How did Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water cold brew coffee come about?

Tims Coffee has partnered with Qingdao Laoshan Mineral Water Company to release a Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water cold brew coffee, sold only in the Qingdao area. The drink pairs a cold brew base with a local soda long rated among the worst-tasting beverages in China. Reaction split along geography: Qingdao locals pushed back, while drinkers elsewhere said they were glad they could not buy it.

The partnership is not entirely new. In mid-July last year the two brands had already launched a hardcore special brew to mark Tims opening at the Laoshan Mineral Water Museum in Qingdao. That earlier collaboration laid the groundwork for this wider release. The snake grass water, known locally as a polarising regional specialty, gives the cold brew a salty, herbal edge unlike typical lao coffee flavors.

Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water has long been known as the "biochemical weapon" of the beverage world. When this drink, rated by countless netizens as the worst-tasting beverage, meets coffee, what kind of sparks will fly? Recently, Tims Coffee partnered with Qingdao Laoshan Mineral Water Company to launch Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water Cold Brew Coffee, sold only in the Qingdao area. As soon as the news broke, Qingdao locals expressed their resistance, while netizens elsewhere felt lucky they couldn't buy it. This article will take you behind the scenes of this hardcore special brew, and reveal the surprising early connection between White Flower Snake Grass Water and coffee.

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In China's beverage scene, there is one product that has been dubbed a "biochemical weapon," even jokingly called the "living King of Hell" among biochemical weapons. It is the Qingdao specialty drink that strikes fear into netizens across the country—Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water.

If we were to vote for the best-tasting beverage, everyone might have their own favorite, but when it comes to the worst-tasting beverage, if Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water claims second place, probably no one would dare claim first. Its awful taste easily ranks it among the top three worst beverages in China, and in the beverage world it even enjoys the title of "soul holy water."

It can be said that everyone who has tried it racks their brains to come up with the most exaggerated adjectives to describe this drink. For example, one taster described it this way: "That smell is like a person who does heavy manual labor under the scorching sun every day, never takes a shower, sleeps on a bamboo mat for ten years, and then boils that mat over a roaring fire."

So, if this "soul holy water," Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water, were added to coffee, what effect would it unleash?

Recently, the official account of Qingdao Laoshan Mineral Water Company announced that it had teamed up with TIMS Coffee to create a "both healthy and energizing" Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water Cold Brew Coffee, available only in the Qingdao area.

In fact, as early as mid-July last year, to celebrate Tims opening in the Laoshan Mineral Water Museum in Qingdao, the two brands had already launched a "hardcore special brew"—White Flower Snake Grass Green Tangerine Fresh Brew Coffee. However, at that time it was only sold at the Tims Zhanqiao Red House store, so it didn't attract much attention. This time, the launch of Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water Cold Brew coincided with the eve of the May Day holiday, and not only was it available on delivery platforms, but a buy-one-get-one-free promotion was also offered, quickly sparking attention on social platforms from both Qingdao locals and netizens elsewhere.

As for this cup of Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water Cold Brew, which is hardcore enough just from its name, Qingdao locals with their hometown privilege expressed their resistance wholeheartedly before even taking a sip: "As a Qingdao local, I'll gag first out of respect," "This must taste deadly," "Are they trying to torture people?", "You'll need emergency care after drinking this," "What kind of newfangled way to induce vomiting is this?"...

Meanwhile, netizens elsewhere who know a thing or two about the taste of Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water but aren't in Qingdao believe that the limited-region sales approach is the right one—not being able to buy it outside Qingdao is actually its only merit.

It is understood that Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water is also called Snake Grass Health Water. The "White Flower Snake Grass" in its name is actually a medicinal herb recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica," called Hedyotis diffusa. The unpleasant "spoiled straw mat" smell that people describe comes precisely from it. This grass basically only grows in southern China and is also a medicinal herb for removing dampness, reducing internal heat, sterilizing, and reducing inflammation. It can also be found in the herbal tea that many Cantonese friends drink.

So theoretically speaking, White Flower Snake Grass Water isn't really like a beverage—it's more like a medicine, herbal tea, or health supplement. Since it's called a "medicine," it naturally isn't meant to taste good. But it is precisely this odd-tasting health drink that caught the eye of coffee people who love to "stir things up," who forcibly paired it into a "dream combination."

Actually, the appearance of Laoshan White Flower Snake Grass Water in coffee dates back much earlier than we might imagine. Some netizens dug up old photos they had treasured for years, showing that as early as 8 years ago, a café in Qingdao MixC had already launched it, listing it on the menu under the literary name "Too Loud a Solitude." Sure enough, the ultimate trend is retro!

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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