Tea, beer, garlic: How world copes with lockdown

In the US it was toilet paper, in Mexico it's beer and in France, predictably, flour. The goods missing from stores reveal how the world is coping with coronavirus lockdowns.

The winner for most bizarre shortage of 2020 is Afghanistan, where a rumour about a mustachioed newborn advising the purchase of black tea sent people flocking to the shops.

"I will live for two hours and have come to tell you that black tea is the cure to this virus," reads the quote accompanying a picture of the baby, purportedly from the eastern province of Nangarhar, widely shared on Facebook.

The run on the ubiquitous black tea briefly tripled prices before the rush calmed. 

In Mexico, beer -- along with tequila -- is a drink of choice. 

When the country went into its lockdown, the two national beer giants Heineken and Grupo Modelo –- which makes the country's beloved and now unfortunately-named Corona brand –- announced they would stop producing. 

That prompted a wave of panic purchases and a defiant Twitter campaign: #ConLaCervezaNo, or "Don't mess with the beer."

Sri Lanka tried to keep its population from engaging in such vices: it has enforced a total ban on alcohol and cigarettes since its lockdown began on March 20, leading to an explosion in home brewing, an excise official said. 

The do-it-yourself distilling has caused a run on sugar, a key ingredient in producing the local moonshine known as kasippu. 

There had even been suspected "staged" robberies of liquor stores as shop owners tried to sell the precious commodity under the radar.

- Sound mind, sound body -

In Iraq, staying at home means long afternoons watching television or chatting with relatives -– and that requires salted sunflower seeds. 

Supermarkets are running out of the popular snack faster than ever as parents and students wile away hours they would have normally spent at work or school.

For Libyans in the war-ravaged capital Tripoli, homeschooling has been particularly tough.

"We've run out of printer paper, so I've fished out all of my husband's unused old office agendas for them to write down lessons and solve math exercises," said Nadia al-Abed, a stay-at-home mother with three young children whose school has been shuttered. 

"I've been begging them to write as small as they possibly can, bribing them with candy," she added.

Schools, airports and non-essential businesses around the world have been shut down for weeks as countries try to curb the novel coronavirus' lightning-fast spread.

Some are looking to protect themselves by naturally boosting their immunity.

The former Soviet countries of Central Asia have seen a boom in demand -- and in prices -- for wild rue.

The herb, also known as harmala, is traditionally burned in households to ward off illness and protect prosperity.

In Bulgaria, people scrambled to buy ginger and lemons as immunity strengtheners, while in Tunisia, citizens hunted down garlic –- despite World Health Organization warnings that these home remedies do nothing against the novel coronavirus.

- Pastries and plants -

Far and away the most popular coping mechanism, however, has been baking. 

Supermarkets across France, Spain, Greece and other parts of Europe have reported shortages in flour, chocolate and yeast as cooped-up citizens try their hand at elaborate cakes. 

France's entrepreneurial home bakers skip the overwhelmed grocery stores and buy the raw ingredients directly from their local bakeshop to use at home.

Romanians joke about "yeast dealers" making a fortune selling the now-rare leavening agent on the black market.

Fake real estate ads even offer to "swap a downtown flat for one pound of yeast".

And with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starting, households are stocking up on ingredients for the large sunset meals that will break their daily fasts.

That has made semolina, a golden wheat flour used for bread and pastries, a precious commodity in Algeria.

"The small quantities that are delivered to me, I reserve them for my regular customers," said a shop owner in El-Ashour, a district of Algiers.

In Argentina, it's eggs: 30 of them once cost just 160 pesos, or $2.35, but now run at 240 pesos or $3.52.

If many countries emerge from their lockdowns with a new class of professional chefs, Australia will see home gardens blooming all over the country.

"We've seen an increase in popularity across all plant types over the past month," said Alex Newman of the Bunnings Warehouse hardware store.

In a sign that Australians are bracing themselves for a longer lockdown, Bunnings' most popular online guide includes tips on the fastest-growing plants to create a screen from neighbors -- providing extra privacy for those staying at home.

Agence France-Presse

This new milk tea shop offers Thai drinks and more

MANILA – Julia Barretto may have called it quits with her “baba,” Joshua Garcia, but this new “Baa Baa” is here to stay.

Baa Baa Thai Tea is the latest to join the milk tea craze in the Philippines, attracting long lines in Panay Avenue, Quezon City for its refreshing Asian-style drinks. 

The owners wanted a space where people can be comfortable and have a good time. Baa Baa Thai Tea is named after a term of endearment “that implies closeness of relationship” – totally unrelated to JoshLia, but fans of the now separated love team can feel free to live out their fantasies here.

For the drinks, chef-founder Joe de Ramos took inspiration from the busy streets of Thailand, where milk tea is taken seriously. 

