Bubble tea buzz

Bubble tea, a beloved beverage among many young people in China, has recently become the center of attention due to the emerging issue of "bubble tea-induced insomnia".

This concern has ignited extensive discussions on the Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu, amassing over 6.46 million views on this topic.

Bubble tea, like all teas, inherently contains caffeine. As a result, some social media users have created personalized rankings evaluating the potential of different bubble teas to cause insomnia, featuring mainly popular brands available on the Chinese market.

These rankings involve subjective evaluations, taking into account factors like the frequency and duration of sleep disturbances. For example, some bubble teas are considered more likely to cause insomnia, while others might keep you awake longer if consumed in the afternoon.

On Aug 15, Heytea, a popular Chinese bubble tea brand, took a proactive step by publicly disclosing the caffeine levels of its drinks both online and in-store, with this information also displayed on cup labels. The beverages are categorized into four levels based on caffeine content: no caffeine, green light, yellow light, and red light.

Zhong Kai, the director of the China Food Information Center, told Yangtze Evening Paper that there are currently no compulsory regulations in China requiring caffeine labeling on ready-to-drink beverages. "When companies voluntarily provide this information, they not only increase consumer awareness but also help individuals make more informed choices," he said.

Seagull insurance

Imagine a serene beach scene: you're about to take a perfect photo of the trendy cafe sandwich you just bought when a cheeky seagull swoops down and snatches it away.

This type of incident is not unusual at one sandwich shop in Scotland, UK.

"The gulls are super aggressive and terrifying. We are a family-run business, and I can't just sit and watch a sandwich get stolen and not replace it, so I always give another for free," said Kate Carter-Larg, 35, co-owner of the shop, in an interview with The Mirror.

According to Carter-Larg, they have tried several tactics to ward off the seagulls, such as playing recordings of raptor calls and flying a raptor kite. Unfortunately, none of these methods have successfully driven the seagulls away.

This shop faces a daily loss of hundreds of pounds as they provide free replacement sandwiches to too many customers whose food is stolen by seagulls. In response, they are considering introducing a new charge — seagull insurance — to tackle this ongoing problem.

Customers now have the option to purchase insurance for an extra ￡1 ($1.29) on top of the standard￡6.75 sandwich. With this insurance, if a seagull grabs their food, they can receive a free replacement, which helps the shop reduce its losses.

"We are not just a faceless business, and we want people to remember the nice gestures we make," Carter-Larg told The Mirror.

So next time you head to the beach, be sure to protect your food!