Some Mornings, Sweetness Wins
I stand at the counter of a breakfast shop.
My turn is almost here.
In my mouth, the usual order is already formed.
Iced soy milk.
Half sugar.
There is no real reason to hesitate.
I know this is the optimal choice.
I know how much sweetness my body wants.
And yet, at the edge of the menu on the wall,
one item stays in my vision.
Black tea soy milk.
I consider it.
It is, however, a slightly troublesome drink.
Sweetness Is Not Negotiable
In many shops, black tea soy milk is already prepared.
It sits in a large metal container.
Mixed, chilled, waiting to be poured.
Which means that once ordered, the specification is fixed.
No adjustment of sweetness.
No half sugar.
No unsweetened option.
Full sugar is the default,
and the only choice.
It feels less like a beverage
and more like a decision already made.
The modern impulse to manage sugar intake
has no real meaning in front of this cup.
What This Black Tea Actually Is
The black tea used here is far from what one imagines in Japan.
The aroma is not fragrant.
The bitterness is mild.
Instead, there is a scent closer to roasted grains.
Cassia seeds.
Barley.
This is the so-called old-style black tea.
Less milk tea,
more a sweet, dark-colored drink.
When soy milk is added,
the weight increases immediately.
Refinement disappears.
Nutrition and calories take over.
Defeat and Comfort
In the end, the words come out.
Black tea soy milk.
I pierce the plastic seal with a thick straw
and take a sip.
It is sweet.
Exactly as expected.
But it is not unpleasant.
In the morning humidity and warmth,
it feels almost rational.
Perhaps this city needs this much sugar
to get its mornings moving.
This is not reason losing.
Stepping Into Sweetness, Occasionally
Black tea soy milk is not an everyday drink.
There is no reason to choose it every morning.
Still, on mornings when I am tired,
or when I want to stop thinking,
this unavoidable sweetness fits.
Most days, I choose iced soy milk with half sugar.
And sometimes, I step into this sweetness.
In a Taiwanese morning,
that kind of margin seems allowed.
