What does the Tianjin packaging row mean for coffee handling?

A Tianjin milk tea brand landed on Weibo's trending list after its sealing film printed a rare character that many local consumers read as indecent in Tianjin dialect. The packaging note calling the character mostly a dirty word deepened the backlash. On May 4 the merchant apologized and said all sealing films carrying the character were destroyed and will not be used again.

Some consumers said they would feel offended if a drink arrived with such a character on the lid. Coffee enthusiast outlets including Front Street Coffee flagged the episode as a caution for the wider beverage trade: dialect and cultural ambiguity can turn packaging design into a liability, so wording deserves checking before printing runs begin.

Recently, a milk tea brand in Tianjin made it onto Weibo's trending list because the sealing film on its drinks was printed with the obscure character "嬲 (niǎo)," sparking widespread discussion. Many netizens pointed out that in Tianjin dialect, this character carries an indecent or even insulting meaning, making some consumers uncomfortable. Although the brand's original intention may have been to educate people about obscure characters, the note on the packaging that it is "mostly used as a dirty word" further fueled the controversy. On May 4, the merchant publicly apologized and stated that all sealing films printed with this character had been uniformly destroyed and would no longer be used. As coffee enthusiasts, Front Street Coffee also took note of this incident, reminding the beverage industry to be more cautious in packaging design to avoid misunderstandings caused by cultural differences or dialect ambiguities.

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Recently, a milk tea shop in Tianjin caused quite a stir online because an obscure character "嬲 (niǎo)" was printed on its packaging. The related topic shot straight to the top of Weibo's trending list at noon today, attracting a large number of netizens to watch and discuss.

On May 3, a netizen posted on social media that she had bought a drink at a milk tea shop in Tianjin, only to find a large character prominently printed on the sealing film: "嬲." What made her even more uncomfortable was that the packaging also specifically noted that this character is "mostly used as a dirty word." After the post was published, it quickly escalated, and netizens rushed to ask: What exactly does "嬲" (niǎo) mean?

Regarding the meaning of the character "嬲," many local Tianjin netizens explained that in Tianjin dialect, this character is an indecent and uncivilized usage, and when it appears alone, it is similar to an insulting interjection. Some also mentioned that in dialects such as Hunan's, this character also has an indecent meaning, and admitted that if the milk tea they bought had such a character printed on it, they would also feel offended.

Looking at the incident itself, the milk tea brand involved may not have had malicious intentions. After searching for the brand, a reporter found that its sealing films indeed have various obscure characters printed on them. From the pictures posted by netizens, in addition to the controversial "嬲," common ones include "焱," "恏," "奀," "曌," "饕," and "夯," with explanations of the characters' meanings also attached to the packaging.

Baidu Baike shows that "嬲" is pronounced niǎo, and its original meaning is to tease. When used as a dialect character, it is often used as a dirty word. (One additional point: in Cantonese, "嬲" means angry, and in everyday use it has no derogatory connotation.)

On May 4, a media outlet asked a staff member of the milk tea brand about the controversial obscure character. The person responded that employees in the store had already noticed the situation and had reported it to superiors. "This character is random; some sealing film rolls have it, and some don't." The employee also revealed that this "嬲" character had caused trouble before. "We have also received negative reviews on our delivery platforms because of this character."

According to a report by Shangyou News, in addition to the netizen who complained on social media, a tourist who also traveled to Tianjin during the May Day holiday also tipped off the media. That day, he spent 14.5 yuan on a drink at the milk tea brand (Binjiang Road store), but when he got it, he found a big "嬲" character printed on the milk tea, which made him feel "offended." "I only bought it because it is a local Tianjin milk tea brand. As a tourist, I actually felt like I was insulted by a cup of milk tea."

On the evening of the 4th, the merchant apologized and responded, saying: The obscure characters on the sealing film are randomly generated, and the sealing films printed with this character have now been uniformly destroyed and are no longer in use. Regarding the controversy caused, the merchant said, "Our original intention in choosing this kind of packaging was to help popularize obscure characters. Now that I think about it, we really did not consider it comprehensively enough."

Image source: online screenshot

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