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China’s biggest coffee chain and its largest liquor brand are coming together in an unlikely partnership.
Kweichow Moutai (贵州茅台 guìzhōu máotái) Luckin Coffee (瑞星咖啡 ruìxīng kāfēi) have partnered to co-create a new flavour of coffee: Moutai Latte (酱香拿铁 jiàngxiāng nátiě).
Or, maybe it should be called “Moutte” 茅铁 máo tiě?
Or, Irish Coffee with Chinese characteristics?
The tagline of the latte evokes drinking language that anyone who's ever drunk Moutai will be familiar with:
"Delicious coffee with liquor, I just love it this way"
“美酒加咖啡，就爱这一杯”
And:
"Here's the Moutai-flavoured latte. Come on, chug it down!" [3]
“酱香拿铁 来，走一个！”[3]
The Moutai Latte was released on September 4. It’s made with a liquor-flavoured milk containing less than 0.5% percent of the alcoholic drink.
This is called 含茅量 hán máo liàng - Moutai content
The price is higher than Luckin’s normal 9.9 yuan per cup of coffee: A cup of Moutai Latte will set you back 38 yuan, currently discounted to 19 yuan.
The collaboration was an instant hit. Long queues formed outside Luckin Coffee shops across China, with a number of hashtags topping Weibo’s trending Hot List:
The hot search for "Moutai latte" dominated Weibo all day, with more than a dozen hot searches, and it still took six or seven "places" on the list until late at night.
“酱香拿铁”热搜霸榜一整天，上了十几个热搜，直到当天深夜，还占据了榜上六七个“席位”。[5]
Sales in the first day were crazy:
The "Maotai Latte" sold over 5.42 million cups on the first day, with the revenue exceeding 100 million yuan. [5]
与茅台联名推出的“酱香拿铁”，单品首日销量突破542万杯，单品首日销售额突破1亿元。[5]
The two brands are gaining exposure to new audiences: Luckin customers are young and spend their money in the daytime, while Maotai customers are typically older and they are more active at night.
The brand collab even named this new category with a clever play on words:
With the rapid development of the coffee economy and the drinking economy, "Taking C in the morning and A at night" has become a lifestyle choice.
咖啡经济与微醺经济迅猛发展的当下，“早C晚A”成为一种生活方式代名词。
We untangle that phrase and many more below.
So, will it be a marriage made in heaven, or doomed for divorce?
That’s what we explore this week!
Favourite Five
1. 顶流 dǐng liú
top-tier player
当下的瑞幸可谓之中国咖啡行业的“顶流” - Luckin can be considered the top-tier player in the Chinese coffee industry right now. [4]
Note: This normally refers to people. Here it means the company.
Related:
引流 yǐn liú - attracting traffic
2. 联姻 lián yīn
marriage
联姻茅台，“嫁入豪门”，名正言顺把产品价格从9.9元拉到19元，或也让瑞幸从价格战泥潭中脱身 - The marriage with Maotai is like "marrying into a wealthy family". It easily justified Luckin's price increase from 9.9 yuan to 19 yuan, perhaps helping it break free from the price war quagmire. [5]
Related: 联名 lián míng - brand collabs
3. 嫁入豪门 jià rù háo mén
marrying into a wealthy family
而此次瑞幸联手茅台，更是有网友调侃作“嫁入豪门” - And this time, as Luckin teamed up with Maotai, some netizens even jokingly called it "marrying into a wealthy family." [4]
Related: These two common phrases are also used metaphorically here:
攀上豪门 pān shàng háo mén - climbing into a wealthy family
傍入豪门 bàng rù háo mén - associating oneself with a wealthy family
4. 早C晚A zǎo C wǎn A
coffee in the morning, alcohol in the evening
咖啡经济与微醺经济迅猛发展的当下，“早C晚A”成为一种生活方式代名词 - With the rapid development of the coffee economy and the drinking economy, "taking C in the morning and A at night" has become a lifestyle choice. [4]
More: We explore this fascinating phrase in this week’s The China Project Phrase of the Week.
5. 别有一番风味 bié yǒu yì fān fēng wèi
have a unique flavour; the uniqueness of something
客人表示，到时肯定会点一杯尝尝鲜，早上用茅台加咖啡醒脑，可能别有一番风味 - Customers say they will definitely order a cup to try it out. Keeping themselves awake in the morning with Maotai and coffee might be a unique experience for them. [2]
Note: A beautiful phrase which first appeared in Qing dynasty novel Flowers in the Mirror (镜花缘) by Lǐ Rǔzhēn 李汝珍, published in 1828.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 回甘 huí gān
sweet aftertaste
味道和普通牛奶咖啡差不多，只是回甘的时候有点酒精味 - The taste is similar to regular milk coffee, but there's a slight alcoholic aftertaste. [1]
7. 尝鲜 cháng xiān
try something new
客人表示，到时肯定会点一杯尝尝鲜 - The customers said they would definitely order a cup to try it out. [2]
Related
试水 shì shuǐ - testing the waters
8. 剧透 jù tòu
spoiler
关于推出含酒饮品的消息，贵州茅台董事长丁雄军早有“剧透” - Regarding the news of launching alcoholic beverages, Ding Xiongjun, Chairman of Guizhou Maotai, had already hinted at it. [3]
Note: Normally of movies or TV dramas.
9. 巨擘 jù bò
big arm; industry giants
除了茅台外，五粮液、泸州老窖、洋河等传统白酒巨擘也都通过推出低度产品、创新口味酒、联名冰淇淋等方式吸引年轻人注意 - In addition to Maotai, traditional Baijiu industry giants like Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, and Yanghe are also attracting the attention of young people by releasing low-alcohol products, innovative flavored spirits, and ice cream collabs. [3]
Note: Same as 巨头 jù tóu
10. 破圈 pò quān
breaking out of the circle; going mainstream
还将有助于瑞幸一类快消品牌实现“向上”的破圈 - It will also help brands like Luckin Coffee achieve an "upward" breakthrough in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. [4]
Note: Same as 出圈 chū quān
11. 厮杀 sī shā
fierce competition
另一方面，咖啡市场厮杀愈发激烈 - On the other hand, the competition in the coffee market is becoming increasingly fierce. [5]
Three-character phrases
12. 抓眼球 zhuā yǎn qiú
capture attention
茅台和瑞幸的联名，确实短时间可以抓眼球 - The collaboration between Maotai and Luckin Coffee can indeed quickly capture attention. [1]
Note: Same as 博眼球 bó yǎn qiú
13. 护城河 hù chéng hé
moat; competitive advantage as a barrier to entry
