A TikToker discovered she had the coronavirus in the middle of filming her Starbucks taste test video
- A TikToker found out she had the coronavirus after filming herself tasting a new Starbucks drink.
- In the video posted last month, Maryn Short excitedly takes the first sip of her Venti Iced Latte when she realizes it has "no flavor."
- Short told Insider that she was expecting the drink to be "super sweet" because it contained so many sugary components but that it tasted very mild instead.
- The 19-year-old later tested positive for COVID-19 and spent two weeks at home recovering. She has since gone back to try the original drink.
A 19-year-old girl from Louisiana discovered she had the coronavirus while filming herself doing a Starbuck taste test on TikTok.
Last month, Maryn Short wanted to film herself trying a Venti Iced Latte Starbucks drink that was trending on TikTok, which contained whipped cream, five shots of vanilla, and three shots of caramel.
In the now-viral video, Short can be seen sitting in her car as she excitedly prepares to try the latest Starbucks drink. But when she takes the first sip, she notices something is wrong.
"This has no flavor," she says in the video, confused. "Why can't I taste it? Do I have COVID?"
After several more sips, the realization sets in for Short, who then says: "Hang on, I can't taste anything!" before turning off her camera.
Watch the moment below.
Short told Insider that she was expecting the drink to be "super sweet" because it contained so many sugary components.
"My immediate thought was just that there might be too much heavy cream in it. I could tell that the drink was sweet, but strangely enough, there was no flavor there," she said.
"It's a hard sensation to explain. It wasn't until I took the second sip and still tasted nothing that I thought: 'Ok, this might be something more serious..."
The 19-year-old also said that she didn't have any other symptoms prior to filming the TikTok although recalls having a "slight congestion" a few days before, which she blamed on "nothing more than seasonal allergies."
The teenager later tested positive for the virus and had to quarantine at home for two weeks, where she continued to share videos of her tasting different foods and answering questions about how she's recovering.
Besides running a fever for a day and her loss of taste, Short did not experience any other COVID-19 symptoms. She has since fully recovered and even went back to her local Starbucks to try the drink she originally wanted to taste.
Her TikTok video has been viewed more than 3.8 million times, giving her more than 50,000 new followers.
"It's been a great experience to have the video go as far as it did. I'm glad some good was able to come from this situation," she told Insider.
"But if you think there may be a chance you have COVID and you're showing symptoms, please get tested. For the safety of you and your peers, it's just important to have that answer," Short added.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), loss of taste and smell is considered a symptom of the coronavirus.
Many patients who have lost their sense of taste and smell because of COVID-19 are still struggling to get it back, and are now turning to "smell therapy" to retrain their brain receptors.
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