcohol is really more about the flavor than the buzz; the baijiu-flavored Luckin coffee only has an alcohol content of about 0.5%. One Weibo hashtag related to the question of whether or not people should drive after consuming the drink amassed an astonishing 640 million views (#瑞幸回应喝茅台联名咖啡能否开车#). Despite the very low alcohol content, Luckin still advises that minors, pregnant women, and drivers should avoid consuming the beverage.

The “Chinese version of Irish Coffee,” image on Xiaohongshu via @謝琦鈦.

Some social media users add some extra Maotai to their coffee themselves, calling it the “Chinese version of Irish coffe” (“中国版的爱尔兰咖啡”).

 
“Milk Tea for Grown-Ups”
 

Luckin is not the only Chinese coffee house offering a Maotai-flavored latte. Other Chinese coffee shops have independently introduced their own versions of Maotai coffee, without official partnerships.

In addition to company-driven innovations, consumers are also experimenting with their own coffee + liquor blends. On the social media platform Xiaohongshu, numerous users are enthusiastically sharing their personalized methods infusing coffee with Maotai and various other types of alcohol, including adding miniature bottles of Baileys to Starbucks takeaway coffee.

Image via Xiaohongshu user @潮流情报官.

Others are going beyond the coffee trend, and mix their milk tea or fruit tea with Jameson, Kahlua, or other liquors, turning them into “grown-up milk tea” beverages (成年人的奶茶).

While such practices might receive disapproval in many countries, where daytime drinking and adding spirits to coffee could be seen as indicative of alcoholism and irresponsible behavior, in China, these actions generally lack these negative connotations. Many young people just view it as an innovative way to enjoy new tastes, describing it as “a new trendy way to drink coffee” (or tea).

Is the coffee + alcohol mix a temporary trend, or will it become a permanent part of China’s out-of-home coffee culture? On social media, most people are curious to try it out but they are also not convinced the combination is one to stay.

“I don’t really know the flavor of coffee + alcohol, but judging from their effects – alcohol makes me sleepy and coffee wakes me up – I’m afraid it would mix up my nerves, so I don’t dare to try” one commenter (@无边桃炎) wrote.

“It’s just the taste [of mixing coffee with alcohol] that’s really good – apart from the Maotai Luckin one,” one person responded.

They are not alone; numerous young Chinese internet users are speculating that the recent Luckin collaboration is Maotai’s strategy to appeal to China’s younger generations, who do not necessarily appreciate its distinct flavor. These younger demographics have moved away from the traditional drinking culture in which baijiu plays a significant role.

“It’s just so unpleasant to drink,” others write. “Is it alcohol or is it coffee?” another person wonders: “In the end, it’s actually neither.”

While Luckin’s “Sauce-Flavored Latte” might not secure a permanent place on its menu, it’s clear that the trend of adding alcohol to coffee has gained popularity among China’s younger consumers. With 7-Eleven’s DIY counter offering a variety of sweeter liquors for customers to blend with their coffee, it appears they’ve found the perfect “shot” in this coffee and liquor trend.

By Manya Koetse

with contributions by Miranda Barnes

References

Ferreira, Jennifer, and Carlos Ferreira. 2018. “Challenges and Opportunities of New Retail Horizons in Emerging Markets: The Case of a Rising Coffee Culture in China.” Business Horizons 61, no. 5: 783-796.

Xu, Xinyue, and Aaron Yikai Ng. 2023. “Cultivation of New Taste: Taste Makers and New Forms of Distinction in China’s Coffee Culture.” Information, Communication & Society 26, no. 11: 2345-2362.

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When US treasury secretary Janet Yellen visited Beijing in July for two days of meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other officials, Chinese social media users seemed more interested in the Yunnan specialty restaurant where she had dinner than in the content of the US-China talks.

The restaurant, somewhat comically called ‘In and Out’ in English (Chinese name: Yī zuò Yī wàng 一坐一忘), is a local favorite in Beijing’s Sanlitun, near the embassy area. Among other things, Yellen was served spicy potatoes with mint and stir-fried mushrooms, leading to online jokes about how the food would affect her.

Now, weeks after the meal, the US Treasury Secretary reflected on her mushroom experience in China during an interview with CNN‘s Erin Burnett. “I went with this large group of people and the person who’d arranged our dinner did the ordering. There was a delicious mushroom dish I was not aware that these mushrooms had hallucinogenic properties. I learned that later,” Yellen told CNN, although she also said that she did not feel any ill effects from having eaten them.

