你排過2小時隊買奶茶嗎？中國人狂熱追捧芝士奶茶引來老外圍觀

最新 09-19

要說起今年席捲中國的各種熱潮，芝士奶茶（cheese tea）恐怕算是其中之一。

各大網紅奶茶店前一眼望不到盡頭的隊伍就是最好證明。

花一兩個小時排隊，買到奶茶，拍照發朋友圈，覺得自己萌萌的……

甚至連黃牛都看到了新商機……

中國人對芝士奶茶的狂熱也引來了老外和一些外媒的圍觀。

馬來西亞《星報》網站（The Star）的記者就專門報道了中國這一現象。

報道說，中國人本來基本不吃芝士的……

Until recently, people in China were consuming virtually no cheese. Aside from nomadic tribes in Inner Mongolia and Tibet who lead a herding lifestyle and make cheese from yak and goat milk, cheese has otherwise never been a part of the mainstream Chinese diet.

直到不久前，中國人還不怎麼吃芝士。除了內蒙古和西藏過著游牧生活的少數民族會用氂牛奶和羊奶製作乳酪之外，芝士還沒有成為中國人飲食的一大主要部分。

但現在，事情發生了戲劇性的變化……

According to a 2014 article in theDaily Beast, America sent less than 2,000 metric tonnes of cheese to China in 2009. By 2013, this had shot up to 11,000 metric tonnes. This changing palate is reflected in other ways too, most notably the raging trend that has spread across China over the past few years: cheese tea!

2014年《野獸日報》的一篇文章報道指出，2009年，美國出口到中國的芝士不到2千噸。而在2013年，這一數字躥升到11000噸。口味的轉變也體現在其他方面，最明顯的就是近幾年席捲中國的芝士奶茶！

近年來，隨著像喜茶（ Heytea）、皇茶（ Royaltea）和天御皇茶（Regiustea）等奶茶品牌的流行，芝士奶茶進入到中國人的視野之中。

It originated in the street stalls of Taiwan in 2010 and has since spread to Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.

這種奶茶最早起源於2010年的台灣街邊小店，之後開始在大陸、香港、新加坡和馬來西亞等地流行起來。

而且這些後起的奶茶店還對芝士奶茶進行了改良：

The original Taiwanese recipe used powdered cheese, but now cafes are going one step better and addinglashings offresh cream cheese to the top of their beverages.

台灣原先的配方是用芝士粉，但現在的飲品店更進一步，在飲料頂部加上厚厚的一層新鮮奶油乳酪。

lashings of：大量的

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所以，這是怎樣一種奶茶呢？

These quirky-soundingconcoctionsincorporate fruit teas and green teas at the bottom with a thick layer of frothy cream cheese on top. In some iterations, the cream cheese layer is slightly sweet; in others, it is sprinkled with sea salt for a salty aftertaste.

這種聽起來極其古怪的混合飲料以水果茶和綠茶作為茶底，然後在頂部加上厚厚的一層芝士奶蓋。有些做法會把芝士做的微甜，而有的會撒上一點點海鹽，帶來鹹鹹的餘味。

concoction：混合；調和物

對於這樣的組合，很多外國人一開始內心是拒絕的……

The notion of cheese and tea can be off-putting for the average person who cannot fathom how two unlikely bedfellows – fat and water – can form a harmonious companionship. If you are of this school of thought – you are not alone. I was one of these cautious disbelievers – that is, until I tried the cheese teas in question.

對一些人來說，芝士和茶的組合可能會有點倒胃口，他們無法理解兩種完全不同的東西——脂肪和水怎麼能融於一體。不止你一個人這樣想。我也曾持有懷疑的態度，直到我喝到了這種芝士奶茶。

英國奢華旅行雜誌《悅游》（Condé Nast Traveler）的記者這樣描述自己的品茶感受：

The first sip is a mouthful of whipped cheese. It』s so rich, I feel a little ill. But when I swallow the tea and cheese together, it』s like drinking a refreshing tea milkshake. This pairing actually works—the salted cheese plays up the tea』s floral notes, and the tea, in turn, tastes smooth and creamy.

第一口喝到的是一嘴芝士霜，那口味太濃郁了，我有點受不了。然後我把茶和芝士混在一起喝了一口，就感覺像在喝清新的茶味奶昔。這個組合其實還不錯，鹹鹹的芝士襯托出茶香，而茶的口感也更為絲滑醇厚。

馬來西亞《星報》的記者則品嘗了幾種口味的芝士奶茶，來順便學學如何用英語描述一款飲料：

The green tea cheese offers a thick layer of slightly-sweet cream cheese laced with light green tea flavours. It is a cold, satisfying drink that almost feels like an airy slice of cheese cake.

芝士綠茶有一層厚厚的帶著甜味的芝士，夾雜著淡淡的綠茶味，嘗起來就像一塊柔軟的芝士蛋糕，喝一口清涼、舒爽。

The uji matcha, on the other hand, offersstronger green tea flavours juxtaposed against the rich, lush background of cream cheese. It is a rewarding drink that you will find yourself hankering after.

而宇治抹茶奶茶的茶香更濃，與醇厚、濃郁的芝士形成對比，喝完讓你久久無法忘懷。

Both drinks deliver immediate pleasure – the richness of the cream cheese set against the tannic flavours of the teas.

兩款飲料中茶的微澀口感襯著芝士的醇厚，入口口味極佳。

而且喝芝士奶茶還為朋友圈提供素材啊……

Another pleasant surprise when you drink cheese teas is the Instagram-worthy milk moustaches that form over your upper lips, as a result of the layer of cream cheese on top.

