Pharmacy’s Medicinal Milk Teas in Bad Taste?

A pharmacy in Shanghai recently rolled out a series of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) milk teas that have not gone down smoothly on social media. According to reports, the ingredients in the drinks from TCM pharmacy Tonghanchuntang range from lotus leaves for “reducing heat” to black-fruit matrimony vine which is believed to prevent hair loss. While some netizens saw them as novel ways to promote TCM, most expressed their concerns over whether the concoctions would have side-effects for some consumers and warned that milk tea, with its high sugar content, is unhealthy no matter what else is in it. “The drugstore might actually be tarnishing the reputation of TCM,” a Sina Weibo user posted.