How did Moo Deng coffee culture spread from a Thai zoo?

A drink called Hippo Coffee has spread across social media, drawing visitors to Thailand to try it. Priced at 99 baht, roughly 21 yuan, it tastes like ordinary coffee; the draw is a lifelike hippo-shaped scoop of ice cream resting on the surface, modeled on Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo at Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

Moo Deng was born in July at the zoo and became an online favorite after staff posted clips of her startled expressions, gaining fans worldwide and lifting visitor numbers. The drink fits that wider coffee culture moment: some customers eat the ice cream first, while others let it melt and stir it through the cup, and many say they cannot bring themselves to take a bite.

Recently, a drink called "Hippo Coffee" has gone viral on social media, with many netizens traveling to Thailand specifically to check it in. This cup of coffee, priced at 99 baht (about 21 yuan), tastes no different from ordinary coffee. Its highlight is a lifelike hippo-shaped ice cream lying on the surface of the liquid. This hippo is not an arbitrarily designed cartoon figure, but is modeled after "Moo Deng" (nicknamed Bouncy Pig), a hugely popular baby pygmy hippo at Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo. However, this highly faithful hippo soaking in dark brown coffee has also prompted many netizens to exclaim that they "can't bear to take a bite." This article takes you through the story behind the popularity of this hippo coffee.

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Recently, a drink called "Hippo Coffee" has rapidly gone viral on social media, attracting many netizens traveling in Thailand to visit and check it in.

Judging from the photos posted by tourists, this highly popular "Hippo Coffee" is priced at 99 baht (about 21 yuan), tastes no different from ordinary coffee, and its special feature is an remarkably lifelike hippo on the surface of the drink.

According to customers who checked it in, this slightly "dirty-looking" hippo is actually a scoop of ice cream, which diners can eat directly or wait for it to slowly melt and stir it evenly into the coffee.

Some may wonder why a cup of coffee with just an added hippo decoration could attract so much attention and affection. In the end, it is because this hippo is no small name—it is not an ordinary hippo commonly seen on the African savannah, but a Thai "top female star" with millions of fans worldwide.

It is reported that this baby hippo with a black nose is named "Moo Deng" (nicknamed Bouncy Pig), a female pygmy hippo born in July this year at Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo.

Since birth, this little one has often been startled by zookeepers, producing all kinds of adorable expressions. Zoo staff filmed these cute moments and posted them on social media, and unexpectedly it became an overnight sensation, gained countless fans, and also became a popular internet meme used in chat records.

Afterward, the zoo's popularity soared because of this newly minted "top star," and the number of visitors drawn by its fame increased substantially. To satisfy global fans' desire to see Moo Deng, the zoo recently also launched a 24-hour livestream of Moo Deng and other animals, with about 44,000 viewers.

The "female star's" huge popularity naturally brought economic benefits to the zoo, with total revenue climbing steadily, and it also received donations from fans. Thailand's food and beverage, clothing, and other industries also seized the opportunity to ride the wave, launching Moo Deng-related coffee, cakes, clothes, and other products to attract large numbers of fans to visit and spend.

The decorative hippo on the coffee was made based on Moo Deng, and in the eyes of fans it looks almost exactly like the baby hippo, so cute that people cannot bear to bite it.

However, when many netizens saw the hippo on the coffee, they wore the expression of "subway grandpa looking at his phone," saying bluntly, "What a cute thing, take it farther away," "This hippo is a bit ugly," and "It makes me a little unsure how to take a bite."

They said the hippo ice cream is simply too faithfully reproduced, and combined with the fact that the hippo happens to be soaking in dark brown coffee liquid, it inevitably reminds people of Moo Deng rolling in a mud pit. In a daze, they feel as if they are drinking the hippo's bathwater, and instantly lose their appetite.

It seems that whether they are avid fans or netizens who cannot quite understand it, when faced with this cup of distinctive hippo coffee, they all find it "hard to speak of."

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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