Gu Ming Dark Chocolate Mocha and the Mocha Coffee Origin Question

Gu Ming has received a filing notice for a Hong Kong listing, becoming the first company approved in the current new tea beverage listing wave. Its winter drink, Dark Chocolate Mocha, has drawn attention for a different reason: many consumers reported diarrhea after drinking it, and some nicknamed it a gut-cleansing drink.

The official recipe lists cocoa mass, cocoa powder, aged salt syrup, light rich milk, milk and freshly ground coffee. Triple cocoa gives a rich, mellow taste that some find as sweet as chocolate milk. The reported reactions point to lactose intolerance or caffeine sensitivity, with iced versions more likely to aggravate them. The name also echoes the mocha coffee origin debate over coffee and chocolate.

Guming has obtained approval for a Hong Kong listing filing, becoming the first company to gain approval in the new tea beverage listing wave. Meanwhile, its winter new product "Dark Chocolate Mocha" has drawn attention for its rich cocoa flavor, but has also been jokingly called a "gut-cleansing godsend" due to a large number of consumers reporting diarrhea after drinking it. The official recipe includes cocoa mass, cocoa powder, aged salt syrup, light rich milk, milk, and freshly ground coffee. The triple cocoa delivers a rich, mellow taste, but many find it cloyingly sweet like chocolate milk. The cause of the diarrhea may point to lactose intolerance or caffeine sensitivity, and iced drinks are more likely to aggravate the reaction. This article will sort out the timeline of the incident and consumer feedback, and recommend related products from Front Street Coffee.

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This morning, Guming became the first company in the new round of the "new tea beverage listing wave" to receive a filing notice for a Hong Kong listing, a piece of news that sparked widespread discussion inside and outside the industry.

According to multiple media reports, the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission publicly released a filing notice on December 9, 2024, regarding the overseas issuance and listing of Guming Holdings Limited. Some believe this indicates that Guming has obtained the preliminary permission for an overseas listing, and can next submit a listing application to an overseas exchange.

In addition to the positive news of listing approval, Guming's offline stores have also attracted considerable consumer attention by launching the winter new coffee product "Dark Chocolate Mocha," with many people sharing photos and leaving reviews.

Image source: Guming Tea Beverages

According to the official description, this Dark Chocolate Mocha is made with cocoa mass, cocoa powder, aged salt syrup, light rich milk, milk, and freshly ground coffee. The entire cup presents a triple cocoa flavor, with a richer and more mellow taste.

Drawn in by both the official promotional images and the brand copy, many "chocolate lovers" simply cannot resist the temptation, especially at the moment when cocoa powder is sprinkled on top of the coffee. For people born with a love of sweets, it is almost impossible not to order immediately upon wanting a drink.

Many netizens who tried it themselves reported that judging by taste alone, Guming's Dark Chocolate Mocha indeed uses generous ingredients, but because too many components that intensify the cocoa flavor were added, the overall drink feels especially heavy on the palate. Therefore, for people who usually drink coffee, it is more like a "cloyingly sweet chocolate milk" than a flavored coffee; even if one chooses lightly sweet or no added sugar, many still find it too sweet and rich.

Perhaps precisely because Guming used such substantial ingredients, since the product launched, posts have appeared one after another on social media reporting diarrhea after drinking it. As more and more people joined in complaining, "accusing" this cup of coffee of sending them running to the toilet frequently, Dark Chocolate Mocha thus earned a new nickname: "gut-cleansing godsend."

In fact, besides the recently launched Dark Chocolate Mocha, another cocoa-flavored coffee from Guming, "Tiramisu Latte," is said to have the same bowel-moving effect. Some people drank it at 5 p.m. and by 6 p.m. were easily running to the restroom several times. The effect is even stronger than emblica juice, practically "comparable to a laxative."

"Guming, be honest, did you add laxatives to it?" "Recommended for people with constipation; after drinking it, your stomach reacts quickly." "This Dark Chocolate Mocha, after drinking it you just explode." "I have an iron stomach, and I still had four bouts of diarrhea in the middle of the night." "Tiramisu, the newly promoted toilet-bombing miracle." "I had diarrhea twice within fifteen minutes." "A colleague asked me why I kept going to the toilet."

Although the symptoms people experience vary depending on their constitution, referring to the neighboring experience with Luckin, if we are to trace the cause, most of those successfully "cleared out" are likely lactose intolerant to the milk coffee drinks from Guming. Some people's stomachs are naturally sensitive to caffeine, and drinking coffee alone easily sends them to the restroom; while others are lactose intolerant, and drinking milk alone has the same effect... If what they ordered at that moment was also an iced drink, the effect may even be doubled.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

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