Viscous Coffee has long had a reputation for the many varieties of coffee it serves at Christies Beach, 40 minutes south of Adelaide. But it’s owner Steve Benington’s latest concoction, The Asskicker, that’s put the cafe into global headlines this past week or so. The iced coffee comes in three sizes. The largest costs $16 and contains four shots of espresso; four 48-hour-brewed cold-drip ice cubes; 120 millilitres of 10-day-brewed cold-drip; and some steamed milk to hold it all together. It’s topped off with four more cold-drip ice cubes. That adds up to about five grams of caffeine – 80 times what’s in a single shot of espresso.

By many accounts, that’s enough to kill an adult. But well before that, most people would be crippled by severe headaches, high blood pressure, anxiety and loss of motor control. There’s no recommended daily intake for caffeine, but according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, doses upwards of 210 milligrams a day are enough to bring on ill effects. The Asskicker contains 25 times more caffeine than that. So is anyone actually drinking it?