You have to wait in line for seven hours to buy a cup of Internet-famous milk tea. Drinking one cup every day can sustain your life, which is comparable to spiritual opium. It can even feed a group of professional scalpers who buy milk tea on behalf of others. The past few months have seen a rediscovery of the power of the age-old beverage.
From the aristocratic milk tea that the British had to spend every afternoon to enjoy 300 years ago, to the brewed milk tea that is the favorite of primary and secondary school students in street shops, it has now transformed into the so-called "new middle class" self-promotion symbol of. What kind of changes has milk tea experienced? And why is it so addictive and impossible to stop?
The story takes place in the UK and China, but there is a surprising overlap.
Milk tea in the UK is not only a matter of taste, but also a class issue.
Tea originated in China, while milk tea originated in England. Although ethnic minority compatriots in northwest my country also have the habit of drinking milk tea, there is no inheritance relationship between grassland-style salty milk tea and the popular street drink now. In the 16th century, when Chinese tea was introduced to Europe in small quantities, it was a luxury product that only a small number of nobles could enjoy.
In 1668, British businessman Thomas Garvey (it is speculated that this may be the first tea merchant in British history) published a tea advertisement in a magazine, in which he strongly touted the efficacy of tea. He said that tea can "keep the body clean and strong", "treat headaches, dizziness and depression", "help get rid of the control of bad temper", and can also "aid digestion" and "refresh people, allowing people to work and study all night without stopping". Harm the body" and so on, almost referring to tea as snake oil.
Interestingly, this drink that became addictive to the British people in the future, just like the opium sold to China by the British and addicted to the Chinese, was initially used as a drug.
In 1667, the British writer Samuel Pepys mentioned in his diary that the doctor recommended that his wife drink hot tea to treat a cold. It is important to treat tea as medicine. Because the British have a habit of adding sugar to medicines, this is the origin of adding sugar and milk to tea.
Of course, the reason why milk was first added was actually because of poverty.
The quality of porcelain produced in Britain at that time was poor, and adding boiling hot tea directly to it would easily cause it to burst. Therefore, pour cold milk first to prevent damage to the porcelain cup. But this is a problem encountered by poor people who cannot afford imported high-quality Chinese porcelain. The upper class still drinks strong tea without adding milk to show off the high quality of their porcelain.
The turning point came in the 18th century. The amount of tea imported into the UK skyrocketed, and domestic prices continued to fall. Ordinary businessmen and even the working class began to come into contact with this fashionable gadget. You know, in 1682, Queen Mary of the Netherlands spent 80 gold coins and 6 broken coins to buy a pound of tea. After the price of
dropped, the British custom of drinking tea spread from the court to the people, and it soon became a popular drink that "everyone loves to take a sip". The reason is simple. Workers and farmers who only have cold hard bread to satisfy their hunger, the colder and poorer the place, the greater the demand for tea. In 1846, the Englishman J. R. McCulloch commented: "In this century, tea is no longer a luxury but a necessity of life. There is no doubt that the poor are more inseparable from it than the rich."
How popular is tea? ? In 1756, the British writer Jonas Hanway sarcastically wrote in his book that women in this country were too busy making and drinking tea, neglecting their children's education, while men didn't even have the strength to lift their swords after drinking tea. He questioned whether tea might be poisonous: "Every time I drink tea, it's like drinking poison. My stomach is churning and I'm in great pain. Then my limbs are shaking and my whole body is weak."
Now it seems that the adverse reactions he mentioned after drinking tea are actually very serious. Normal: Isn’t this just because I’m hungry? However, many people took this opportunity to oppose the popularity of tea. Until the British discovered that by adding some milk and sugar, drinking strong black tea would not make the stomach too uncomfortable. Even doctor F. N. Serjan, who has always been opposed to tea, admitted that adding milk, butter, sugar and other foods will make the uncomfortable symptoms "short-term disappear", and milk tea really became popular.
