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Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

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41–50 of 108 posts

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#41

I’m a big fan of bubble tea and I have noticed that across many bubble tea shops in the western US, while a fairly large 16oz serving has been standardized, there’s little standardization on sugar content. A lot of places ask if I want it half or 25% as sweet, but that’s not a great indication of sugar level or flavor unless I’ve already had tea from that place before. Given that I think most folks can expect a cup o…

There's little to no standardization in East Asia either...

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#42
post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

Interesting to see sport on the list, I never thought about it this way. If anyone else is interested: https://aeon.co/ideas/how-people-with-sports-addiction-are-l...

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#43
post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

I get powerlessness and stress, but how does isolation come into it?

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#44
post #43
post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

I get powerlessness and stress, but how does isolation come into it?

maybe lack of calibration?

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#45
post #43
post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

I get powerlessness and stress, but how does isolation come into it?

For many people, isolation is a stressor.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#46
post #43
post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

I get powerlessness and stress, but how does isolation come into it?

The Rat Park experiments showed us that well-socialized rats were less likely to develop addiction to cocaine than socially deprived rats.

"Researchers had already proved that when rats were placed in a cage, all alone, with no other community of rats, and offered two water bottles-one filled with water and the other with heroin or cocaine-the rats would repetitively drink from the drug-laced bottles until they all overdosed and died. Like pigeons pressing a pleasure lever, they were relentless, until their bodies and brains were overcome, and they died.

But Alexander wondered: is this about the drug or might it be related to the setting they were in? To test his hypothesis, he put rats in “rat parks,” where they were among others and free to roam and play, to socialize and to have sex. And they were given the same access to the same two types of drug laced bottles. When inhabiting a “rat park,” they remarkably preferred the plain water. Even when they did imbibe from the drug-filled bottle, they did so intermittently, not obsessively, and never overdosed. A social community beat the power of drugs."

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-tea...

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#47
post #43
post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

I get powerlessness and stress, but how does isolation come into it?

My guess (haven't read the book): humans are social creatures, and too much company with just our own thoughts is not healthy in the long run. It might not cause addiction by itself, but it's definitely a disrupting factor for mental health. Interaction with other humans can help to interrupt unhealthy thought loops and help people to reflect on their state of mind.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#48

Bubble tea is bizarre. I only recently stumbled upon it on a trip to Bankgkok after a local said "let's get something to drink". I fell in love with it immediately. It's something that has not yet fully permeated Northern Europe, and Helsinki (where I live) has (or had..) one or two places to get it from (pre-pandemic).

You should come to Melbourne CBD in Australia. I can only assume they are being used as fronts to launder money or as a business investment to secure residency as there seems to be no possible way even a city of Melbourne's size could consume this much bubble tea. It's almost at the point where there are bubble tea sellers directly next to each other in the street. And I'm talking dozens, if not hundreds, of them.

I can’t say for sure that they’re all not fronts. However, I know someone who owns one in the CBD and it is definitely legitimate - not to mention makes money hand over fist.

There are tens of thousands of mainland Chinese living in the CBD, and it’s basically a daily staple for a huge chunk of them.

Some of these places are charging $7-$8 for something that costs all of 20 cents to make. The margins are huge - the biggest difficulty is securing the right location with the right footfall.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#49

I’m a big fan of bubble tea and I have noticed that across many bubble tea shops in the western US, while a fairly large 16oz serving has been standardized, there’s little standardization on sugar content. A lot of places ask if I want it half or 25% as sweet, but that’s not a great indication of sugar level or flavor unless I’ve already had tea from that place before. Given that I think most folks can expect a cup o…

But then people will be more conscious of how much sugar they are adding. Percentage is some arbitrary and relative term. 50g of sugar will make people realize how much sugar is being added and might realize their drink isn't too great without copious amounts of sugar.

Yes. 50% sounds like a healthy amount (only half as much!), even if it's still way too much.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#50

Bubble tea is bizarre. I only recently stumbled upon it on a trip to Bankgkok after a local said "let's get something to drink". I fell in love with it immediately. It's something that has not yet fully permeated Northern Europe, and Helsinki (where I live) has (or had..) one or two places to get it from (pre-pandemic).

Surprisingly Berlin has quite a lot Boba place. At least a dozen
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