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Boba Guys Blog

Filtering by Tag: do the right thing

Bin Chen

This post has been a LONG, LONG time in coming. In lieu of today's Gizmodo post, we think now is the best time to talk about our milk… and shake things up a bit. *cheesy rimshot*

A lot of people ask us why we made the decision to use Straus organic milk in all of our milk teas. We hear it a lot:

“Milk is all the same, right?”

“People across the US drink it every day and they’re fine. Why do you guys have to use organic milk? That’s soooo bourgy." 

"I’m fine with non-dairy creamer. Tons of people drink it every morning. We all can’t be wrong.”

Well, we tried to address it on our FAQ page, but it’s hidden in the deep recesses of the website. It’s just easier to highlight it every so often like today.

Before we get started, we wanted to set the context. We don’t try to be “bourgy, "hipster,” or “artisan” because it’s trendy or different. We do it because it represents values that we can be proud of. We’re deathly afraid of being labeled as self-important, so it’s a very fine line to straddle. For example, our brown sugar for our housemade syrup base is not organic mostly because it’s so crazy expensive– we try to be as prudent as possible and always ask if the customer finds value in whatever it is we do.

So back to milk. We’ve all heard “Milk does a body good.” We believe organic milk does a body better. And Straus Family Creamery is the leader in this space. That is why many of the best ice cream shops in the Bay Area like Bi-Rite or Humphry Slocombe use Straus

Once upon a time after business school, I worked in CPG (consumer packaged goods). I was put on a food brand in my first assignment and worked in the salad dressing market with brilliant food scientists. Let’s just say I learned A LOT about the processed food and dairy industry. While I am forever grateful that I got world-class training, I always felt weird about promoting something I had issues with consuming myself.

It is there that I developed the strong conviction that some, though not all, foods are much better when there are high-quality standards (e.g. organic, no rBST). Fortunately, my business partner is very passionate about this, too.

Although there are debates on whether or not organic products are truly better, most agree on two things: organic milk does not have rBST and are processed with savory production conditions. Also, we think the cows are happier, too. Doesn’t that count for anything?!

The real question is if all of this is worth the price. To us, it is. 

So that’s why our milk brings all the boys to the yard. Damn right, it’s better than yours.