The dilemma of milk tea: pearl shortageand plastic baggage

The dilemma of milk tea: "pearl shortage" and plastic "baggage"
Last April, due to the blockage of the Suez Canal, the United States encountered a "Pearl Crisis", and locals exclaimed that "there are no pearls in pearl milk tea.". According to foreign media reports, a beverage store in San Francisco posted a notice emphasizing that "pearls are currently in short supply, and only one pearl can be added to each drink.". Qian Haifen said, "During the epidemic, many friends who opened stores in France cannot buy pearls or cups, which can be said to be 'hard to find'."
In recent years, plastic restriction and reduction have received increasing international attention. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China issued the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control" in early 2020, which was praised by the industry as the "strictest plastic restriction order in history". In the United States, some milk tea shops have started selling stainless steel straws. In Taiwan, China, the Taipei Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau announced on August 6, 2022 that the use of disposable plastic drink cups will be restricted from December 1 this year. A milk tea shop owner said that there are many beverages on the market that pursue high aesthetic value, such as layered drinks, and they will need to find alternative solutions in the future.