Since everyone adds milk, how can the upper class show their differences? A new chain of contempt was born - who poured the milk first or the tea first.
The British have been arguing about this tea milk order for more than a hundred years. Of course, polite British people will not directly say that your porcelain is bad. The main purpose of the discussion is still the issue of flavor. In 1946, George Orwell - yes, the one who wrote "1984" - wrote a special article called "A Cup of Good Tea", in which he strongly advocated pouring in tea first and then adding milk. He wrote Said: "Tea is the mainstay of this country's civilization, but it has caused terrible divisions in its production methods."
In order to end this chain of contempt left over from history, in 1980, the International Standards Organization (ISO) introduced a new standard ISO 3103, stipulates the size of the tea cup, the temperature of the tea, etc., and also states: Pour the tea first and then the milk. In 2003, this standard was slapped in the face by a paper from the Royal Society of Chemistry. This article "How to Make a Perfect Cup of Tea" clearly stated: Milk is poured before the tea.
Let these serious British people continue to struggle. Anyway, we already know that mixing tea and milk has never been a simple matter of taste, but a matter of class distinction. This continued until milk tea was introduced to China.
The specific time when milk tea was introduced into China is unknown, but what is certain is that milk tea was introduced along with fashionable Western food in the late Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, not many people drank it, and it was generally only available in Western restaurants or some high-end food stores.
After 1949, this beverage that symbolized the lifestyle of capitalist countries was definitely not “politically correct” enough in the mainland. In addition, milk was also hard to come by in an era of material poverty. Milk tea had no room for survival in the mainland. In the past few decades, it has continued to develop and evolve in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and new varieties have emerged.
If you want to distinguish the genres of milk tea, it can be roughly divided into Hong Kong style and Taiwanese style. Hong Kong-style milk tea is generally associated with restaurants with Hong Kong characteristics such as tea restaurants and ice rooms. New Hong Kong-style varieties such as Yuanyang milk tea and stocking milk tea have been developed, still emphasizing the exquisiteness of the production process and the authentic taste. Hong Kong-style milk tea has an obvious inheritance relationship with traditional British milk tea. The tea is black tea and the milk is pure milk or evaporated milk.
But Taiwanese milk tea is a bit of a "betrayal" to the ancestors. Taiwanese milk tea is more street-oriented, and the production process is therefore rougher and simpler. Taiwanese milk tea does not pay as much attention to raw materials, temperature, procedures, etc. as British and Hong Kong style. Some milk tea shops even directly mix milk tea powder with water to make a cup that sells for the price. Milk tea, which is several times higher than bottled drinks, contains neither tea nor milk.
But in terms of influence, Taiwanese pearl milk tea may be regarded as one of the "N inventions that changed China." In 1987, Lin Xiuhui, the manager of Taiwanese dessert shop Chun Shui Tang, accidentally threw the local snack tapioca ball "pinyuan" into milk tea during a boring business meeting. He accidentally discovered that it tasted pretty good, which ultimately led to the creation of this new drink The invention of pearl milk tea, also known as boba milk tea.
However, Tu Zonghe, the founder of Hanlin Teahouse in Tainan, insists that he is the inventor of pearl milk tea. The two brands fought in court for eight years, but in the end neither party was able to apply for patent or trademark rights - and bubble milk tea has become a common drink name across Taiwan.
html In the 1980s, "bubble tea shops" were popular in Taiwan - there were many street bars in the streets and alleys, just like the milk tea shops with open bars now, which provided hand-cranked bubble tea and some snacks, and some shops had seats. At that time, students, office workers, etc. took the opportunity to meet, chat, and date over drinks. It is too expensive to go to coffee shops and Western restaurants, and ordinary snack bars are not fashionable and stylish enough. The emerging bubble black tea has become a place where young people like to date and meet. Bubble black tea shops have opened all over Taiwan, especially near schools and office buildings.Nowadays, milk tea has become a necessity for young women when shopping and dating.According to an industry report from China Industry Network, 68% of milk tea consumers are aged 15-34. According to consumer survey data of several milk tea brands, the proportion of women is extremely high, such as "Yiqiyiji" Statistics show that 0% of male consumers drink "more than 5 cups" per week, while women account for 8.1%. The official website of Heytea also disclosed that the gender ratio of its consumers is 15:85, which shows that these milk teas are "addictive" In “The Gentleman”, women’s spending power is astonishing.
