Why Reese Witherspoon's Viral 'Iced' Coffee Brewed An Online Debate

Hollywood actor and producer Reese Witherspoon has sparked an online debate by sharing the recipe for an 'iced' caramel coffee. In a TikTok which has now gone viral, the Oscar-winning actress collects snow gathered outside her window, slathers it with cold brew coffee, and tops it with some salted caramel. Witherspoon's "Snow Salt Chococinno" has divided the internet on whether fresh snow is safe to consume. 

The 47-year-old's TikTok has garnered about 5 million views, with some calling her out for sharing a bizarre recipe and some others trying it out for themselves. 

Reese Witherspoon Shares Snow Coffee Recipe

"OK, so we got a tonne of snow over the past few days so we decided to make a recipe. It is so good!" Witherspoon was heard saying in her video. However, she did not expect such a cold response to her iced coffee recipe. She posted another TikTok, responding to the comments saying the ice is dirty.

"There are so many people on here saying that snow is dirty," she said. "So we went and took snow from the backyard and microwaved it and it's clear - is this bad? Am I not supposed to eat snow?" The Legally Blonde star then said, "We're kind of in a category of 'You only live once' and it snows maybe once a year here," justifying why she ate the snow.

Witherspoon also made another video talking about her carefree childhood days. She said, "Talking about the snow not being filtered, I didn't grow up drinking filtered water. We drank out of the tap. We actually used to put our mouths on the tap, and then in the summer, when it was hot, we drank out of the hose. We put our mouths on the hose, growing up. Maybe that's why I'm like this. So what you're saying to me is I have to filter the snow before I eat it? I just can't. Filtered snow. I don't know how to do that!"

According to a BBC report, fresh snow is unsafe to eat, as it is filled with soaked-up pollutants from the air. Paul Williams, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading told BBC that "snowflakes risk being contaminated with far worse as they lie on the ground, as anyone who has ever seen yellow snow will agree".

"The risks are probably small, but why take the chance - I hate to disagree with Reese Witherspoon, but humans invented water treatment processes for a reason," Williams added. However, responding to Witherspoon's TikTok, Dr Zachary Rubin, a paediatric allergist based in Illinois said that it is not a big deal to consume a little snow sometimes.