Kweichow Moutai and coffee brand Luckin Coffee on Monday (September 4) launched in China a latte advertised as containing the fiery Chinese spirit baijiu, drawing large number of orders from curious consumers.
Staff at several Luckin outlets in Shanghai hurried to get orders for the new drink ready, as customers waited patiently to try the 19 yuan ($2.61) "sauce-flavored latte," discounted from the original price of 38 yuan ($5.23) on the first day of sales. By Monday afternoon in Beijing and Shanghai, Luckin's app showed that the drink had sold out at several stores.
However, most customers said they were not very impressed with the new drink, with 33-year-old architecture industry worker Leon Hong saying he found the flavour a "bit strange".
Moutai, known as the national liquor of China, is a potent, colorless spirit that is usually served at banquets in China, and drinkers say that the flavor and aroma of Kweichow Moutai's version are similar to soy sauce. The companies said the latte alcohol content was lower than 0.5% of its volume.
