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Milk tea (奶茶 nǎichá) is big business in China. The market size expected to surpass 120 billion yuan ($17.7 billion) by the end of 2023.
Milk tea in bamboo (竹筒奶茶 zhútǒng nǎichá) has become hugely popular in many cities and tourist destinations across China.
Milk tea in bamboo first started in Suzhou before spreading across China - 竹筒奶茶率先风起于苏州，随后刮至全国多地. [4]
It's the same as other milk tea drinks, but packaged in a bamboo tube, which is usually inscribed with the Chinese characters of the place name or tourist destination from where it's bought.
Milk tea in bamboo is more expensive than your average cup of milk tea.
It’s basically milk tea in another container, but the price has doubled. It's a gimmick, and a real rip-off.
In the eyes of industry insiders, the drink has dropped on a double opportunity of generating web traffic: Shareable on socials + China chic.
竹筒奶茶就是将奶茶换个容器装，价格却翻了一倍，噱头吧，妥妥的智商税！
在业内人士看来，竹筒奶茶踩上了双重流量密码：网红城市+国潮元素 [4]
As a "celebrity product" (网红产品 wǎnghóng chǎnpǐn), the tea is bought by customers for the experience of sharing images online of where they are for their holidays.
But as with any new consumer craze in China, milk tea in bamboo has problems. Like the scandal unfolding online this week which could lead to its downfall, according to some commentators:
A milk tea shop in the old town of Tangqi, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province is suspected of recycling mouldy bamboo tubes, and reusing them. A netizen released a video of the employees of the tea shop cleaning bamboo tubes in the alleys of the scenic spot. According to the post, in addition to the mouldy bamboo tube, the water used for cleaning was not fresh and it was extremely dirty, and the environment was very unhygienic too. [3]
浙江杭州塘栖古镇某奶茶店疑似二次回收利用发霉的竹筒。有网友发布了其员工在景区小巷中清洗竹筒的视频。该网友称，除了竹筒发霉，用于清洗的水也不是流动的、特别脏，环境非常不卫生。 [3]
So that’s what we explore this week: The language of the rapid rise and potential fall of a trend that has come out of nowhere, driven by the need to make quick profits and, by default, rip thirsty customers off.
This story also helpfully and hygienically recycles language we’ve learned in previous newsletters. A quick recap:
翻车 fān chē - “car flip”, a brand crash
打卡 dǎ kǎ - “swipe card”, take a selfie in a tourist destination and share it online
标配 biāo pèi - “standard configuration”, a must-have or standard product to buy in a certain place.
Favourite Five
1. 蹿红 cuān hóng
suddenly become popular
竹筒奶茶翻车的速度，比它蹿红可快多了 - The milk tea in bamboo crashed in a shorter time than it became popular. [1]
Related:
常红 cháng hóng - stay red; remain popular for a long time
爆红 bào hóng - become popular very quickly
2. 智商税 zhì shāng shuì
stupid tax
从“网红竹筒”被质疑是“智商税”可看到消费者对于网红产品的态度趋于理性和实用 - Customers are becoming more savvy as they realise that milk tea in bamboo is actually just a rip-off. [2]
We discuss this more in this week’s Phrase of the Week.
3. 当仁不让 dāng rén bú ràng
to do one’s part; a must do
既然旅游总要打一个地域卡，那么足够上镜的竹筒奶茶当仁不让，还悉心地把地理位置贴在了奶茶杯上，妥妥的社交货币 - When you go to a tourist destination you have to share images of you online while there, so it’s a must to have an shareable image of the milk tea in bamboo with the place printed on the side. It’s almost like a type of social currency. [1]
Note: From the The Analects 论语. It originally meant “to take responsibility”. In modern Chinese it can also mean “must do” or to do something without hesitating.
