DRINK sellers are using nondairy creamer to make the popular “pearl milk tea,” the Daily Sunshine said yesterday.

The summer drink so loved by children contains no milk or tea, and only cheap, unhealthy ingredients were used, the paper said, citing an investigation by its reporters of several drink stalls in Longhua, Bao’an District.

The stalls, many of them located near schools, added nondairy creamer, artificial coloring, artificial flavors, sweetener and starch powder to tap water, making cups of “pearl milk tea” in just 20 seconds. Each cup sold for 3 to 5 yuan (US$0.44-0.74).

However, the name “pearl milk tea” led consumers to believe the drink was made of milk and tea. The brown “pearls” were made of tapioca starch, and plastic was added to increase elasticity, the paper found.

Some sellers were still using milk, but the quantity of milk used had been declining in order to cut costs, said a man surnamed Zhang, who the paper said was familiar with the trade.

Ding Qiang, a doctor with the Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital, told the paper that consuming large amounts of nondairy creamer could cause heart disease.

“Pearl milk tea” is also known as bubble tea or Boba tea. It originated in Taiwan in the 1980s.

(Lin Min)