I’m a firm believer in trying something once before making up your mind about it.
Coriander: big no from me.
Sky diving: to be determined.
Bubble tea: should be damned to the fiery pits of foodie hell along with the aforementioned coriander.
Sipping on cold (usually 100% sugar) tea while chewing on balls made of tyre rubber is not what I would define as an enjoyable experience. It’s not yummy, it’s not pleasant, it is the type of stuff I would give to my worst enemy.
I realise I belong to the minority – bubble tea is loved more than it is hated. It has an almost cult following around the world, including my younger brother who will often rush out to get a “royal pearl milk tea with little ice and less sugar“ instead of an iced-coke before going to the movies.
Am I baffled by this? Yes. But I concede defeat – I can’t force people to hate something just because I hate it. However, there is a line when it comes to loving bubble tea, and offering the drink to the gods is crossing that line.
And yet, that is exactly what people in Thailand are doing: leaving offerings of bubble tea at Buddhist temples.
Asians are stereotypically known for loving their bubble tea but this is something else.
In Thailand, fruits and flowers are most commonly used as divine offerings outside of temples or in front of shrines. It’s something people do as a promise and thanks for their prayers to be fulfilled.
In recent years flowers have been swapped for soda – specifically, a bright red soda called Nam Daeng. Why? Because we live in a capitalist world and apparently soda is a valuable commodity.
But, as one Twitter user pointed out, “The gods also drink bubble tea. They’re bored of Nam Daeng.”
The actual reason people are offering soda and, now, bubble tea as Buddhist tokens probably has more to do with the colour and composition of the drinks – they’re vibrant and sweet and enjoyable- just like actual fruit.
Soda and bubble tea are the fruit of a capitalist world, both literally and metaphorically: they’re sweet, sugary goods and they’re where the money’s at. If there’s one thing people will always buy, it’s food and beverages.
Religious practice has grown and adapted and loosened in a variety of ways over time – the Catholic Pope has spoken publicly about loving and accepting gay people, Saudi Arabia has loosened restrictive religious and social laws around its female citizens, and polygamy is no longer the ‘norm’ for most practicing muslims.
But the impact of capitalism on religious practice has seemed relatively small – until now. One picture even shows a bucket of KFC chicken in front of a temple – Buddha’s gotta eat, I guess.
If capitalism has taught me one things it’s this: everything is an opportunity to make money. So I wouldn’t be surprised if KFC develops a marketing campaign around this^ Buddhist trend or if someone designs a soda specifically for religious offerings.
At the rate it’s got in Thailand, they’ll make a fortune.