Backlash from bubble-tea fans after China bans plastic straws in restaurants By Rebecca Kanthor When China banned plastic straws in restaurants this year, bubble-tea fans were not happy. When the Chinese government banned the use of disposable plastic in restaurants this year as part of its newest five-year plan, it unwittingly attracted criticism from a very vocal group — bubble-tea drinkers. That’s because when drinking bubble tea, the straw is essential. How else can you suck up all those chewy tapioca balls? But customers were having none of it. Paper straws are no good, said Xiao Cao, while sitting with his girlfriend at a trendy tea shop in Shanghai, drinking his daily cup of bubble tea. If you use them for too long they get all soggy. It affects the taste, he said.