Hidden rules of the industry: a cup of milk tea is ice cubes.

A full cup of milk tea is actually 2/3 ice. Photo taken by reporter Zhang Pei

Iced Milk Tea, who was bought for 8 yuan, looked like a full cup, but he finished it with only a few mouthfuls, and the rest was full of ice cubes. Netizens "ghosts" encountered such "tricks" when they bought milk tea in a milk tea chain store in the city. Xiao Bao netizens reported that when buying ice drinks in summer, the "hidden rule" of half a cup of ice in a drink is often encountered.

Chief reporter Qian Yan

One cup of milk tea, two strokes, three ice cubes.

On a hot summer day, a cold drink is the first choice for many people to quench their thirst. However, many citizens found that floating ice accounted for more than half of the drinks they bought. Equivalent to the price of a drink, only half a drink.

At noon the day before yesterday, netizens "Ghost" and friends bought two cups of Iced Milk Tea at a milk tea chain store near Sports Road. The two thirsty people bit into straws for a while and drank them up in a few bites. The milk tea is finished, but the cup is still heavy. As soon as I see it, the ice cubes left in the cup account for 2/3 of the space. "after a few sips of a drink, it's gone, and the rest is all ice cubes, which is ridiculous!"

Netizen Ziyunshanxia also laughed that when ordering food at a foreign fast food restaurant, the staff watched the food match staff shovel a shovel full of ice cubes into the drink cup of medium Coke, and then pour in a small amount of Coke to complete the operation. A good drink becomes tasteless a little later because it has too much ice. "shall I have a drink or ice water?"

Adding more ice can save costs.

It has long been an accepted fact that there is too much ice in summer drinks, especially in well-known foreign fast food restaurants, where almost all customers are iced.

At noon yesterday, the reporter walked into a well-known foreign fast food restaurant on the city center road and ordered a set meal, including a medium coke. Without asking "if you need ice", the ordering man brought out a Coke with half a glass of ice. The reporter specially observed for 10 minutes, almost all the drinks sold here were filled with ice without notice, and only individual customers asked in advance to "no ice", the ordering clerk shouted "a glass of coke without ice".

The same is true in booming milk tea shops, whether it is carbonated drinks, coffee or milk tea, all with ice by default. If the customer doesn't make a request, the store thinks you need it. Unless the customer asks for a hot drink or less ice, the clerk will add less ice.

With ice, does it mean that the amount of drink is less? Mr. Li, who once worked as a summer job in a cold drink shop, told reporters that adding a lot of ice to the drinks is a very common practice in the industry, and the purpose is to save costs.

Mr. Li said that according to the current wholesale price of 1 yuan per kilogram of edible ice cubes and 5 yuan per liter of cola, if a 500ml Coke is mixed with three ice cubes, the cost of each cup can be saved by about 30 cents. With 1000 cups sold a day, you can save 300 yuan.

"in summer, some customers put special emphasis on adding more ice to their drinks to increase the taste. However, this is definitely a good thing for businesses. " Mr. Li said frankly.

Shout "less ice" when ordering.

"A glass of drink is not given enough, but it is filled with 2GUBG and 3% ice. What's the difference between this and water in the wine?" "Ghost" believes that stores have an obligation to ask consumers how much ice they want, otherwise it is tantamount to a shortage.

Zhu Guoxing, a lawyer from Zhejiang Zhenshang Law firm, believes that in the milk tea bought by netizens "ghosts", the content exceeds the main thing, so it is entirely possible to ask the shop owner to show a list of ingredients of milk tea. According to the Consumer Protection Law, consumers have the right to know and the right to choose, and the store adds a large amount of ice to the drinks without the consumers' consent, which does not respect the consumers' right to choose.

As for what kind of standards should be followed for ice drinks made on the spot, there is no regulation at present, nor is it forbidden to add ice to the drinks, which belongs to the legal blank area.

"very helpless." Xiao Bao netizen "Sasha Mille" laughed that the problem of beverage ice has become the "hidden rule" of the industry, and later can only yell: "less ice!"

China Coffee Trading Network: www.gafei.com