Therefore, pearl milk tea began to appear on the menus of many bubble tea shops. At the same time, the mobile foam tea carts on the roadside of the night market provided milk tea brewed with milk tea powder that was cheaper than that in small shops, and there was a wider market. This was the non-dairy creamer that later spread to the mainland, also known as milk. Fine .
How popular is milk tea? According to a market research report from Taiwan's Post website, pearl milk tea is the snack most likely to impress foreigners, with an approval rate of nearly 50%. In the mid-1990s, Taiwanese milk tea shops started to form franchise chains, doubling down on market expansion and expanding outside the island.
Founded in 1996, "Kuaikeli" opened up the Hong Kong market when it was first established. In 1997, it entered the mainland to develop directly-operated stores and became the first authentic "Taiwanese milk tea shop". Subsequently, Taiwan's "Leisure Station" and "50 Lan", and mainland China's "Dakas", "Typhoon Shelter" and "Happy Lemon" all began to compete for market share.
Chain brands and unknown street shops are blooming everywhere. Street milk tea shops all over the country have become many people's childhood memories. A thick straw and the soft and elastic "pearls" sucked out by force have been refreshing in countless summers. The Chinese have also caused countless people to suffer from diarrhea.
In 2005, Xiangpiaopiao instant milk tea was launched. In 2009, Unified Assam milk tea was launched. Instant cups and bottles enriched the choices of milk tea lovers. Milk tea has changed from a noble drink to a daily drink of the poor in the UK, and it is the same in China.
In 2011, the " plasticizer " incident broke out in Taiwan. Because some products were found to contain plasticizer in "clouding agent", a commonly used raw material for pearl milk tea. After it was exposed by the media, it caused great turmoil in the milk tea industry. The Taiwanese authorities are conducting an emergency investigation involving companies and products, and the mainland has also issued an emergency notice banning the import of products from related companies, including milk tea manufacturers such as Uni-President and Igarashi. The plasticizer incident caused serious damage to the milk tea consumption on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and even affected the overseas milk tea industry. For a while, people even talked about milk tea with discoloration.
In recent years, with the popularization of nutrition knowledge, the media has begun to criticize the unhealthy aspects of milk tea, such as the trans fatty acids in the creamer and excessive calories. For a time, milk tea, which was once refreshing all summer, was relegated to the status quo. In the camp of junk food, the reality that milk tea is sold at a high price despite its low cost and poor raw materials has also become a stain on milk tea. Even Xiangpiaopiao Milk Tea, which circles the N-circle of the earth, has failed in its IPO three times in a row due to its low product cost and high marketing expenses. Its profitability and sustainability have been questioned.
It was not until the past two years that with the rise of a number of new brands and the advancement of the so-called "consumption upgrade" trend, milk tea finally became a drink that can show one's status, regaining the sense of superiority of class like British afternoon tea. , it’s worth queuing for two hours and spending more than 20 yuan to buy a drink. Of course, don’t forget to take a photo and post it on WeChat Moments.
Reasons why you must drink it
Why is milk tea so addictive that the British insist on drinking it despite warnings of "poison" and dominate China's tea trade with huge consumption? What is the power that makes countless Chinese people so fascinated by it that they feel uncomfortable even if they don’t drink it for a day?
The first thing to investigate is of course the caffeine in tea. As a central nervous system stimulant, caffeine can dispel drowsiness and boost the spirit. It plays an extremely important role in the great journey of pursuing "progress" from the beginning of mankind.
