Can Coffee Get You High, or Is It Just Caffeine?

Coffee does not produce a true high in the way recreational drugs do, but it does change how the body and brain feel. Caffeine blocks adenosine, the compound that makes a person drowsy, so alertness rises and reaction time improves. At ordinary doses this reads as a lift, not intoxication. Very large amounts can bring jitteriness, a racing pulse and anxiety that some people mistake for being high.

The effect peaks roughly 30 to 60 minutes after drinking and fades over several hours. A typical 8-ounce cup holds about 95 mg of caffeine, while a single espresso shot holds around 63 mg. Tolerance, body weight and medications all shift the response. Anyone wondering how to drink arabic coffee can expect the same caffeine-driven lift plus cardamom and other spices added during brewing.

What kind of sparks fly when a well-known domestic pharmaceutical company starts selling milk tea? In mid-August this year, a tea beverage brand under North China Pharmaceutical opened its first store in Shijiazhuang, featuring "healthy water," "Five Elements secret formula," and "pure natural, zero additives" as its selling points, with basic drinks priced at only 7 yuan. Even more surprising, during the soft opening, customers could enjoy a comprehensive smart health check-up in-store, with a robot testing 70 indicators across ten major systems and recommending corresponding drinks based on the results. First-day revenue reached nearly 8,000 yuan, and business has remained so booming since that takeout services had to be suspended. The brand is already preparing franchise materials and plans to officially open franchising next year, with franchise stores also taking on the distribution function for Huawei Health's functional food products. How does this move stack up? Let's take a closer look.

In mid-August this year, North China Pharmaceutical opened its first tea beverage store in Shijiazhuang, Hebei. The brand's main marketing tags include "healthy water," "Five Elements secret formula," "pure natural, zero additives," "Chinese herbal preparation," and "affordable pricing," with basic drinks priced at just seven yuan.

Beyond its down-to-earth pricing, this tea shop also showcases the unique playbook of a pharmaceutical giant. During the soft opening, customers who bought milk tea in-store received a free comprehensive smart health check-up, a tactic that quickly drew large numbers of local Shijiazhuang netizens to visit and check in.

According to feedback from netizens, the check-up process is quite serious, with the robot able to test ten major systems and 70 indicators of the human body, then recommending suitable drinks based on the results. For example, for eye fatigue, one could try the anthocyanin blueberry milkshake, while to boost immunity, one could choose the high lion's mane mushroom pumpkin milkshake.

Buying milk tea and getting a health experience thrown in—this approach helped the store achieve nearly 8,000 yuan in revenue on its first day. Over the following months, the tea shop's business has stayed extremely brisk, so much so that it had to suspend takeout services to better serve every in-store customer. The brand manager also seized on this wave of popularity, began preparing franchise recruitment materials, and plans to officially launch franchising next year, reportedly opening the first batch to several cities in North China.

However, franchising is not just about selling tea beverages. The store will also sell Huawei Health's "functional health foods," upholding the corporate mission of "Everything for Human Health." In other words, Zhenyinzi tea franchise stores will effectively become distribution channels for Huawei Health...

Surprised or not, unexpected or not? They've even considered everyone's health with their merchandise.

Image source: North China Pharmaceutical

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.