He takes pride in Baa Baa Thai Milk Tea (P70) – also known as Cha Yen – which is made with strongly brewed black tea that is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk.

The Original Milk Tea (P65) is a lighter option of Baa Baa’s signature item, ideal for those who prefer delicate flavors. 

“We’ve seen the resurgence of international chains, so I just knew it (milk tea craze) is not dwindling soon. While we don’t rely on the hype, I was inspired to bring this (Thai milk tea) to the country as this is a drink that’s typically enjoyed by people of all ages in Thailand,” De Ramos said. 

Other offerings at Baa Baa Thai Tea include the familiar lemon and green teas, brown sugar milk tea, and cheesecake milk tea, to name a few. 

Customers who are looking to get a buzz can try the Thai Iced Coffee (P65), which is a nice mix of strong and sweet. 

Perhaps the most unique item on the menu – and what most first-timers order – is the Sala Milk (P65). The drink gets its pink color from sala syrup, which approximates the taste of a palm fruit native to Thailand.

Filipinos who get to taste Sala Milk will easily be reminded of Iskrambol, that local street dessert composed of shaved ice, milk, syrup, and a variety of toppings. 

Baa Baa Thai Tea’s main branch is located beside St. Mary’s College at Panay Avenue in Quezon City. Other shops can be found in Sampaloc and Santa Mesa in Manila.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bubble tea brawl: Taiwan brands face mainland boycott over Hong Kong gesture

BEIJING - Internet users on the Chinese mainland have blacklisted popular bubble tea brands from Taiwan after a Hong Kong franchise urged solidarity with street protesters in the Asian financial hub.

The online furore began when Yifang Fruit Tea, a maker of the tea-based drink, closed one of its Hong Kong shops for a day and put up a sign that said in Chinese: "Stand together with Hong Kongers".

Photos of the sign circulated on mainland social media this week, angering users who accused the firm of backing Hong Kong independence. Calls for a boycott spread to other Taiwanese bubble tea brands like Gong Cha, HeyTea, CoCo and A Little Tea.

Yifang and the others were blacklisted by users of China's microblog Weibo. A white list promoted "good" brands.

"Rest assured, I won't spend another cent on you. Yifang is rubbish," a Weibo user named ProfiteroleK wrote in a comment that received more than 1,500 likes.

Hong Kong is facing its worst crisis since returning to China from British rule in 1997, as sometimes violent protests since June against a now-suspended extradition law have become a direct challenge to the city's government and Beijing.

Invented by Taiwan, a self-ruled island considered by Beijing as a renegade province, bubble tea is a flavored milk tea topped with chewy tapioca balls, also known as pearls.

On the mainland, Weibo posts containing the hashtag "Taiwanese bubble tea shops" were read 350 million times in recent days.

The run-in with Chinese social media users is another example of how companies can get caught in political issues.

In January, Apple and Amazon were called out by a mainland state think-tank for "incorrect" Taiwan and Hong Kong references.

The mainland franchisee of Yifang Fruit Tea said in social media posts the company fired the part-time staff who put up the notice and permanently closed the outlet.

However, Amigo Cheung, the brand manager of the Yifang franchise in Hong Kong, told Reuters by phone that nobody had been dismissed yet and no outlet had been shut.

HeyTea and Gong Cha, on their social media accounts, affirmed their support for "One Country, Two Systems" or "One China", in hopes of distancing themselves from the backlash.

CoCo and A Little Tea could not be reached for comment.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote in a Facebook post this week that "China's political power has invaded into various nonpolitical areas," citing tea as an example.

"For people living in a society with freedom and democracy, we need to stay on high alert for issues like this," Tsai wrote, along with a picture of a cup of ice fruit tea.

Jennie, a mainland student studying at a Hong Kong university, said she had sympathy for protesting students but also felt caught in the middle.

"Seeing the locals around disliking mainland people so much, I fear I'll be driven out (from Hong Kong) by them in the future," she told Reuters. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in TAIPEI; Editing by Ryan Woo and Darren Schuettler)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hot tea tied to higher cancer risk for smokers, drinkers

Drinking scalding hot tea is associated with an increased risk of esophageal tumors in people who also smoke and drink alcohol, two habits that already make many cancers more likely, a Chinese study suggests.

Among Chinese adults who drank at least one beer, cocktail or glass of wine daily, those who also consumed burning hot tea every day were 5 times more likely to develop esophageal cancer than people who drank tea at any temperature less than once a week, the study found.

For current smokers, drinking scalding hot tea every day was associated with roughly twice the risk of esophageal cancer as consuming tea less than weekly.

“Keeping away from both tobacco and excessive alcohol use is the most important means for esophageal cancer prevention,” said study coauthor Dr. Jun Lv of Peking University Health Science Center in China.

