Have you ever heard of an ingestible Shit Storm? No, me neither, until I looked at the menu in F***offee on Bermondsey Street. There, chalked on the blackboard near the f*** Boris paraphernalia, is London’s most explicit coffee, which is ‘just four shots of espresso’, says the barista taking my order for a rather meek iced white Americano. ‘We have a couple of people who come in and have it every day. Yeah, mad, I know.’ A few Reddit rabbit holes say this isn’t something new. Also known as a ‘quad’, the brew is favoured by those keen to start their day with a bang.
There isn’t enough space on this page to surmise what type of people are drinking such a thing, so let’s just settle on unhinged. The real question is: should we, too, be drinking the Shit Storm, and can it really help us kick ass in the day ahead? According to nutrition specialist Doctor Sarah Cooke, ‘Some health benefits of coffee include increased sports performance, and there is some evidence that coffee-drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.’ However, ‘the recommended safe limit of caffeine per day is 300mg and a “Shit Storm” containing four shots would be around 250mg of caffeine in a single serving.’ This, says Cooke, can lead to ‘increased anxiety and agitation, headaches, palpitations, a racing heart, sweating, nausea, diarrhoea and insomnia.’
