Does Instant Coffee Have Carcinogens as Prices Climb?

Rising beverage costs have pushed price questions to the front. Xiangpiaopiao said on January 4 that it would raise prices on solid instant milk tea by 2 to 8 percent, and Chayan Yuese lifted most milk tea items by 1 to 2 yuan from January 7. The moves followed coffee futures doubling within a year and climbing shipping and raw material costs.

The wider concern is whether cheaper everyday drinks carry health risks, which is why many search whether instant coffee is carcinogenic. The price increases stem from cost pressure across raw materials, labor, transportation, and energy rather than any change in the products. Consumers already squeezed in 2021 now watch whether milk tea affordability follows coffee in 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted for over two years, and rising prices have spread to the beverage industry. Xiangpiaopiao announced on the evening of January 4 that it would raise prices for solid instant milk tea by 2%-8%, and Chayan Yuese also increased most of its milk tea products by 1 to 2 yuan starting from January 7. This article sorts out the price increase details of the two brands, netizens' reactions, and the deeper reasons such as coffee futures doubling, shipping prices climbing, and raw material shortages. When coffee freedom was lost in 2021, will milk tea freedom also face a threat in 2022? What happiness is left for office workers? The article also mentions relevant product information from Front Street Coffee for readers' reference.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of daily eating, drinking, and entertainment has visibly risen. It feels as if it were still 2019 yesterday, but in the blink of an eye it is already 2022. In these more than two years, though still young, we have successively witnessed strange and extraordinary events that Buffett encountered only over most of his lifetime, and have forced ourselves to live as leeks even more miserable than the stock god.

Every day when we wake up, the world refreshes our understanding. Coffee futures prices directly doubled within a year. As end consumers of coffee, this miraculous pick-me-up elixir, we can only silently swallow the bitter fruit of price increases. But there is still cheap, refreshing, and joyful milk tea to choose from; milk tea remains a favorite. Yet in the end, we find that this love was misplaced after all. Income does not move at all, while expenses run ahead.

Xiangpiaopiao, the "first stock of milk tea," announced on the evening of January 4 that in view of the continuous rise in costs of major raw materials, labor, transportation, energy, and others, the company decided to adjust the prices of solid instant milk tea products (including the classic series and the good ingredients series), with the price increase of main products ranging from 2% to 8%.

Once the announcement came out, Xiangpiaopiao's stock price rose accordingly the next day, opening high and moving higher, and by the midday break it had already risen by more than 2%.

Netizens had different views on this move by Xiangpiaopiao. Some said it did not matter whether the price rose or not, since they would not drink it anyway; some joked about whether this would prevent Xiangpiaopiao from circling the Earth a few fewer times.

Some netizens directly voiced everyone's feelings: prices are rising, but wages alone are not. They would even feel distressed for a long time over a few cents increase in the price of a one-yuan packet of milk tea powder.

More netizens simply chose to say goodbye to milk tea.

If you think only Xiangpiaopiao is raising prices, then you are greatly mistaken. Just as office workers had finally managed to finish a meal, Chayan Yuese delivered the first "surprise" of 2022. According to an announcement on Chayan Yuese's WeChat public account: starting from January 7, 2022, most of the brand's milk tea products would increase by 1 to 2 yuan.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of shipping containers has been in short supply. When something is rare, it is valuable, so shipping prices naturally rise along with it. Different countries have different epidemic prevention measures, and cargo ships still have to queue for loading and unloading after arriving at ports, causing cargo ships and containers to remain stranded at some ports for even longer.

Raw material shortages have further pushed up prices, and in the end it is still us, the end consumers, who pay for all of this. Since the pandemic, inflation has been severe, prices have risen again and again, and the surplus food in our hands can hardly keep up with the speed of price increases. In the end, we can only give up the coffee freedom and milk tea freedom we once prided ourselves on.

Coffee freedom was taken away in 2021. Will milk tea freedom possibly be taken away in 2022? Opening a wallet as thin as a sheet of paper and taking a look, one cannot help but think about this question: what happiness is left for office workers?

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.