“Under this increased risk of esophageal cancer from smoking and drinking alcohol, if people like drinking very hot tea, the risk of developing cancer will be synergistically higher,” Lv said by email.

But by itself, drinking hot tea doesn’t increase cancer risk, Lv said.

China is among the countries with the highest incidence of esophageal cancer, researchers note in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Because tea drinkers in China, especially men, are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, previous studies haven’t offered a clear picture or whether burning hot tea might be an independent risk factor for esophageal tumors.

While some prior research has suggested tea may help protect against tumors in the digestive tract, other studies have shown repeated consumption of very hot food or drink might damage the esophagus and help tumors take hold, the researchers note.

For the current study, researchers examined data on 456,155 adults ages 30 to 79 who completed questionnaires about their smoking, alcohol and tea habits.

At the start of the study, none of the participants had cancer. Researchers followed half of the participants for at least 9 years. During the study, 1,731 people developed esophageal tumors.

People who drank scalding hot tea, consumed excessive amounts of alcohol and also smoked had more than five times the risk of esophageal cancer than individuals who didn’t do any of these things.

The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how the temperature of tea might impact the risk of esophageal tumors.

Another limitation is that study participants reported on their own smoking and drinking habits, and their reports could be unreliable. Researchers also only had data on tea consumption from one point in time, when people joined the study, making it impossible to know how changing habits might have impacted the cancer risk.

“People probably do not estimate their tea temperature perfectly, and this is one of the main limitations of the study,” said Neal Freedman, author of an accompanying editorial and a researcher with the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

“Drinking tea at a lower temperature should not be considered as a replacement for smoking cessation and limiting alcohol intake,” Freedman said by email. “Nevertheless, accumulating data suggest that drinking very hot tea may also increase the risk of esophageal cancer, and it may be prudent for people who drink very hot beverages to wait until it cools down a bit before drinking, whether or not they also smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol.”

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Heading to Boracay? Try Chatime's 3 exclusive drinks

BORACAY – Planning to go to Boracay this summer? You might want to try the drinks served exclusively at Chatime’s branch at the White Beach.

The well-known Taiwanese milk tea chain recently launched a branch in Boracay, just a few steps from the White Beach shoreline. The new store offers all of Chatime’s bestselling products as well as three drinks that are served only on the island.

Taking a cue from the popularity of fruit shakes in Boracay, Chatime offers drinks made with crushed ice, tea and fresh fruits in season to beat the summer heat.

The Watermelon Lychee Fruit Tea is the most refreshing of the bunch, which also includes the sweet Mango Green Tea and the thick and creamy Banana Mango Milk Shake.

“These items are only for this store,” Chatime Philippines’ Chris Cua said as he showed the new products to selected members of the media. “For now, it’s mango, banana and watermelon. We’ll try using other fruits soon.”

“Over there is a famous fruit shake bar, and this is our take on that,” he added. “It’s not really a smoothie because we use crushed ice. You can chew on it and you get that added texture.”

Aside from the fruit shakes, Chatime has also introduced milk tea smoothies, which are only available in Philippine branches. Variants include Banana Milk Tea Smoothie, Strawberry Milk Tea Smoothie and Honey Oolong Tea Smoothie.

“The base is milk tea and it is made into a smoothie,” Cua said. “These are some of our bestselling milk teas.”

Soon to be available in the country is the global Chatime product Tea Air, which mixes tea with carbonated water.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Meet British entrepreneur giving 'matcha' a new twist

LONDON -- "Matcha," a powdered form of green tea, is one of Japan's most traditional ingredients and the centerpiece of the Japanese tea ceremony.

In Britain, a start-up business has devised a novel way to use the powder, which has recently become a popular flavoring for cakes, chocolate and green tea lattes.

James Shillcock, a young British entrepreneur, has created an energy drink using matcha, which he believes is a healthy alternative to caffeinated beverages such as coffee and conventional energy drinks.

Branded "Vivid Drinks," the product combines matcha powder with traditional British flavors such as pear, rhubarb and elderflower. The new item went on sale in 2013 and has now made its way to the shelves of numerous department stores and health food outlets around the country.

Shillcock had the idea while working at a specialist tea shop catering to office workers in London's financial district. Having received some matcha powder from a supplier, he tried it, felt a "healthy boost" and then started creating his own matcha drinks at home.

"I used to blend matcha up at home with fresh lime, ginger and honey, put it in a blender and then strain it," Shillcock said. "It was an unbelievably refreshing drink. I got all my family drinking it and they thought this is a great product."

After nine months of testing, finding a place to produce the drink and raising funds, Vivid's matcha drink finally hit the shelves. Since then, the product has been mentioned in national newspapers and has even been presented as an example of Britain's push to encourage young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses.

