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There is an inexplicable "smell of coffee" in many places in Shanghai in the middle of the night, and the official response: non-chemical plant explosion, the cause remains to be verified

Published: 2026-04-08 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/08, Shanghai, an international metropolis, has been sleeping for a long time, and with the gradual improvement of the COVID-19 epidemic, the fireworks in Shanghai have followed. In 2021, Shanghai is one of the cities with the highest coffee shop density (nearly 8000 coffee shops). Shanghai people's love for coffee is also high, and Shanghai has won the "Coffee City".

Shanghai, an international metropolis, has been sleeping for a long time, and with the gradual improvement of the COVID-19 epidemic, the fireworks in Shanghai have followed. In 2021, Shanghai has one of the highest coffee shop density cities (nearly 8000 coffee shops). Shanghai people's love for coffee is also high, and Shanghai has won the title of "Coffee City". To everyone's surprise, the aroma of coffee really pervaded half of Shanghai.

At around 12: 00 a.m. on May 17, some netizens said on Weibo that they smelled coffee and wondered who would drink coffee in the middle of the night.

Some netizens thought they were hallucinating.

Some netizens think that the strong aroma of coffee is because the neighbors are making coffee, and the neighbors also think so.

Some netizens thought that their family members were drinking coffee behind their backs.

Many netizens said that the smell of inexplicable coffee in Shanghai is very similar to that of instant coffee, like scorch and sesame oil.

Subsequently, it was reported on the Internet that an accident occurred at a flavor processing plant in Minhang District, Shanghai, resulting in a gas leak, and some netizens speculated that it was furfuryl mercaptan.

It is understood that furfuryl mercaptan is an organic compound, is an important use of spices, in dilution will have a strong aroma of coffee and sweet caramel aroma, this chemical is mainly used to mix coffee, chocolate and other aromas.

On May 17, the staff of the fire and rescue detachment in Minhang District told the Beijing Youth Daily that there was no alarm about the accident at the essence factory on May 16. The staff of the Shanghai Fire Rescue Corps also said that they had not received any alarm about a deflagration or gas leakage from the perfume factory and had been concerned about the fact that the public had reported the smell of coffee. The fire department is still investigating the source of the smell of coffee.

At the same time, the staff of the Minhang District Ecological and Environmental Bureau told reporters that they had received feedback from Shanghai citizens about the smell of inexplicable coffee on the evening of May 16, and did not smell the abnormal smell when they went to the scene. Now, the resumption of work and production during the epidemic period has not officially begun, and the enterprise is still in a state of suspension of production. At present, the specific situation is being verified, investigated, and found the source in joint multi-district.

Photo Source: Internet

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