What is coffee made out of and what goes into a cup?

Coffee is made from the roasted and ground seeds of the Coffea plant, known as coffee beans, steeped in hot water. A basic cup contains just two ingredients: coffee and water. Everything else, including milk, sugar, or syrups, is an addition rather than a defining part of the drink itself.

The coffee ingredients list stays short because flavor comes from the bean, not additives. Origin, roast level, and the coffee-to-water ratio shape the final taste. A common starting point is about 1 to 2 grams of coffee per 30 milliliters of water, adjusted to preference.

In recent years, chain tea beverage brands have been expanding their side businesses one after another—some sell snacks, some make merchandise, and some have even jumped straight into the restaurant industry. The parent company behind Guangxi's well-known tea brand Grandma's Handmade invested in a Liuzhou snail rice noodle shop in Shanghai's Xintiandi. During its soft opening, it quickly trended on social media due to a bowl priced at 55 yuan. Consumers posted bills of 140 yuan or even 392 yuan, sparking a fierce debate between Guangxi netizens and Shanghai consumers. The brand later clarified issues regarding charges for noodle refills, brand ownership, and ingredient costs. This article sorts out the whole incident, presents various viewpoints and official responses, and helps you understand the business logic and points of controversy behind this bowl of high-priced snail rice noodles.

In recent years, chain tea beverage brands have been continuously expanding new businesses beyond their core milk tea offerings—some have deepened their focus on merchandise, some have ventured into snacks, and some have directly entered the restaurant industry to compete with traditional eateries. Recently, Guangxi's well-known tea brand Grandma's Handmade opened its first Liuzhou snail rice noodle store nationwide in Shanghai and entered the soft opening phase, quickly attracting a great deal of attention. Related topics shot to the top of trending searches due to heated discussion among netizens.

In fact, as early as last year there were rumors that Grandma's Handmade planned to open a snail rice noodle shop in Shanghai called "鑼獅LUÓ SHĪ." Now this restaurant, which once existed only in gossip, has landed in Shanghai's Xintiandi. Its decor follows a minimalist and refined style, completely different from the traditional street-side snail rice noodle shops in most people's impressions. Coupled with the brand's inherent influence, many people came out of admiration on the first day of opening.

However, customers who made special trips to check it out posted their ordering bills on social platforms. Some said they spent 140 yuan on one meal, while other netizens said a party of three spent a total of 392 yuan. They mentioned that the signature snail rice noodles were priced at 55 yuan per bowl, and if you wanted to add side dishes or refill noodles, you had to pay extra.

Faced with such prices, many Guangxi netizens said they could not accept it. Citing local market conditions as an example, they said the same bowl of snail rice noodles costs only around ten-plus yuan back home, arguing that this pricing far exceeds the level of ordinary snail rice noodles. They also joked that it "broke the price ceiling for snail rice noodles." But others took a different view, feeling that since this shop is located in a place as expensive as Shanghai's Xintiandi, a price higher than the mainstream market is understandable. As long as 55 yuan a bowl is acceptable to Shanghai consumers, then it can be considered reasonable.

Just as netizens were endlessly debating this 55-yuan bowl of snail rice noodles, on February 4 the merchant issued clarifications on a public platform regarding the issues customers had raised. The brand explained that the rumored "charge for noodle refills" did not exist, but on the first day of the soft opening, staff may not have been familiar enough with the situation, causing deviations in communication with customers and thus creating misunderstandings.

In addition, regarding the online claim that "Grandma's Handmade launched a high-end snail rice noodle brand," the brand also denied it. They said that although 鑼獅 received investment from Guangxi Handmade Xingcun Catering Management Co., Ltd., the parent company of the tea brand Grandma's Handmade, its operating team is separate from Grandma's Handmade. "The current execution team is independent," and it is not a "brand under Grandma's Handmade" as netizens believed.

As for the most discussed issue—that the snail rice noodles are priced higher than similar products on the market—store staff responded: "All our ingredients and soup bases are simmered fresh on the same day, so in terms of ingredient costs, quality of materials, and even dish design, we hold ourselves to a higher standard."

Currently, this snail rice noodle shop has a rating of 3.6 on third-party platforms, with medium-to-low ratings accounting for more than 30 percent. The store's homepage on the online platform only displays the menu and netizen recommendations, and the specific prices of all dishes can no longer be viewed.

Image source: Internet

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