4. 忽如一夜春风来 hūrú yíyè chūnfēng lái
arrive as quickly as the spring breeze overnight; arrive very quickly
忽如一夜春风来的竹筒奶茶，简单粗暴拆解一下就是普通的奶茶加一个普通雪顶，唯一不同之处在于容器：竹筒 - Milk tea in bamboo came as suddenly as the spring breeze overnight. But on removing the bamboo packaging, inside we find ordinary milk tea with whipped cream on top. The only difference is the container: Bamboo. [1]
More: From the poem Song of White Snow on Secretary Wu's Return to Capital (白雪歌送武判官归京) by Tang dynasty poet, Cén Shēn 岑参. The full line is:
忽如一夜春风来，千树万树梨花开 - All of a sudden the breeze of spring arrives at night, Awakening a myriad of trees and pear blossoms.
5. 贪心不足蛇吞象 tān xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng
to be greedy like a snake that wants to swallow an elephant; greedy
商家若贪心不足蛇吞象，执意舍本逐末，为了节省蝇头小利，不顾顾客安危，最终会竹篮打水一场空 - If the merchants are too greedy, and insist on giving up everything in order to make quick profits, and disregard the safety of customers, they will end up with nothing. [3]
Note: A myth which first appeared in The Classics of Mountains and Seas (山海经 shānhǎi jīng), an ancient text which was published in the 2nd century BCE. This parable tells the tale of someone who saves the life of a serpent. The serpent grants its saviour wishes in return. On satisfying each wish, the requests get bigger and bigger until he asks to become the emperor (相 xiàng). He is in the end swallowed by the snake, but in modern days, 相 became 象 (xiàng), the elephant. The moral of the story is similar Aladdin’s Tale, written 20 centuries later.
More: 竹篮打水一场空 zhú lán dǎ shuǐ yī chǎng kōng - a waste of effort. We’ve learned this before and Zoe discusses in the podcast.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 攥 zuàn
grip
竹筒奶茶的商机很快就被各大城市的商贩们攥在了手里 - The business opportunities presented by milk tea in bamboo were quickly seized by vendors in major cities. [1]
7. 新晋 xīn jìn
new
最近，新晋网红竹筒奶茶不断成为人们热议的对象 - Recently, the extremely popular milk tea in bamboo has become the subject of heated discussions. [1]
8. 颜值 yán zhí
good-looking
一些元素叠加在一起，使得竹筒奶茶颜值出众 - With a number of unique characteristics, milk tea in bamboo stands out in the crowd. [4]
Note: This is a relatively new internet / colloquial slang term, often in the three-character phrase 颜值高 yán zhí gāo - which translates as ‘good-looking’.
9. 国风 guó fēng
China chic
国风也是近年来不断吸引人的点 - China chic has become a very hot topic in recent years. [1]
Related: 国潮 guó cháo - which also translates as 'China chic'
10. 昏招 hūn zhāo
stupid move
会伤害产品的口碑，堪称自断财路的昏招 - Harming the product’s reputation is a bad move that can cut off cashflow. [3]
11. 网黑 wǎng hēi
a product well known for its bad qualities
失了顾客的信任，竹筒奶茶从 “网红” 变 “网黑” 也不过是时间问题 - As customers no longer trust it, it's only a matter of time for milk tea in bamboo to become famous for the wrong reasons from its initial success. [3]
Note: The opposite of 网红 wǎng hóng.
12. 避坑 bì kēng
avoiding problems
有不少网友发布“避坑”指南，“竹筒奶茶的口感根本不值其售价，都是半成品的加工，温度、甜度、小料等都无法选择” - Some internet users have created guides on how to avoid being caught out by bad products. Milk tea in bamboo is just not worth the price. It uses ready-made milk tea, so you can't adjust the temperature, sugar level or add more toppings. [4]
Three character phrases
13. 大乱斗 dà luàn dòu
massive chaotic battle
竹筒奶茶目前处于小作坊大乱斗阶段，初步形成了品类却无知名品牌 - Milk tea in bamboo is at an early stage of development where there is not yet one dominant player or well-known brand, just lots of smaller players battling for market share. [1]
14. 捎带手 shāo dài shǒu
together
