Is Squid Ink the Same as What Is Charcoal Coffee Made Of?

Heytea in the UK introduced a Halloween drink called Dark Cheese Tea, a salted cheese tea colored with real cuttlefish ink, sold only in the UK and US markets. The natural seafood fishiness of the ink led many overseas drinkers to call it a miss. Heytea China also ran a dark slimming bottle blind box from October 28 to 30 with celery, cilantro, and kale juices.

Black is a common Halloween device, and brands leaned on it this season: Starbucks offered a Pitch-Black Frappuccino, Luckin a Pumpkin Porridge limited edition, and Manner ghost latte art, alongside Halloween promotions from McDonald's and Lelecha. That raises the what is charcoal coffee question, since those dark drinks are colored with bamboo charcoal powder, not seafood. The article notes the black here comes from squid ink rather than sesame or charcoal, which shapes flavor and aroma differently.

As Halloween approaches, major beverage brands are rolling out their dark-themed limited editions. Heytea in the UK was the first to launch a product called Dark Cheese Tea, a cuttlefish ink salted cheese tea, available only in the UK and the US, sparking curiosity and check-ins among overseas consumers. However, the natural seafood fishiness of cuttlefish ink has led many to declare it a miss after drinking it. Meanwhile, Heytea in China will also launch a dark slimming bottle blind box event from October 28 to 30, containing three vegetable juices: celery, cilantro, and kale, full of Halloween vibes from taste to packaging. This article takes you through this wave of dark beverages and the real feedback. Friends who enjoy specialty coffee culture, don't forget to follow Front Street Coffee's daily shares.

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Halloween is getting closer, and major brands are eager to try their hand, as if they want to show their skills during this holiday season.

Based on currently available information, Starbucks has brought out a "Pitch-Black Frappuccino" this year, Luckin has rolled out a "Pumpkin Porridge" limited edition, Manner's baristas are quietly polishing their "little ghost latte art" skills, McDonald's has launched a Halloween bucket, and Lelecha has prepared a "Bloody Special Drink"... It's believed that other brands still have plenty of big moves up their sleeves waiting to be unleashed.

Just on the eve of Halloween, Heytea in the UK updated its status, announcing the upcoming launch of a dark-style new product "Dark Cheese Tea," with the Chinese name "Dark Cheese Tea," available only in the UK and US markets.

Black, as the representative color of the dark series, may have a relatively limited range of optional ingredients, but when applied to food, it always creates a strong visual impact. "Black products" in the beverage industry have repeatedly brought topic heat to brands, such as that cup of "Cuttlefish Ink Lemon Tea" that makes people's eyes go dark, and the "Pitch-Black Frappuccino" that recently flooded social media.

According to Heytea's official explanation, the black color of this "Dark Cheese Tea" comes neither from black sesame nor from edible bamboo charcoal powder for coloring, but from genuine Squid Ink—a salty cheese cap made with cuttlefish ink. As is well known, cuttlefish ink is extracted from the cuttlefish's body and naturally carries a seafood fishiness. Just this ingredient alone is enough to make people find it bizarre, and when paired with sweet milk tea, it's easy to mentally classify it as "dark cuisine."

However, after learning the news, many overseas netizens, although well aware of the high probability of it being a miss, couldn't resist the drive of curiosity—and since they couldn't find a single review anywhere online, they simply went ahead and became "the first to eat crab," and maybe even show off to friends back home. So riding this wave of novelty, everyone rushed to Heytea to check it out.

As the saying goes, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Perhaps being more sensitive to seafood fishiness, multiple overseas users after drinking Heytea's "dark new product" generally reported that the taste was very strange and not really recommended to try, and the reason for their negative reviews was precisely the "fishiness" brought by the cuttlefish ink. One UK international student even bluntly said: "It's so bad I want to cut off my tongue and throw it away." Of course, some had done enough mental preparation beforehand and after drinking felt it was just on the salty side, not as "fishy" as imagined, and the overall taste was still acceptable.

For Heytea, relying solely on cuttlefish ink overseas to "battle" Halloween is clearly not enough. To capture the curiosity of this group of young people, the domestic limited menu also needs to keep up the pace.

Yesterday, Heytea officially announced that it will launch a "Slimming Blind Box" event from October 28 to 30, which includes a Halloween-limited drink "Dark Slimming Bottle," blending three different vegetable juices: celery, cilantro, and kale. This time, Heytea's R&D team, in addition to challenging the taste, has also gone all out with Halloween-style designs for the new packaging.

However, since the redemption dates Heytea has given are tomorrow and the day after, there is currently not much feedback on social platforms about the taste of this "Dark Slimming Bottle." Finally, although we don't know exactly how Heytea's Halloween limited edition tastes, what is certain is that in the coming days, Heytea's workers will face new "back kitchen tasks"—washing cilantro and washing celery.

Image source: Internet

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