Pear Play Latte (Hot/Iced) - Gardenia Pear Flavoured Caffe Latte by Luckin Coffee (formerly Pair Hug Latte)

(June 2026 update: Luckin brought the Pair Hug Latte back with the new name of Pear Play Latte for the Toy Story collaboration. I review the latest version last below.)

Luckin has launched another very curious flavour that I had to try - a fruit-flavoured latte. They called this the "Pair Hug Latte", which turned out to be a word play for a pear-flavoured latte. I had seen their fruit Americanos before, but those weren't paired with milk. Plus, this pear latte also had the scent of gardenia flower, according to the in-app description. 

Hot and Iced Pair Hug Latte by Luckin Coffee

This is also part of a wider trend of fruit-flavoured lattes. So far, Luckin has launched the Buddy Apple Butter Latte, Brown Sugar Plum Latte and Ong Lai Latte (Pineapple Latte). I also tried the Dirty Yuzu Nitro Cold by Cafe Yasuragi. 

Luckin also did this as a marketing collaboration with Maltese (线条小狗), the primary character of viral sticker/emoticon sets designed by Korean studio Moonlab that went viral on major Chinese social media platforms. The "pair" is a reference to Maltese's friend - in the original design, Maltese has a good friend, another dog that is golden or brown in colour (Little Golden Retriever 小金毛). And of course, if you purchase a "pair" of qualifying drinks, you also get a cute set of Maltese stickers. Even if you just get one, there's still very cute and colourful art on the paper bags. (See the pretty pictures below.)

In any case, I was only interested in discovering what a "gardenia pear" flavoured cafe latte tasted like. BUT I bought both the iced and hot versions, because I was very intrigued about how the fruit, coffee and milk combination would bear out between temperatures. So I got a pair of pear lattes...

It turned out to be a very nice and fragrant drink, something I hadn't expected. 

Iced Pair Hug Latte

I tried the iced version first.

The fragrance instantly reminded me most of Luckin's Jasmine Blossom Yuan Yang, followed by other jasmine-flavoured teas, but without the jasmine's metal or tannin-like bitterness. It was like a very fragrant floral jasmine tea scent.  I did some digging into why it tasted like jasmine, and discovered from fragrance forum Fragrantica that actually jasmine and gardenia flowers don't smell similar, but because it is difficult to extract gardenia oil, gardenia fragrances are frequently reconstructed using jasmine components, along with other flowers. Gardenia is supposed to be sweet and creamy in its natural fragrance, and I would say that this certainly fit the description, even if there were similarities to jasmine.

The coffee flavour wasn't as strong in this drink (similar to the Ceylon Yuan Yang), and seemed to just provide a dark nutty undertone. 

It also wasn't bitter at all strangely, perhaps because they added some type of cream or milk mix that tasted like evaporated milk or Hong Kong milk tea or coffee (which uses evaporated milk). It might also have been the "creamy" component of the gardenia fragrance. So it was very creamy and smooth. It was kind of weird that it was not even a yuan yang and had no tea in it, because it reminded me more of a milk tea with a tinge of dark nuttiness.

Pair Hug Latte by Luckin Coffee - Maltese-themed paper bag art

Hot Pair Hug Latte

After this, with some water and time between, I tried the hot version. In this case, the coffee's nutty roast taste was more prominent, perhaps due to the temperature. But with that, there was a hint of bitterness as well, which brought it closer to jasmine milk tea or jasmine yuan yang. Those who prefer pure fruity creaminess might not like the bitter tinge though. 

Finally, there was a more prominent grape-like and fruity pear flavour, distinct from the jasmine-like scent, which was very interesting, since this aspect was less prominent in the iced version. This fruity scent reminded me a lot of the Nashi Pear Soymilk. 

Another interesting point is that their gardenia pear syrup uses a zero-calorie sweetener, so it is indeed guilt-free on the sweetness. I got the least sweet version and it was close to perfect, just a very tiny tad sweet for my taste, but after the first few sips I stopped noticing it.

Verdict

Both are pleasant, but if you prefer a more complex, nuanced and unique taste with a stronger coffee flavour, go for the hot version. 

If you aren't actually all that fond of coffee drinks to begin with and prefer a creamy and fragrant drink that's light on the palate to gulp down, go for the iced one. I would actually recommend non-coffee lovers to try the iced version, if they don't mind the caffeine. Both are worth trying for the different experience though.

Pair Hug Latte by Luckin Coffee - Maltese-themed stickers

If you get the pair, this is the pretty sticker set that comes along. I didn't need it though, so gave it away to a random equally cute little girl who was passing by.

(Updated from original post on 15 Mar 2025.)

July 2026 Update: Re-launch as Pear Play Latte

Since Luckin sometimes adjusts their drink formulas when they relaunch, I wanted to see if they tweaked their formula for this intriguing pear latte. This time around, there was no mentioned of a zero-calorie syrup being used, and their Nutrigrade label states that the least sweet version has 3% sugar. 

What I also did differently was to try the hot version first this time. 

Hot Pear Play Latte

Hot Pear Play Latte by Luckin Coffee

Upon first sip, I was hit by the lush exotic floral gardenia pear notes, which was not quite as distinguishable from jasmine top notes compared to the last time. There was no acidic fruity tang from the pear either, just the fruity top notes as well. The darkness of the coffee was not bitter, but faintly nutty and like a grounded earthy mellow base and body that was comforting, reminiscent of the bitter base notes of jasmine but much smoother, with no trace of tannins or indolic flavours. In my opinion it is a much better overall combination of tastes as it achieves the exotic jasmine fragrance without the uncomfortable indolic or tannin aspects.

Unlike last time, I didn't notice any evaporated milk flavour reminiscent of Hong Kong milk teas.

The sweetness level was decent, because it was well balanced by the floral notes, but I personally would have preferred it a tad less sweet, perhaps at 2%.

Iced Pear Play Latte

Iced Pear Play Latte by Luckin Coffee

When I tried the iced version at first, it was sweeter than the hot version. This was at the same sweetness level ("least sweet"). So that was the first thing that struck me. (But later when I tried it again after the ice melted, the hot version was sweeter.)

In contrast to the first time, the iced version seemed more fragrant this time and brighter along with the increased sweetness on first sip. Compared to last time, the pear notes were not as clearly distinguishable, but when I tried it again later when the ice had melted a bit, I could taste the fruity apple- and white grape-like top notes of the pear, a bit like the fragrant part of apple-flavoured candies or Yakult. So perhaps it was just crowded out by the sweetness and gardenia at first.

Similar to the last time, it was also less bitter compared to the hot version. 

Finally, I somehow didn't notice the same evaporated milk quality like last time. I personally thought this was a plus point because it leaves more space for the already complex medley of tastes.

Verdict

I preferred this latest version's slightly reduced creaminess (assuming my memory serves me right). At least, I don't think they came across as creamy to the point of being like evaporated milk.

Between the two versions, I personally preferred the hot one, as it was less sweet without needing any ice to melt, and it felt more comforting with warm and earthy notes that balance the energetic floral top notes.

Like last time, the cold version is closer to a very fragrant jasmine milk tea, so once again, non-coffee lovers should try this one instead. You might not even notice the coffee much, but the base notes should be much smoother and fuller than a regular jasmine milk tea.

Discover other interesting coffee and fruit-flavoured drinks

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