Man on a high over drink with 60 espresso shots

It took a Texas man five days to polish off what has been hailed as one of the most expensive drinks produced at Starbucks, a several-thousand-calorie frozen concoction that included 60 shots of espresso and was topped with whipped cream.

“It was delicious, very strong, very sweet,” Andrew Chifari said. “After the first day, the ice crystals had melted and it was just good strong iced coffee.”

Chifari, 27, entered a Dallas Starbucks on May 24 with a 128-ounce glass and asked baristas to create the most expensive frappuccino that would fit in his container, but still taste good.

The drink cost $54.75 (€40.15), but Chifari walked away without paying a cent after racking up enough points under a loyalty plan for a free drink of his choice.

Starbucks does not want others to follow suit.

“This particular customisation was certainly excessive. It’s something that we don’t encourage,” said a spokeswoman.

@Starbucks @starbucksgold Most expensive Starbucks drink ever. .75. it has 60 shots, 128oz glass. #NewRecord pic.twitter.com/GBMpg01eyi

— Andrew Chifari (@ACIFH) May 25, 2014

The coffee monstrosity is now recognised as the current record holder of the most expensive Starbucks drink by Caffeine Informer, a website that keeps track of the coffee industry.

Caffeine Informer estimates the drink had 4,500mg of caffeine, more than 10 times above what the US Food and Drug Administration considers to be a maximum safe amount for a healthy person to drink on a daily basis.

Chifari consumed a third of the drink on the first day and polished off the rest in small intervals. The final caffeine surge caused him to have erratic sleep and vivid dreams.

“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,” he said.