A Dallas area man has buzzed his way into the Starbucks record books with a Texas sized Frappuccino containing 60 shots of espresso. Just to make the drink a little healthier, he included a shot of protein as well. The drink took Andrew Chifari five days to finish off.
Earlier this week, Chifari walked into the Dallas Starbucks located on McKinney Ave. with a 128 ounce glass according to a Reuters article posted on the Daily Zone website. He had lots of points to redeem from his Starbucks loyalty card and asked the barista to prepare the most expensive Frappuccino that would fit in the glass. He added one more condition, the drink must still taste good.
Toss in sixty shots of espresso, one shot of white mocha, throw in some protein powder, blend and top with decorative drizzles of mocha, caramel and hazelnut and you come up with a drink that totals $54.75 on the cash register and a yet to be calculated number of calories. The caffeine count, however, came in at a hand-shaking 4,500 mg or ten times the daily recommended maximum of caffeine intake according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The drink was determined by the Caffeine Informer website to be the most expensive drink in Starbucks history. The site goes on to list the wimpy second place drink that weighed in at a mere 3,000 mg of caffeine.
Women’s Health Magazine asked the obvious question, “What would happen to your body if you drank 60 shots of espresso?” The answer:
On 4500 milligrams of caffeine, the estimated amount in 60 shots, you could be at risk for serious digestive track malfunctions including cramping, bloating, and diarrhea. At the same time, drinking that amount could put you at risk for heart issues like heart palpitations, a spike in blood pressure, and a super-high heart rate, says Mass. Plus, such an extreme level of the stimulant can put your mental wellbeing at risk for panic attacks, irritability, and stress. Basically, it’s a bad idea.
Starbucks seems to agree according to the Reuters article linked above. “This particular customization was certainly excessive. It’s something that we don’t encourage,” said spokeswoman Maggie Jantzen. Starbucks did not say whether it would revise its free-drink policies in response to Chifari’s order.
Chifari downed a third of the drink the first day. After that, he said the ice melted leaving his concoction as a “strong iced coffee.” Over the next few days he consumed small quantities of the remaining drink finishing the rest of it on Wednesday (May 28th). Safari said the final caffeine surge left him with an erratic night’s sleep and some vivid dreams.
Because of his points, the drink cost him nothing but some sleepless nights. “It was worth it. Overall, considering how much caffeine I consumed, I would have expected the sleep issue to be a lot worse than it was,” Chifari said.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.