Traditional tea served in Chinese restaurants has spawned bottled and shake versions that sell like hotcakes. In fact, tea shakes are so popular these days that stalls and stores selling such drinks in a variety of flavors have sprouted in shopping malls and neighborhood commercial strips.

While high demand proves tea shakes are really delicious, not all of these drinks leave a good aftertaste. Not so for Nico Yabut after his disgusting experience with the milk tea he bought from a store at Theater Mall in Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan on 2 January.

After sipping most of the drink, he looked at how much was left under the lid and what he saw shocked him. There were three little cockroaches floating on the remaining brew. He took a video of the transparent cup with the dead insects and posted it on social media to perhaps warn others.

Friends who saw the posted video were mostly enraged and urged Yabut to make a formal complaint with the establishment that sold him the dirty drink. Many commented they will stop patronizing the “yucky” tea shake.

Yabut was not sure if there were only three roaches in that drink. He believes there were more and swallowed two others.

The incident may not easily discourage people from patronizing tea shake stores. But it may prompt consumers to develop the habit of checking their order before gulping them down to make sure there are no critters among the ingredients.