Interactive Topic | Is Milk Tea Less Enjoyable Without Plastic Straws?
In recent years, with the strict enforcement of the national plastic ban, plastic straws have essentially disappeared from the market. Milk tea and coffee shops have responded by switching to paper straws for environmental reasons. However, consumer feedback shows that paper straws are often not very user-friendly, even causing “extreme discomfort” for milk tea lovers. As one netizen put it: “Paper straws are really eco-friendly—they degrade right in my mouth!”
Why do people dislike paper straws so much?
Because paper straws have become the nemesis of milk tea enthusiasts!
Currently, the biggest complaints about traditional paper straws are their poor usability. Netizens have summarized the “Five Sins” of paper straws:
- Cannot bite
- Have a strange taste
- Cannot pierce the cup lid
- Become soft after a short soak
- Cannot suck up “boba pearls”
For a true milk tea lover, using a paper straw is like a trial by fire. From the moment you receive your milk tea, you need the skills of a martial arts master just to pierce the lid—otherwise, the fragile paper straw fails immediately. Even when you finally manage to open the cup, the second challenge appears: the straw cannot be bitten! For straw-biters, this is utterly intolerable. Brave attempts often end with a mouthful of paper shreds and ultimate surrender.
The “soften when soaked” feature is the final straw that defeats milk tea lovers. Paper straws stick to boba and taro balls, preventing them from being sucked up, and rob consumers of the joy of drinking milk tea.
Currently, PLA straws can solve some of these issues, but they are not perfect. Moreover, the high cost of PLA straws deters many businesses from adopting them.
To address this, Gaoyi New Materials has launched a next-generation fully biodegradable paper straw. It retains the smooth experience of plastic straws while offering low-carbon, eco-friendly advantages—a perfect balance between consumer satisfaction and business practicality.
Gaoyi paper straws use an innovative single-layer production process, where only the straw joints are heat-bonded, with no glue used throughout. This achieves true food-grade safety and resolves the common complaints of milk tea enthusiasts. Professional testing shows that these straws are heat-resistant and soak-resistant, remaining intact and deform-free even after long immersion. Problems like unpleasant odors and lack of durability in traditional paper straws are completely solved.
Most importantly, the single-layer design reduces the amount of PLA used, significantly lowering procurement costs for milk tea and coffee chains.
Even though the plastic ban has ended the era of plastic straws, and traditional paper straws were heavily criticized by milk tea lovers, this doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy milk tea. Even without PLA straws, Gaoyi paper straws ensure that you can still fully enjoy every sip of your favorite drink!