The drink sells for 1.85 pounds (about 310 yen) for a 330 milliliter carton and is now stocked in over 200 independent sites around Britain as well as a major supermarket chain.

Although matcha is still relatively unknown in Britain, Shillcock feels that knowledge of the health benefits of green tea have helped to spread the word.

"I think it is getting very widely accepted that green tea is good for you. This is something we're lucky to have on our side," Shillcock said.

"This is not some fad that's going to be here today, gone tomorrow. Green tea has been around for centuries and it has been in the press for years now for its health benefits and its antioxidant levels," the entrepreneur added.

"Our job is to get the message across about matcha. We've been saying matcha is the world's most powerful green tea," he said.

Shillcock has big ambitions for his matcha-based drink and hopes to expand outside Britain in the future, with Germany earmarked as a possible source of further growth.

"I know that this will be popular internationally," he said. "Germany has a really vibrant matcha market. As you can get coffee, you can get matcha there. That's a really buzzing market that we want to look at next."

As for taking the drink to matcha's home in Japan, Shillcock is a little more cautious. The entrepreneur will visit Japan later this year to meet his matcha suppliers for the first time, but he said he wants to "test the water" before potentially selling the item in Japan.

"I would love to (sell in Japan) but I don't know what the response to it will be," he said. "Whether there will be a reluctance to it because it's not how it's supposed to be drunk or whether people will really accept it and go 'this is a really innovative way of drinking it or presenting it.'"

For now, Shillcock is determined to increase matcha's profile in Britain, a process that he believes is key to the product's continued success.

"We want to really own matcha in Britain and really be the brand that brings it to the mass population," Shillcock said. "Ultimately we want everyone in the country to know what matcha is. I really believe in matcha so I want to make sure that we spread the word."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

2 Filipinos bring bubble tea craze to London

LONDON - Two Filipinos have recently launched a bubble tea shop in London.

Brew Box, which opened for business on June 1, is located in the trendy area of Angel, Islington.

Childhood friends Eric Payumo, 29, and Albert Yanit, 23, co-own the shop, which started as an idea just six months ago.

The British-born pair wanted to take advantage of the bubble tea boom in London by spreading the far-eastern favorite to a part of the capital, which until now did not have a bubble tea shop.

Brew Box serves milk and fruit-based beverages like taro (ube), apple, mango, banana, vanilla and chocolate, as well as several types of tapioca pearls and homemade cakes.

On opening day, Brew Box offered its first 50 customers a free drink each. A queue from the counter to the pavement formed promptly.

Tols Malomo, a lifestyle blogger, had honeydew melon flavor for her first-ever bubble tea experience.

"I really like it. It's addictive. I think it's definitely something that could really take off. If you see this area it's quite, is upper class the word, or bourgeois? I think they really like trying something new.

"There's coffee shops a dime a dozen anywhere, but bubble tea, not really. So, I think it's going to really interest a lot of people. The product is good as well and I think people will keep coming back, and the hospitality is great," Malomo said.

Pinoy teenager Anthony Aragones brought two of his friends along.

Ricky Hazam commented: "It's really different in a good way. I haven't tried anything like it, it's really nice."

Tommy Duffy added: "It's different from most drinks. There are bubbles in it and it tastes like normal tea."

Aragones was particularly happy he won't have to travel into Chinatown anymore just to get his fix.

"I think it's really good. It's closer than central London, it's more convenient," he said.

Natasha Molle introduced her Swedish mother, Annika, to taro flavor.

"I like the taste, and the beads. I've never had anything like this. I had no idea what it was all about, but it's really nice, really tasty," Annika said.

Her daughter on the other hand was sampling a flavor she hadn't tried before - coconut.

"I've been to another place but they didn't have this flavor so I thought it was something new and interesting. It's really good," Natasha said.

The promotion lasted an hour and 30 minutes.

Yanit and Payumo were overwhelmed by the response they received from their family, friends and complete strangers.

"We thought we were ready. The outcome was just ridiculous," Payumo said.

"It's more than we actually expected and it's just a good thing really," he added.

"I can't explain how crazy it has been," Yanit explained.

"I'm just really happy that most of the people we've seen aren't actually our friends. I guess it shows the awareness of our shop."

The duo has high hopes for their business, which they believe is situated in a prime location and has the makings of something special.

"When people hear Brew Box I want them to see family. I want them to see closeness, sharing," Yanit said.

"We started this company with family and we want people to see that everything has been handmade from the tables, to the counter, wall, painting, everything. Family, it's all about sharing," he added.

Payumo said: "What we want to do is introduce it to a new crowd. We want a new following. Basically we want to be known as the Starbucks of bubble tea. Hopefully we can achieve it."

Brew Box currently sells around 15 flavors and its owners reveal they will be looking to add to their menu. In the pipeline are Filipino favorites like cheese (queso) and corn (mais).

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com