Cotti Coffee
Strange things are afoot at Tustin's Leaf N Cream, Irvine's Botan Sushi, and likely other OC restaurants
It’s super rare for any business to open 10,000 franchised locations within its first three years of operation, and generally a sign that something unusual is going on. That certainly appears to be the case with Cotti Coffee: Founded by executives from Luckin Coffee in 2022 after their implication in an accounting scandal that led to legal proceedings and their exits, Cotti is their second attempt to take on Starbucks with rapid franchising and cheaper drinks. To that end, Cotti has lured new franchisees by taking no franchise or branding fees, and as of early 2026, there are now two Cottis in Orange County, starting with one in the same Tustin plaza as THH Sandwiches, Curry Dō, and Sake 2 Me Sushi.
Oddly, Tustin’s Cotti Coffee isn’t a standalone coffee shop: Instead, it shares space, seating, management, and service staff with the decade-old boba and acai bowl shop Leaf N Cream, even though they’re being operated as separate businesses with different menus and ordering systems. There are signs for both businesses outside – Cotti’s are still temporary – and initially, the interior mixed posters and menus that would bewilder pretty much anyone who didn’t already know what separated the two concepts’ offerings. Six months into the co-location experiment, some of that confusion has been resolved.
Our first Cotti experience was so perplexing and mediocre that we couldn’t understand the appeal. The menu was roughly two-thirds coffee drinks, divided into “classic,” “fruity,” or “milk” versions – with fruit teas, milk teas, and frappes as the balance. By local standards, little stands out in Cotti’s menu, which uses lots of oat and coconut milks, spotlights periwinkle-colored pampas crema drinks, and includes several somewhat unusual fruit options, such as multiple grapefruit/pomelo drinks and even a grape coffee (no longer available). Several pastries have been added as accompaniments for these drinks, in addition to acai and ice cream bowls sold separately by Leaf N Cream.
On our first visit, we noted that very little of the customer experience appeared to have been properly thought out: there were dualing ordering systems with separate touchscreens, plus a visual overload of posters and window signage with promotional deals and multiple scannable QR codes. This has largely been scaled back – there’s now just one QR code to download Cotti’s app, a sign inside that enables guests to “order with a barista,” and most of the overwhelming posters are gone. You can now order using your smartphone if you want, and thereby take advantage of several limited-use coupons to discount the drinks, which are mostly offered at $5 to $6 price points.
Unfortunately, none of the drinks we’ve tried at Cotti has been great, or really even good. We initially went with items that looked good on posters or sounded interesting on the barely explanatory menus; on our second visit, we tried different options just to see if they were better.
That’s why the Pampas Blue Coco Latte’s unique blue-brown coloration led us to what was the highlight of our first order, a fine rather than good coffee and coconut milk drink; a jasmine tea/coffee version paralleling Hong Kong’s famous yuenyeung is also available. Two other drinks – a brown sugar oat latte and a stardust oolong milk tea – were both forgettable except for their aggressive sweetness, and the unexpected inclusion of boba in the stardust tea after the counter staff told us toppings weren’t available for Cotti drinks.
On our second visit, we ordered a chocolate frappe ($6) because we thought it would be foolproof, and a “blue grapefruit delight” ($6) because it looked and sounded interesting. The former was sweet, very icey and watery, and inoffensive – just not worth the asking price – while the latter was grapefruit tart, quite sweet despite being ordered at half sweetness, loaded with ice, and featured just enough crystal boba to extend the drink’s consumption time by a few minutes. It was right on the cusp of good, though we wouldn’t rush to order it again.
In China, Cotti’s pitch is affordability: it now competes with Luckin to offer drinks for under 10 Chinese yuan ($1.50) a cup. However, most drinks at the Tustin location are $5.99, with only a handful under $4.99. With first-time customer coupons, these numbers temporarily become more aggressive, and perhaps Cotti will succeed in attracting more first-timers by merely continuing to expand. As of early 2026, signage for a second OC location of Cotti Coffee has appeared inside Irvine’s Botan Sushi, but no online ordering was available as of the end of January.
We’re not going to mince words – we wouldn’t recommend Cotti Coffee to most people. Regardless of its ambitious, Starbucks-challenging expansion strategy, this is not the sort of coffee or tea experience we’d seek out again voluntarily. And as fans of both Leaf N Cream and Botan Sushi, we’re currently struggling somewhat to understand why any established and respected business would risk its reputation on a concept known for cheap drinks and zero-fee franchising. That said, it will be interesting to watch as this chain’s story develops locally and internationally; our hope is that it improves over time.
Stats
Price: $
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2022 (China), 2025 (US)
Addresses
14089 Newport Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780
(Inside Leaf N Cream)
4527 Campus Dr.
Irvine, CA 92612
(Inside Botan Sushi)
Instagram: @cotticoffee.us