Cheese-topped tea

Most summers, there is no shortage of stories about odd product launch ideas, which make the news because nothing much else is going on and then disappear. But not this year.

Instead, the oddest innovation of 2017 so far seems to be catching on and spreading worldwide.

It’s the phenomenon of adding a savoury, whipped cream-style cheese foam topping to a cup of hot tea.

Apparently, the initiative originated in Taiwan’s food stalls. It then spread to Asian tea houses in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Now it’s travelled over to the United States.

The foam is made from real cheese or cheese powder. The Heytea brand has four flavours.

This is a story I could not have made up. Is it a trend ? Or is it all froth ?