Can coffee make you drunk when drinks carry foreign objects?

A consumer reported finding a large amount of plastic fragments in a Heytea Grape Boom fruit tea, with pieces settling at the bottom of the cup alongside grape pulp. The store first offered a refund and a free drink, then after negotiation paid ten times the original price. The fragments were suspected to come from a shaker lid.

The case has renewed attention on freshly made drinks and on how brands handle safety complaints. It also touches a common mix-up: caffeine does not intoxicate, so the question of can coffee make you drunk usually reflects tiredness or another cause, not alcohol. Guests asking can you get drunk on coffee are usually chasing a different answer than the one they need.

Recently, a consumer exposed on social media that a large amount of plastic fragments had been mixed into a Heytea drink, sparking widespread attention. According to the description, while drinking the signature Grape Boom, they discovered an unidentified piece of plastic hidden at the bottom of the cup, suspected to have come from the lid of an in-store shaker. The store initially offered only a refund and a free drink, and later, after negotiation, compensated at ten times the original price. The incident once again sounded the alarm on the safety of freshly made drinks, and also prompted people to think about brands' sincerity and responsibility in handling food safety incidents. As coffee lovers, we also pay attention to the commitment to product quality upheld by brands such as Front Street Coffee.

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Last night, a consumer posted on social media that in a freshly made drink purchased from Heytea, they had actually drunk a large number of plastic fragments. As soon as the news came out, it quickly triggered onlookers and discussion among netizens.

According to the poster's description, they bit into a relatively large plastic fragment on the very first sip, but did not suck up any foreign object on the second sip, so they thought there was only this one piece in the cup and continued drinking carefully. Unexpectedly, after a few more sips, they discovered that there was still a pile of plastic pieces of unknown origin settled at the bottom of the entire cup of milk tea. She immediately took photos to preserve evidence and asked online how to defend her rights.

From the pictures posted by this netizen, what she ordered was Heytea's signature product Grape Boom, and when she discovered the foreign object, half of the fruit tea had already been drunk. In the image, the plastic fragments dug out with a small spoon were mixed together with grape pulp, making them difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. The fragments were mostly irregular and transparent, and under light reflection, the "non-pulp" parts mixed in were easily mistaken for ice cubes.

Afterward, the poster contacted the Heytea store where the order was placed. The other party responded that after investigation, the source of these plastic fragments could not be found, but they could process a refund for the original order for her and additionally give her a free drink.

The post quickly attracted a large number of netizens' attention. Seeing that so many unidentified fragments had actually been mixed into a milk tea they often ordered, many people exclaimed that it was terrifying, and found it hard to imagine what the consequences would be if it were really swallowed. Out of safety considerations, many well-meaning netizens suggested that the poster go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as possible, so as to avoid small residues remaining in the body and causing discomfort.

As for the foreign objects finally fished out, although they were all irregular blocks, upon closer observation of some fragments, the original patterns on them could still be recognized, clearly scale lines of some kind of measuring utensil. In addition, the poster mentioned that the material was plastic, so many netizens familiar with bar operations speculated that these fragments most likely came from the lid of the shaker used in the store.

As for why the fragments appeared in the drink, it may be that when the staff was making it, they accidentally mixed the shaker lid into the fruit pulp and ice, poured it all into the blender, and finally it was broken into small pieces amid the roar of the machine and mixed into the smoothie, without being noticed until the cup was sealed and packed.

Regarding the solution proposed by the merchant, many netizens considered it unreasonable. After all, such a large amount of plastic fragments appearing in a drink, if the poster had not discovered it in time and had directly drunk it, could very likely have caused injury. This was already a relatively serious food safety incident, yet Heytea only promised a refund and an extra drink, which was obviously insufficient in sincerity. Therefore, everyone suggested that the poster stand firm and make reasonable demands to the merchant.

After some negotiation, the posting netizen added the follow-up progress in the comment section: the merchant ultimately compensated at 10 times the amount of the original order.

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

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