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Straw Ban Bothers Boba Fans
Boba tea, less fun without a straw
US
Bubble tea is the only beverage where the straw is part of the basic design of both the drink and the drinking experience. That begins with the tapioca balls at the bottom of the cup. These can be sucked up only through a wide straw, typically ¾-inch, with a diagonal cut at the end to punch through the (plastic) seal on the lid of the cup.
Alvin Yu, the co-owner of San Francisco’s Steep Creamery and Tea summarizes it: “Boba is just, in general, an expression…. You have the tapioca pearls, but you also have aloe jelly, you have these herbal teas that we make ourselves. And it all requires a straw.” There’s a convenience factor. The seal lets the drinker shake up the rich mix of liquid and pearls, with no spills.
Bubble tea aficionados respond strongly to the idea of drinking bubble tea without a straw: “It’d be really hard. I think I’d have to pour a cup and use a spoon or something.”
Straws are just a small part of the plastic issue but each day 500 million straws are used once and thrown away. They take up to 200 years to decompose and their size and shape make them a disproportionate life threat for birds and turtles.
The solution is environmentally friendly paper straws at a cost of approximately 10 cents each, which will add to the price but retain the experience.