Justine Bobadilla and Lois Kho November 27, 2019

G12- Zion ABM Mr. Falcon

Introduction
The milk tea craze has been exponentially rising in the Philippines recently. It is
now a common sight to see people casually walking around with their milk tea cups
filled with tapioca pearls on their hand. Filipinos do not just love milk tea, they are
obsessed with it. Moreover, it has overshadowed the traditional thirst quenchers in the
market such as sago’t gulaman and taho which are both milky and creamy having either
sago or pearls.

Different milk tea shops have a variety of flavors, but its main ingredients are the
following: freshly brewed tea, milk, sugar, and toppings such as tapioca pearls. The
types of tea used in this drink are usually black tea, green tea, and oolong tea. Aside
from fresh milk, soy milk is also used in some stores as a substitute ingredient. In
addition, some stores allow the sugar level of the drink to be customized depending on
customer's preference. And finally, a wider range of toppings aside from tapioca pearls
are available and some of these are aloe vera, coffee jelly, egg pudding, grass jelly, and
many more. Popular flavors to choose from are wintermelon, okinawa, taro, thai, and
the classic milk tea.

The number of milk tea shops has vastly grown in the country. Business owners
do not only compete with their distinct drink selection but also the ambiance and of their
milk tea shops. A delightful milk tea and its aesthetically pleasing interior design will
surely bring more customers in. Also, coming up with creative names of their milk tea
shop is also an edge for it to be easily remembered by the public. Now, milk tea shops
also become more accessible to consumers through delivery services such as
Foodpanda and Grabfood.
 Most millennials and gen-zers are fond of the sweet treat and its indestructible
pearls, all for a budget of around 100 pesos depending on how fancy the drink is. That
is exactly what makes milk tea so appealing.

Data
Filipinos rank as the second highest milk tea drinkers in Southeast Asia. Their
favorite flavors include cheese, milk tea with pearl, and wintermelon. It looks like the
milk tea craze isn’t going anywhere soon because according to GrabFood data, milk tea
orders in Southeast Asia had a 3,000 percent growth rate in 2018. While in the
Philippines, orders increased by 3,500 percent from June to December 2018. Moreover,
studies of GrabFood shows that an average milk tea consumption of every Filipino per
month is 5 cups. In addition, from the data from GrabFood alone, milk tea drinkers are
also more likely to order during lunch time on any day of the week. This confirms that
it’s the perfect complement to a midday meal. If social media is anything to go by, it’s
easy to understand why people love their milk tea. With the number of milk tea drinkers
on GrabFood surpassing a growth rate of 12,000 percent in 2018, it’s clear that this
drink craze has only begun.

How the Obsession Started

It’s 2019, 11 years after the well known milk tea touched base in the country, and
love for milk tea is unbeaten. The number of milk tea fans keep growing as milk tea
shops keep popping up with their large-scale menus that ensure that anyone can find
their perfect drink. These days, it’s not surprising to see someone you realize drinking
milk tea at least once a week. Before the milk tea craze, Filipinos desired for tea
substitutes such as Nestea Iced Tea, Lipton Iced Tea, and C2.

The start of the milk tea trend was from brands such as Serenitea and Happy
Lemon who were the first to open their stores in the Philippines. Serenitea opened its
first branch in San Juan, Manila in 2008. In 2010, Happy Lemon arrived from Taiwan.
People went insane for the brand’s cream cheddar and started the store started to have
long queues. After this, everybody started to have their preferences.

With milk tea competition running high, milk tea stores from the "mothership of
milk tea", Taiwan entered the country’s market. In 2011, Gong Cha and Chatime
opened their first branch. By 2013, the milk tea pattern reached its peak. Everybody
was drinking milk tea and a vast majority of shops were commonly recognized like Gong
Cha, Dakasi, and Chatime.

Mob mentality in action

There are a lot of "mob mentality in action". When one person asks another what
the line is for and the other person replies with asking to try it out. They then proceed to
queue at the newly-opened milk tea store along with other people craving for the same
drink. It’s a chain reaction as groups of friends sees other groups of friends lining up at
a stall, so they line up too. Eventually, more and more people join them to line up. It’s a
matter of hype, there’s a craze and many would jump on the bandwagon. Filipinos are
just all too ready and willing to do anything for the hype. Especially because of social
media, they are always in search of something new and trendy, as advertised by their
favorite social media influencers and celebrities.

Spending money and Health facts about drinking milk tea

There’s no harm in treating yourself to milk tea sometimes. After all, people
deserve it after a stressful week. However, too much of milk tea is bad, both for the
budget and health. Drinking milk tea daily will cost a person at least 2,000 to 3,000 plus
pesos per month. Imagine spending more than 20,000 pesos in a year for milk tea. Still,
milk tea was marked as a more beneficial substitute for espresso. In 2016, an
examination was held to look at exactly how much sugar milk tea consumers were
getting. They were getting a lot that Asian Americans, including Filipinos were inclined
to have diabetes. Consider also the health effects of excessive milk tea consumption.
While drinking tea in itself is healthy, its benefits are easily wiped out by milk, sugar, and
other high-calorie ingredients with no nutritional value.

There a lot of milk teas that consist of diluted milk, high sugar, and just a small
amount of tea which is sometimes powdered. Many people believe that milk tea is a
“healthy” alternative to juice drinks and frappuccinos, but consuming an excessive
amount of sugar is never beneficial to one's health. This is why moderation is the key.
Dietitians recommend to limit to just one serving of milk tea per week, or avoiding it if a
person has health issues like diabetes, insomnia, or acid reflux.

Conclusion
As this craze continues to intensify, environmental initiatives must become
essential to all the consumers with current projections suggesting that this trend is going
to stay for a while. With this, many coffee shops and food outlets continue to join the
trend by coming up with their own versions of the milk tea drink. If drinking milk tea
brings joy, go for it. Just remember to be mindful of how much and how often one
consumes milk tea for their benefit.
Sources:
https://www.wheretogo.com.ph/index.php/trivia/milk-tea-craze-how-obsession-start
http://fnbreport.ph/news/filipinos-rank-second-highest-bubble-tea-drinkers-in-southeast-
asia-anrii-20190502/
https://www.yummy.ph/news-trends/milk-tea-trend-history-philippines-a00261-20190307
-lfrm2
https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2019/05/30/joining-the-milk-tea-craze/
http://mindanaotimes.com.ph/2019/04/10/the-milk-tea-craze/
http://pageone.ph/why-is-milk-tea-such-a-craze-in-the-philippines/
https://www.moneymax.ph/lifestyle/articles/best-milk-tea-philippines/