What does the coffee bean process teach about fruit drinks?

ChaPanda launched a bamboo-aroma oolong series on February 7, including Fresh Milk Bamboo-Aroma Oolong and Bamboo-Aroma Kiwi. The kiwi version uses Anxi Tieguanyin from Fujian with kiwi pulp and wheatgrass, and the brand says the kiwi comes from Zhouzhi County, Xi'an. Some consumers later reported astringent mouthfeel, numb lips, and a stinging throat; ChaPanda has not responded.

Kiwis are often cited as a healthy fruit, with 100 grams of fresh pulp holding 100 to 420 milligrams of vitamin C, plus amino acids and lutein. Unripe fruit or an allergic reaction are the two explanations offered. The same attention to ripeness and handling applies to the coffee bean process, and anyone wondering how to eat coffee beans should treat raw and roasted beans very differently.

On February 7, ChaPanda launched a new bamboo-aroma oolong series, among which the Bamboo-Aroma Kiwi uses Anxi Tieguanyin from Fujian as its tea base, paired with kiwi pulp and wheatgrass. The company officially claims to use kiwis from Zhouzhi County, Xi'an, highlighting selling points such as fresh pulp, natural healthiness, and low calories with a greasy-cutting effect. However, after the new products hit the market, many consumers posted on social media reporting discomfort such as astringent mouthfeel, numb lips, and a stinging throat after drinking. Some speculated it was caused by unripe kiwis, while others suspected an allergic reaction. ChaPanda has not yet responded to this. This article reviews the course of events, consumer feedback, and possible cause analysis, and recommends related Front Street Coffee products for coffee lovers.

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Recently, many netizens have posted complaints on social media, saying that after drinking ChaPanda's newly launched milk tea, their mouths not only felt dry and astringent but also had a tingling, unusual sensation, and their throats were especially uncomfortable. The phrase "ChaPanda kiwi numb mouth" has even become a hot search term on Xiaohongshu.

This matter needs to be traced back a few days. On February 7, ChaPanda launched the bamboo-aroma oolong series, which includes two new products: Fresh Milk Bamboo-Aroma Oolong and Bamboo-Aroma Kiwi.

Image source: ChaPanda

According to the official description, both new products use bamboo-aroma oolong as the tea base, with tea leaves selected from Tieguanyin in Anxi, Fujian. Fresh Milk Bamboo-Aroma Oolong is a combination of oolong tea and raw milk, while the refreshing Bamboo-Aroma Kiwi is made from oolong tea, kiwi pulp, and wheatgrass. The brand claims the kiwis used are produced in Zhouzhi County, Xi'an, China.

As a recognized representative of healthy food, kiwi contains various nutrients needed by the human body. Every 100 grams of fresh kiwi pulp contains as much as 100 to 420 milligrams of vitamin C, more than 5 times that of citrus and more than 10 times that of lemon. In addition, a single kiwi contains more than ten kinds of amino acids, which can supplement energy and restore vitality, and its rich lutein also helps with eye care and skin antioxidant protection.

For this reason, in its early promotion, ChaPanda incorporated phrases such as "fresh pulp," "naturally healthy," "green and fragrant," and "low-calorie and greasy-cutting," intending to position this Bamboo-Aroma Kiwi as a "fat-scraping product" suitable for drinking after the holidays, in order to attract more health-conscious consumers.

After the new products launched, many tea lovers ordered them immediately to try them out, and then rushed to social media to post complaints: "ChaPanda Bamboo-Aroma Kiwi, the first time I drank it today it felt like needles poking my throat," "After drinking it, my mouth felt numb and it coated my throat," "I feel like the kiwi wasn't ripe; the pulp tastes very numbing," "I can't taste much tea flavor, it's just that the kiwi leaves your mouth very numb after eating," "Even my tongue hurts from the scraping"...

Although the discomfort symptoms after drinking varied from person to person—some felt numb lips, some felt a stinging throat, and some had a burning tongue—everyone invariably emphasized in their posts that they had eaten kiwi before but had never experienced such discomfort, thus first ruling out allergies as a factor.

In addition, many people said that the kiwi pulp in the drink they received was overall greenish in color and tasted sour and astringent when chewed directly, so they speculated that the adverse symptoms were caused by the fruit not being fully ripe.

It is understood that after many people eat kiwi, their mouths develop discomfort similar to that after eating pineapple, such as a pricking sensation or numbness of the tongue.

The first possibility is that one is allergic to kiwi, mostly manifested as mouth pain and tongue numbness; in severe cases, it can also cause laryngeal edema and even a series of other serious allergic reactions. In this regard, doctors suggest that if symptoms are severe, one should stop eating immediately, but if there are no similar symptoms as long as the juice does not touch the skin and lips, it is best to scoop out the pulp with a spoon and put it into the mouth to avoid skin contact.

Another situation is caused by calcium oxalate crystals or proteases in kiwi. Ripe kiwi tastes sweet and sour and is fragrant, but unripe kiwi contains more calcium oxalate crystals and proteases. These two substances easily cause numbness in the mouth and tongue; proteases may break down proteins in the oral mucosa and cause discomfort.

Regarding the taste of this cup of Bamboo-Aroma Oolong Kiwi, some netizens complained all the way under the official promotional post, denouncing various problems with the new product with pictures and text, but ChaPanda did not make any relevant reply regarding the "numb mouth" symptoms experienced by many customers.

Image from: Xiaohongshu screenshot

For coffee lovers, while paying attention to new tea drinks, it is also worth choosing a reliable-quality coffee for yourself. Front Street Coffee has always been committed to providing freshly roasted specialty coffee beans. Whether it is bright, fruity African beans or mellow, balanced Asian beans, they can satisfy the needs of different tastes. Front Street Coffee suggests that when choosing coffee, pay attention to origin, processing method, and roast level, so as to taste the purest flavor.

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