Little Butter Latte by Luckin Coffee

The title of this latte had me curious so I had to try. Butter and coffee is a combination I tried as ice cream once, and wished there was more of. But the name of Little Butter Latte is apparently a branding collaboration between Luckin Coffee (瑞幸咖啡 ruì xìng kā fēi) and the Butterbear Cafe in Thailand which has as a mascot called Butterbear (Nong Mee Noei in Thai). The mascot went viral sometime back in Thailand and the region, getting turned into Line stickers and so on. As you can see from the shop signboard, it's super cute. 

Little Butter Latte by Luckin Coffee
Little Butter Latte sign at Luckin with Butterbear

I tried both the iced and hot versions on separate occasions. (Hot version reviewed below.)

Tastewise, it comes close to a popcorn honey butter flavor superimposed over a caffe latte. Just as there's a caramelised taste to the popcorn honey, so this latte had a prominent caramelised flavor. 

But it's different from a caramel latte because there is a strong milky taste that reminded me of caramel fudges that use condensed milk, or the milky component of Jersey cow milk desserts or milk bars. I think that's the actual "butter" component, and it brings roundness and fragrance that the normal caramel latte doesn't have.

Verdict: Definitely highly recommended. A wonderful holiday or festive seasonal addition to the menu. I suggest getting the lowest level of sugar ("least") because the milk flavor already makes it seem sweet.

Update: Hot Version

After Luckin re-released the product due to overwhelmingly positive feedback, claiming upgraded French butter this time (they used real butter as an ingredient both times... I think the butter was from New Zealand the first time), it made me want to try the hot version. 

Little Butter Latte by Luckin Coffee - hot version

It was also lovely, but had less of a buttery or milky taste than the cold version. The darker toffee notes were stronger, possibly because hot coffee tastes darker than iced coffee to me. 

And as a testament to their use of real butter, I could see little specks of oil floating on the surface this time. If you click to enlarge the image above to full size and look at the parts with reflected light, you should be able to see it.

This drink seems to be on their permanent menu now, which I'm happy for. I hope it stays. 

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