Why Is Cold Boiled Water a Trend in Coffee Shops?
Filtered water, nicknamed cold boiled water by young consumers, has become a trend in beverage stores across China. Shops fill a PE cup with ice, pour in cooled water that was boiled and filtered to remove suspended solids, then seal it. The drink is cheap, and it doubles as a photo prop that floods social media.
The trend sits alongside a few-yuan oil-cutting water that is equally sought after. Once the high-end water market was led by brands like Ganten, Perrier and Evian, but store-made filtered water now draws younger buyers. The appeal lies less in flavor than in nostalgia, price and the ordering ritual itself.
In recent years, the once unremarkable filtered water has unexpectedly become a trend in the beverage scene, nicknamed "cold boiled water" by young people. From coffee shops to bubble tea stores, a cup of iced filtered water is not only cheap but has also become a photo prop on social media. At the same time, the few-yuan "oil-cutting water" is equally sought after. Why does this seemingly bland drink make consumers willing to pay? This article analyzes the logic behind the white boiled water craze from ordering methods, store operations, and consumer psychology, while retaining relevant recommendations from Front Street Coffee.
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Once, the high-end drinking water market was dominated by brands like Ganten, Perrier, and Evian, but now, filtered water in various beverage stores has quietly become a new favorite among young consumers. To add a touch of uniqueness and nostalgia, everyone coincidentally gave it a down-to-earth name—"cold boiled water."
The so-called cold boiled water is water obtained by boiling and then naturally cooling it, which is what we commonly call plain boiled water. Many people have heard elders at home say that drinking cold boiled water regularly can prevent colds and relieve pharyngitis (perhaps the intention was just to encourage us to drink more water, as drinking more water is always beneficial). So, when some customers walk into a coffee shop or bubble tea store, the elders' advice suddenly comes to mind, and they decisively say to the staff: Hello, please give me a cup of cold boiled water!
The staff also understands and quickly starts making this trendy drink: take a PE cup, fill it with ice cubes, pour in cold boiled water that has been filtered through a medium to remove suspended solids, and then send it through a sealing machine—a cup of cold boiled water is ready. The moment the customer takes the cup, it feels like holding the Moonlight Box; they insert a straw, snap photos continuously in the sunlight or under lights, adjust the exposure higher, and cups of cold boiled water as bright as the moon flood social media.
It neither has the throat-soothing feeling of glacier water, nor the refreshing taste of mineral water, the sweetness of mountain spring water, or the purity of purified water. However, the cold boiled water in bubble tea stores is made by every hand-shaken drink "artisan"; compared to nature's gift, this cup of water conveys craftsmanship, fashion, and simplicity. Initially, the process of ordering cold boiled water was quite troublesome. From netizens' shares: "You need to first order the cheapest tea, then ask the staff to replace it with iced cold boiled water—tasty, thirst-quenching, cheap, and large; rounding off, it's almost free."
Later, major brands also reached a tacit understanding, charging a symbolic 1 yuan (the packaging and straw alone cost more than that), not for anything else but to pamper customers. After all, buying a bottle of purified water outside also costs 2 yuan; the 1-yuan iced cold boiled water, with the backdrop, angles, and contrast, has transformed into a high-end fashion item. Besides cold boiled water, the few-yuan oil-cutting water is also highly sought after by the younger generation! As long as there's no milk, no milk cap, no non-dairy creamer, a simple tea base with toppings, and three-tenths sugar, there's no healthier drink than oil-cutting water!
Why does such filtered water become fashionable? Perhaps because low prices can also enjoy craftsmanship. A cup of filtered water opened by the hands of a hand-shaken drink "artisan," flowing through metal pipes into a bubble tea cup filled with ice cubes, then sealed, wiped dry, and handed out—this is an experience you can't get by doing it yourself or buying bottled water. Mist gradually emerges from the cup, and the cold boiled water before you presents a simple, high-end feel. Set the angle, press the shutter, and it's another photo that tells a story. Although it has no taste, smelling the sweetness wafting from the bubble tea store, the bland cold boiled water can be drunk as if it were bubble tea. Does it matter if it tastes good or not? As long as the photos look good, that's enough.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
