Two Cups Might Kill You

The Advertiser:

Adelaide [Australia]’s strongest coffee has caffeine levels so high, it comes with a health warning.

Christies Beach cafe Viscous Coffee is serving up the “Asskicker” iced coffee, which contains five grams of caffeine — about 80 times the amount of a single shot coffee — and half the dose considered to be lethal.

Owner Steve Benington said the caffeine fix was designed to be consumed gradually over three to four hours, and provides 12 to 18 hours of “sustained up-time”.

“Some people love it and some are broken by it but it’s all in the name of fun,” Mr Benington said.

A single espresso has about 60mg of caffeine, while a standard filter coffee has around 150mg, depending on how it’s brewed.

The Asskicker is a complex concoction made of quad espresso (four shots), four 48-hour brewed cold drip ice cubes, 120ml of 10-day brewed cold drip and is finished with four more 48-hour brewed cold drip ice cubes.

“Each cold drip ice cube is approximately equivalent of a bit more than two shots of espresso in caffeine,” he said.

Mr Benington said the aptly-named Asskicker was originally developed for an emergency department nurse with a need to be kept awake and alert for an unexpected overnight shift.

“I offer custom caffeine levels tailored to personal requirements,” he said.

“She consumed her drink over two days and it kept her up for almost three days — I toned it down a little after that and the Asskicker was born.”

The coffee’s health warning applies for people with heart or blood pressure issues, Mr Benington said.