Discussion Topic | Does Drinking Milk Tea Without a Plastic Straw Mean You Can’t Be Happy?

In recent years, with the government’s stricter enforcement of the plastic ban, plastic straws have essentially disappeared from the market. Major milk tea and coffee shops have responded to the environmental call by switching to paper straws. However, according to consumer feedback, using paper straws isn’t particularly user-friendly, sometimes even causing “extreme discomfort” for milk tea lovers. One netizen even joked: “Paper straws are really eco-friendly—they start decomposing right in my mouth.”

Why do people dislike paper straws so much?

It’s because paper straws have essentially become the nemesis of milk tea enthusiasts!

Currently, the biggest complaint about traditional paper straws is their poor user experience. Netizens have criticized them for “five sins”: they can’t be bitten, have a strange taste, can’t pierce the cup seal, soften after a short soak, and fail to suck up pearls. For milk tea lovers, drinking with a paper straw feels like a trial by ordeal.

From the moment you receive your milk tea, you must become a master of “speed and precision” to pierce the cup seal; otherwise, the flimsy straw can’t even puncture the lid. You’re immediately left wondering: Why doesn’t this work? Am I going to drink this milk tea at all?

Even if you finally manage to open the lid with great effort, the second challenge appears: the straw cannot be bitten! For straw-biters, this is intolerable. Some brave users tried anyway, only to end up with a mouthful of paper bits and surrender.

The fact that paper straws soften after soaking is perhaps the final straw for milk tea lovers. Paper straws become the enemy of pearls and taro balls; every pearl attempting to escape is trapped by the strong adhesion of the straw’s inner wall, ultimately robbing consumers of the joy of drinking milk tea.

Although conventional PLA straws can solve some of the problems of paper straws, they are not perfect, and their high cost makes many merchants hesitate to adopt them.

To address this, Gaoyi New Materials has launched a new generation of fully biodegradable paper straws. They retain the good experience of plastic straws while offering low-carbon, eco-friendly benefits—balancing the needs of both consumers and merchants.

Gaoyi’s straws are made using a new single-layer process, with heat-bonding only at the joint, and no glue is used throughout. This ensures true food-grade safety and solves the common complaints of milk tea lovers. Professional testing shows that these straws are heat- and soak-resistant, remaining intact and odor-free even after long periods in liquid. All previous issues with taste or structural weakness have been resolved.

Importantly, because the straws are single-layered, they use less PLA, significantly reducing procurement costs for milk tea and coffee chains.

Although the plastic ban has ended the era of plastic straws, and traditional paper straws were harshly criticized, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy milk tea happily. Even without PLA straws, Gaoyi’s paper straws ensure you can still savor your milk tea with joy!