In the 16th century, during the process of exploration and plunder, European colonists discovered the secret of caffeine that can make people full of energy-coffee, cocoa from the Americas, and tea from China. These caffeinated drinks quickly took over European dining tables and became addictive for countless people.In 1685, a book titled "Methods of Drinking Coffee, Chinese Tea, and Chocolate" became popular in Europe, which shows the popularity of caffeine drinks.
In 2014, several scholars conducted a study to compare the difference in gastric emptying speed between milk tea and pure tea. Pretty much, they concluded. A cup of 300 ml black tea and a cup of 250 ml black tea plus 50 ml milk will be emptied in the stomach at about the same speed.
This study is actually to solve the problem of fasting time before anesthesia, because the traditional approach is to treat milk tea as liquid food. Scholars want to use this to prove that milk tea does not need to be fasted for as long as liquid food.
However, this scientific research has solved the major secret of our "milk tea addiction" - it turns out that drinking milk tea has the same effect on our satiety as drinking tea, that is to say, drinking milk tea does not bloat our stomachs.
Some food science studies have also shown that when the proportion of tea to milk is controlled within a certain range, milk will not affect our absorption of tea polyphenols, the core component of tea, and tea polyphenols are responsible for the digestion of protein in milk. The rate has increased significantly, which is mutually confirmed with the above research, and you can see the charm of milk tea: when you are addicted to caffeine, such a sweet drink can make most people more happy than coffee and strong tea, and it is neither Distended belly does not make the stomach uncomfortable.
The cheap milk tea that is popular in China also has a secret - non-dairy creamer, also known as creamer. The so-called creamer actually has nothing to do with milk. The main ingredient is hydrogenated vegetable oil. This substance is milky white and has a strong milk aroma. Adding it to tea can make a cup of milk tea taste smoother and the milk aroma more obvious. At this point it is even better than adding milk powder or fresh milk.
More importantly, creamer is easy to process and store, and the price per ton is less than 10,000 yuan. Compared with the price of more than 20,000 yuan per ton of milk powder, and the more expensive fresh milk, it is simply a bargain. It’s cheap and effective, so of course you should use it.
Therefore, whether it is a street milk tea shop or an instant or bottled milk tea produced on an industrial assembly line, creamer is present. In 2011, several scholars in Nanchang, Jiangxi conducted spot checks on bottled milk tea and milk tea powder sold in supermarkets and found that a certain amount of trans fatty acids could be detected. Street milk tea even contained more trans fatty acids than milk tea powder. The amount of trans fatty acids in a 300mL cup of milk tea is between 0.5 and 3.0 g. According to the recommendations of the Chinese Ministry of Health, "the daily intake of trans fatty acids should not exceed 2.2g." If you are unfortunate enough to drink that 3.0g cup, It's over the standard.
By adding creamer, milk tea shops can control the raw material cost of a cup of milk tea very low, even only a few cents. They are more willing to spend money on store rent in prime locations and sell milk tea at high prices. In 2013, a reporter from Guangxi Quality Supervision Herald conducted an unannounced investigation and found that a cup of milk tea made from creamer, tea powder and other raw materials cost only 0.76 yuan, but could be sold for more than 10 yuan. The silky smooth taste and tangy milky aroma brought by creamer are addictive, and it also makes the store save money and be happy.
Even if you are worried about health problems, you will still be attracted by slogans such as "added fresh milk" and "real milk and real tea" - but admit it, the creamer tea powder that costs a few cents just tastes better, just like using Roadside Malatang filled with gutter oil. At worst, buy it secretly, don't let your colleagues take aim.
Finally, a little positivity: A 2007 study showed that Chinese milk tea can lower blood cholesterol levels in Chinese people because it is rich in phytosterols, thanks to the creamer. In other words, drinking milk tea can lower cholesterol.
sounds good, provided of course that you don't drink too much and get fat first.
