Coffee culture

"Paper Scraps" and "Twigs" Found in Chabaidao Milk Tea?? Shop Explains Those Are Sweet Potato Roots from Taro Ingredients!

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Chabaidao has been quite "busy" these days... First, a netizen claimed to find nail clippers in their drink, then employees at a chain store fought with a delivery driver, followed by another netizen exposing "paper scraps" and "twigs" in their taro milk tea. Just four days into the new year, Chabaidao has already appeared twice on short video platforms

ChaBaiDao has been quite busy these past few days... First, netizens reported finding a nail clipper in their drinks, then employees at a franchise store fought with a delivery driver, followed by another netizen discovering "paper scraps" and "tree branches" in their taro milk tea. Just four days into the new year, ChaBaiDao has already made the short video platform's trending list twice—quite an achievement...

Incident Details

On January 2nd, a netizen reported ordering two cups of taro milk tea through a delivery platform. While drinking, they noticed a gritty texture in the tea, so they examined the impurities they found. Some appeared as paper-like fibrous substances, while others resembled small tree branches. After discovering this, the customer photographed the findings and reported them to the store.

Photo showing impurities found in the taro milk tea

From the photos provided by the netizen, we can see the impurities in the milk tea included soaked white fibrous materials and some black, thin, strip-like objects.

Store Response and Explanation

After receiving the feedback, the store immediately processed a refund. The store claimed that the impurities resembling small tree branches were actually sweet potato roots. The taro paste used in the milk tea doesn't consist solely of taro—it also includes sweet potatoes to enhance the texture and sweetness of the paste itself.

Image showing sweet potato roots found in the taro milk tea

The taro paste and taro balls used in the store are wholesale semi-finished products, so the appearance of sweet potato roots is largely due to issues at the processing plant. After the customer reported the problem, the store contacted their superiors, who then reached out to the processing plant. The store stated that the processing plant had already resolved the issue, that this was a normal occurrence, and that it complied with food safety regulations.

Unresolved Questions

However, the store's explanation only addressed the black, thin, strip-like objects as sweet potato roots, without explaining the white fibrous substances. These could be large plant fibers that fell during the processing plant's manufacturing process, or they might be paper scraps that accidentally fell during the drink preparation at the beverage shop. Since the customer didn't experience any discomfort after consumption, they decided not to pursue the matter further with the milk tea shop.

Close-up of the white fibrous substances found in the beverage

Customer's Intentions

As for why this was exposed? The netizen likely wanted to express that while there were foreign objects in the milk tea, it wasn't necessarily entirely the milk tea shop's fault—it could be an issue with ingredient processing. They hope that while milk tea shops maintain proper internal hygiene and supervise drink preparation, they also implement random inspections and record-keeping for wholesale ingredients, providing greater safety assurance for both consumers and themselves.

Image source: Internet

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