Yellen’s recent CNN interview also attracted some attention on Chinese social media, where the hashtag “Yellen Reflects on Eating Delicious Mushrooms During China Visit” (#耶伦回味访华期间吃到的美味蘑菇#) was used by various state media outlets.

The mushroom dish that is discussed here is called jiànshǒuqīng (见手青), which literally means “see hand blue”, in reference to turning blue when handled.

It is the lanmaoa asiatica mushroom species that grows in China’s Yunnan region and is considered hallucinogenic, causing visions that locals call “xiǎorénrén” (小人人), literally: “little people,” similar to the term “Lilliputian hallucinations” that refers to visual hallucinations where a person perceives the world around them to be smaller than it is in reality, which could also include seeing tiny humans. The term comes from the little people who lived on the Lilliput island of in Gulliver’s Travels.¹

Back in July, Yellen’s mushroom dinner at ‘In & Out’ attracted much attention online, where some Chinese netizens joked that “First the mushroom, then the tiny people” (xiān jùnzi hòu xiǎorén 先菌子后小人).

The expression is a word joke on the Chinese saying “Xiān xiǎorén hòu jūnzǐ” (先小人后君子) which means “to set clear expectations before being generous,” or “allow impoliteness to precede courtesy” [when making a deal], although in this case the order is switched to “Xiān jūnzǐ hòu xiǎorén” (literally: first the mushroom/courtesy, then the tiny people/impoliteness).

Netizens thought it was amusing that Yellen would have the mushrooms ahead of important talks at a time of worsening US-China relations, ordering no less than four portions of the lanmaoa asiatica.

Amplifying the amusement was the fact that the US Treasury Secretary chose to dine at such an affordable local restaurant in a city abundant with upscale choices.

After Yellen had dinner at the Sanlitun restaurant, ‘In & Out’ used it as part of their marketing strategy and the restaurant released a special ‘Treasury Menu’ (or ‘God of Wealth’ Menu 财神菜单), promoting themselves as the first place where Yellen had dinner during her Beijing visit.

After US Secretary of the Treasury Yellen had dinner at Beijing's Yunnan 'In & Out' Restaurant, they released a special Treasury Menu (or rather God of Wealth Menu 财神菜单), promoting themselves as the first place where Yellen had dinner during her BJ visit (via Weibo/寰亚SYHP). pic.twitter.com/U6Z98DgQqC

— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) July 9, 2023

At the same time, the mushrooms also became more popular online.

So are the mushrooms really magical? The lanmaoa asiatica can indeed be poisonous, which could result in the hallucinating effect.

In fact, mushroom poisoning is one of the most serious food safety issues in China and of the 500 mushroom poisoning cases in China in 2022 – including 28 deaths – the lanmaoa asiatica was among the mushrooms ranking the highest for causing psycho-neurological disorders.

To prevent the mushrooms from causing poisoning, they must be handled with care and cooked thoroughly. Yellen’s team had valid reasons to place their trust in ‘In & Out,’ given that the kitchen staff is well-versed in proper mushroom handling techniques.

Thanks to Yellen’s initial visit to the Yunnan restaurant and her recent CNN interview, some netizens now call her a “walking billboard for In & Out.” The dinner not only made the restaurant – which also has other locations in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Xi’an, and Tianjin – famous overnight, it also contributed to the popularity of the jiànshǒuqīng mushroom.

Although Yellen claims the jiànshǒuqīng did not affect her, her conduct in the days after her mushroom dinner did raise some questions online, such as Yellen repeatedly bowing when meeting with China’s He Lifeng. Some people online joked that it could all perhaps be blamed on the mushrooms.

By Manya Koetse

With contributions by Miranda Barnes

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¹ 173. Yu, Fu-Qiang, Alexis Guerin-Laguette, Yun Wang. 2020. “Edible Mushrooms and Their Cultural Importance in Yunnan, China.” In: Pérez-Moreno, Jesus, Alexis Guerin-Laguette, Roberto Flores Arzú, Fu-Qiang Yu (eds), Mushrooms, Humans and Nature in a Changing World. Springer, Cham: 163-204, 173.

Featured cartoon by @小蓝和他的朋友日常

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