What is the bitter surprise in this painting?

Nicolas Lancret’s ‘A Lady in a Garden having Coffee with Children’ awakens the senses.  

Jacqui Ansell guides a slow look at the bright colours of this Rococo scene. A mother holds a spoon out to her young daughter. The father sits, holding a tray, while a servant pours another cup of coffee. This carefully crafted garden features bubbling water, fresh-scented flowers and lush foliage, as we sense the anticipation of the girl before she tries her first sip! 

One of Lancret’s most accomplished works, Jacqui looks at both the scene before us and what it can tell us about 18th-century concepts of childhood.