Khaberni - Thanks to the powdered ground insects, cockroach coffee has become the most controversial drink in Beijing.
An insect museum in the city offers this unique coffee drink blended with cockroach powder and dried mealworms, which is sold for 45 yuan per cup.
Tasters have described the flavor of the drink as "carrying a burnt taste with a hint of acidity", according to a report published by "The Covert".
One of the museum's employees explained: "We launched this project at the end of June, and it has recently gained extensive interest online." He added that the museum also sold drinks made from ants and the digestive juice of pitcher plants, where the ant drink was available only during the Halloween period.
To assure the safety of the ingredients, the employee mentioned that all components are imported from traditional herbal medicine stores, explaining that traditional Chinese medicine views cockroach powder as supportive of the circulatory system, while mealworms are considered a rich source of protein to support immunity.
Regarding the tasting experience, the employee noted that the ant drink has a distinct acidity, while the pitcher plant drink resembles regular coffee. He pointed out that the main demographic of customers are curious young people, while parents tend to avoid the drink due to reservations about the idea of cockroaches, and more than 10 cups of the drink are sold daily.
This is not the first innovation of its kind in China, as earlier this year, a café in Yunnan offered coffee mixed with fried worms, while a café in Jiangxi adds chili peppers to its latte drinks.
