Would you like roaches with that? Beijing café serves coffee with a crunch

SHAH ALAM – Visitors at a Beijing, China museum are finding that the scariest part of their trip isn’t the exhibits – it’s what’s being served at the café.

The café, located inside an insect-themed museum, has become a hot topic online after introducing coffees blended with ingredients more commonly associated with creepy-crawlies than cappuccinos.

According to The Straits Times, the museum has started experimenting with insect-based brews, including a cockroach coffee that has since gone viral. It costs 45 yuan (about £4.90).

Far from a gimmick, a staff told Chinese news outlet The Cover that the unusual drinks were not just a stunt. They wanted the menu to match the identity of the museum.

The roach-infused coffee was said to have a “burnt and slightly sour” note.

It was part of a line-up of other unusual creations. One drink uses digestive fluids from a pitcher plant, while another, sold only during Halloween, included ants.

All ingredients were sourced from traditional Chinese medicine shops, where items like powdered cockroach and mealworms which were believed by some practitioners to support boost the immune system.

Despite the shock factor, the café reportedly sold around ten cups of the cockroach coffee daily, driven mostly by curious young customers keen to test their limits.

Beijing blogger Chen Xi, who tried the drink, said it was “not as disgusting as I thought.”

Meanwhile, online, people were split. While some saw the drinks as an adventurous twist on café culture, others found the concept downright unthinkable.

“I wouldn’t drink it even if you paid me,” one social media user wrote, reflecting many similar reactions.