另一個驚喜是，由於頂部的芝士，你喝奶茶時會在嘴上留下一道「牛奶鬍子」，可以拍張照上傳Instagram了。

另外，關於芝士奶茶的喝法外國人也研究了一番。

專業人士稱：

「You are encouraged to drink without straws. When you drink this way, you can feel two layers of taste – cheese followed by tea. If you drink it with a straw, you can mostly only taste the tea.」

「最好別用吸管喝。這樣喝的時候，你會感覺到兩種不同的味道——先是芝士奶香，後是茶香。但如果你用吸管喝，你只能品嘗到茶香。」

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也有叛逆的寶寶偏要用吸管喝的，國內英文月刊《That s》雜誌的記者Jocelyn Richards便是如此，結果後悔不已，這是她的心路歷程：

The first few sips bring pure, sweet, flowery tea. About halfway through, we start to taste a hint of the salty cheese. It』s subtle at first, and seems to complement the tea surprisingly well.

開頭幾口是純正帶著甜味的花茶香味，喝了一半，開始嘗到一點點芝士鹹味。最初口感很微妙，與茶味互補的效果似乎出奇地好。

Toward the end of the drink, however, our sips begin to summon something sinister: thick, cloying globs of salty cheesy cream. The sensation is like taking a bag of movie theater popcorn and dumping the liquid butter straight into your mouth. Not good.

然而快喝完時，吸上來的東西就有些重口了：一團團又厚又倒胃口的鹹味芝士奶霜。那種感覺像是吃完一袋影院爆米花，然後把液體黃油直接倒進你嘴裡。真糟糕。

Next time we』ll follow the instructions and drink the cheesy top first with the tea.

下次我們會老老實實按照說明，把茶和奶蓋一起喝。

據報道，芝士奶茶現在甚至也開始在美國流行開了……

《悅游》：芝士奶茶席捲中國，又開始進軍美國

Called zhī shì chá in Mandarin (meaning 「cheese tea」), the concept has migrated across Asia, and even spread to New York』s Flushing neighborhood. The West Coast has caught on, too: In Los Angeles, Little Fluffy Head Cafe specializes in small-batch, cheese-topped brews.

芝士茶的概念在亞洲迅速流行起來，甚至拓展到了紐約的法拉盛。美國西海岸也緊跟潮流，洛杉磯的Little Fluffy Head咖啡店專供一小杯的芝士奶蓋飲料。

《赫芬頓郵報》（Huffington Post）似乎找到了這種奶茶能成功的原因：

芝士奶茶攪亂冷飲遊戲規則：沒錯，真的有芝士哦。

The tea has been an instant success for two reasons: the flavors of the tea and cheese are very complementary, and the cheese cream is an effective way totone downthe natural bitterness of the tea.

這種奶茶能立刻火爆起來有兩個原因：一是茶和芝士的味道非常互補，二是芝士奶蓋能很有效地緩和茶的苦澀味道。

tone down：緩和；減輕

現在外國人能理解芝士奶茶的獨特口味了，但對於中國人為了喝一杯奶茶排隊2小時的現象仍然感到驚詫。

「That s」雜誌的記者Jocelyn Richards曾到廣州的某網紅奶茶店感受排隊的盛況。

先是一路看到喝到奶茶的狂喜的人們……

On our way up a series of winding escalators, we spot droves of others who have made the pilgrimage: three boys in school tracksuits posing giddily with their prize; a dazed woman clutching an assorted six-pack to her heart; a couple silently slurping the remains of their two-hour wait.

我們乘坐著曲折而上的幾層電梯，一路上看到一群群「朝聖」歸來的人們：3個身穿校服的小男孩欣喜若狂捧著手中的「戰利品」自拍；一個幸福到要暈厥的姑娘胸前緊抱著一盒六杯不同口味的奶茶；一對情侶靜靜地品嘗著2小時等待而來的飲料。

然後，他們就開始了漫長的排隊過程：

We stepped into the line that snakes around the front of the shop and down a long corridor of the mall. Passersby enjoy asking how long we』ve been waiting and then shaking their heads incredulously at our response.

我們排到隊伍後面，那隊伍蜿蜒逶迤，圍著店門口繞了半圈，然後沿著商場長長的走廊延伸下去。路人總愛問我們排了多久了，聽到答覆後，都難以置信地搖搖頭。

《悅游》的記者也體驗過一把，他排了2個小時的隊，已經心力交瘁……

After about two hours, it』s finally my turn to order. I』m handed a buzzer and asked to wait. About 30 minutes later, it vibrates and lights up. I jostle between a dozen other wild-eyed people, simultaneously racing to collect their prizes.

大約2小時候，終於輪到我點餐。點完後，他們給我一個蜂鳴器，讓我繼續等待。半個小時後，蜂鳴器震動起來。我和其他十幾個兩眼發光的激動食客爭搶著一同奔去取我們的奶茶。

這種心情，在網紅奶茶店前排過隊的同學應該都體會過吧……

不過，為了一杯奶茶排隊幾個小時，真的是因為那麼好喝嗎？

《南華早報》（South China Morning Post）就關注了喜茶在上海開張時的排隊「盛況」，不少人都表示，他們排隊只是為了當「潮人」（frontrunner）。

Customers queuing up for the tea said they didn』t actually have high hopes for the tea, but wanted to be frontrunners in Shanghai to have first-hand experience with it.

顧客們排隊買茶，並不是對奶茶抱了多高的希望，而是只想在上海當個潮人，成為第一批喝到的人。