This year, the biggest change for milk tea lovers is that they can no longer drink from ordinary plastic straws.

It has been more than three months since the stringent plastic ban was officially implemented. At present, most tea shops in Beijing have replaced plastic straws with paper straws, which, while better for the environment, is disliked by their loyal consumers everywhere. On social media, the complaints about paper straws have gradually even overshadowed the discussion for environmental protection. Some people said, “The straw just rots in the cup.” “Drinking with a paper straw is like eating a toilet paper roll.” “The new straws have successfully made me quit drinking milk tea.”

• Difficult to Poke into the Cup with Paper Straws?

The paper straw is made by rolling paper into a tube. Although it feels hard, it’s still softer than plastic, making it difficult to poke through the plastic cover on top of the cup.

• Weird Taste with Paper Straws?
  

Some have even ended up drinking milk tea from a bowl

Some people may find paper straws to have a weird taste. Fun fact: that taste is caused by pulp. No wonder someone feels like chewing textbooks!

• Paper Straws Get Limp While Drinking?
  

When enjoying drinks, especially hot drinks, the paper straws will soften and even disintegrate in the cup. “The pleasure of a cup of milk tea used to last for two hours, but now I have to finish drinking it within half an hour, otherwise the straw will rot in my mouth.” said a milk tea lover.

But wait…Is paper straw really friendly to the environment?

The degradation cycle of plastic can be as long as hundreds of years, and it only takes 3 to 4 months for paper to be decomposed in the natural environment. This is why stores use paper straws instead of plastic ones. Paper straws are also made by felling trees and processing, and after use, they do not have the value of secondary use and cannot be recycled, which means they also need to be disposed of by landfill or incineration. Environmentally friendly paper straws are still not 100% environmentally friendly.

So, what about other materials? There are also many merchants who choose PLA straws. They can complete the degradation in as little as 90 days, and the experience of use is not much different from that of plastic straws. However, the cost of PLA straws is about twice that of paper straws, and the supply of raw materials is limited, making it difficult to promote on a large scale.

There are also some stores that take a different approach. For example, McDonald’s and Starbucks choose to use direct drinking cup lids. This perfect design directly eliminates the need for straws.

Moreover, some consumers choose to buy stainless steel straws, which can be reused. After all, the core of the use of plastic products is “disposable”, and the “plastic ban” aims to reduce the use of disposable products.

KEEP READING: Single-Use Plastic Bags Are Now Banned, Here Are 5 Reusable Alternatives

Photo: Pexels, Baidu Image，NetEase News，China Youth Daily

Although Tizzy is a bit of showoff, it’s tough to fault this newly unveiled robotic arm for flexing. This charismatic space shuttle-esque robotic arm automatron will shake up your order of iced tea with more than a little flair, making him the key attraction at Cosmo Mixology, a newly opened sweet tea vendor at Sanlitun’s Nali Patio.

Patrons need only sidle up to the street-side booth, which has a deep pinkish hue and is also decorated with rows of dials and switches that look like they’ve been lifted from a ’60s sci-fi flick. Aside from the robotic arm, there is also a living breathing attendant tending a window to the left side of Tizzy, which is good news for anyone worried about the ruthlessness of the robot revolution (and a potential letdown for any antisocial customers yearning for the rise of the machines).

Providing the server your order, they’ll disappear into a room out of sight behind the booth. Then the fun starts: Tizzy springs to life, shaking your order of tea to and fro, before making more sustained shakes of the canister at his end joint (what would be his hand and wrist, I guess) until the whole mess becomes a blur. Tizzy’s top then lifts, out comes the mixture into a cup, and voila! Your tea is ready.

Is it a gimmick? Of course. But as far as gimmicks go, this one’s fun and memorable. What really puts Cosmo Mixology over, however, is the tea itself, which isn’t half bad. Their pomegranate signature tea (RMB 28 for both a hot or iced cup; I chose the latter) is actually among some of the best I’ve had at any of the countless sweet tea vendors that have popped up around Beijing in recent years. The fruit-flavored drinks, billed as “authentic Taiwan-style,” have a soft tartness and equally subtle aftertaste and can be souped up with a “yummy cream topping,” which we can only assume is in adherence to the overbearing cheese tea trend that has had Beijing’s beverage scene in a chokehold all year.

Still, the variety of teas on offer, along with the convenient location, make Cosmo a solid spot for anyone in need of a refreshment. Tizzy’s gyrating joints are certainly the initial attraction, but as it turns that it’s the tea that will keep you coming back.

Cosmo Mixology 
Daily 11am-11pm. Nali Patio (south side), 81 South Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区南三里屯路81号那里花园1楼南侧

Photos: Kyle Mullin, courtesy of Cosmo Mixology