What Is Charcoal Coffee and Does It Turn Your Mouth Black?
Starbucks launched its Halloween limited-edition Dark Pumpkin Frappuccino in China on October 22, a pitch-black drink netizens called literal dark cuisine. The color comes from bamboo charcoal, the same ingredient behind the black caramel look. Employee tests and consumer feedback address whether the taste matches the appearance and whether the mouth turns black.
The drink follows the Cement Frappuccino released at Hong Kong and Macau stores, which was not introduced to the mainland. Last year's Japanese version of the same product drew complaints of being overly sweet. For the coffee enthusiast, charcoal coffee is a visual novelty built on color rather than a different brewing method.
As Halloween approaches, Starbucks' limited-edition drink launched in China this year has finally been unveiled—the "Dark Pumpkin Frappuccino" will arrive at stores nationwide on October 22. The entire drink is pitch black, jokingly dubbed by netizens as the literal embodiment of "dark cuisine." Where exactly does the black color of this drink come from? Does it taste as "dark" as it looks? Will your mouth turn black after drinking it? This article combines employee test results and consumer feedback from social platforms to answer these questions one by one. In addition, the article also mentions the "Cement Frappuccino" previously launched at Hong Kong and Macau stores, as well as the overly sweet controversy surrounding last year's same product in the Japanese market, and includes relevant recommendations from the Front Street brand for coffee enthusiasts' reference.
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Previously, Starbucks updated its limited menu at Hong Kong and Macau stores, launching a "Cement Frappuccino" that fits the Halloween atmosphere, attracting many customers to visit and check in, and sparking speculation among netizens about whether this product would be introduced to the mainland market.
However, domestic fans' speculation fell through—this year's Starbucks Halloween limited edition in China is not the "ash water" combination of black sesame paired with tofu pudding. Nevertheless, after the new product posters were exposed, most people said they actually became more excited about this Halloween drink.
According to unofficial information on social platforms, Starbucks plans to launch a Halloween limited-edition drink called "Dark Pumpkin Frappuccino" at stores nationwide on October 22. From the leaked images, the entire new product features a black color scheme, jokingly described by many netizens as the true portrayal of "dark cuisine."
Faced with this slightly frightening-looking new product, some directly said they had "no appetite at all" and swore they wouldn't spend money on it. But fans who pursue novelty have been exclaiming "looks kind of interesting" and "very cool," while also curious about whether this drink is consistent inside and out, and whether it tastes equally "dark."
To satisfy the public's curiosity as well as their own, a Starbucks employee recently became the first person to try it. After receiving the ingredients needed for the new product, the staff member made themselves a cup of "pitch-black Frappuccino" according to the recipe.
According to this employee, the drink's black color does not come from black sesame or squid ink as netizens speculated, but rather from black caramel sauce mixed with edible bamboo charcoal. In addition, the drink also contains bouncy pumpkin pudding, which not only enriches the layers but also adds a touch of distinctive yellow to the entire drink, enhancing its overall appearance and making it very photogenic.
As for the taste that everyone is most concerned about, the employee felt after tasting it that it wasn't as hard to swallow as imagined, and consumers who prefer sweets might be able to accept it—"rich black caramel flavor, very much like a Yili ice cream I ate as a kid."
However, some overseas users pointed out that this Frappuccino, whose appearance rivals petroleum, is actually last year's Halloween limited edition from stores in Japan. Those who have tried it admitted that their strongest impression of this "dark-style drink" was that it was overly sweet. They said that if the official recipe hasn't been adjusted to suit domestic consumers' taste preferences this time, fans who want to try it should ask the staff to add less syrup, otherwise it might be "sweet enough to make you faint."
After confirming that the taste isn't "too horrifying to swallow," a group of curious onlookers began to concern themselves with tricky questions like "will my whole mouth turn black when I bare my teeth after drinking it?" In response, both the employee who tried it and consumers said that after drinking this beverage, you absolutely must not grin widely, lest people around you who don't know the truth mistakenly think you've been poisoned.
Additionally, regarding the highly discussed question in the comments section—"after drinking a 'belly full of ink,' will you poop black?"—those who tried it did not give a unified answer. Many suggested that curious souls wait until the new product officially launches to "practice and find out the truth," since everyone's constitution is different—without trying it yourself, how would you know what effect drinking this "Dark Frappuccino" will produce?
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
