Chagee staff in China makes drinks with bare hands, gets fired & outlet closes indefinitely

A video showing a staff member at a Chagee outlet in China preparing drinks with her bare hands was widely circulated online.

The next day, Chagee issued a statement stating that it was a staged shoot attempting to hop onto a viral trend to attract customers.

Viral video

The footage, which surfaced on Chinese social media platform Douyin on Jan. 5, showed the employee squeezing lemon slices by hand and placing them into cups.

She then poured the tea directly into the cups, letting it drip down her hand, before stirring the drinks with her bare hands.

The original video has since been taken down.

Employee involved has been dismissed

The incident sparked widespread criticism online, with many online commenters questioning the milk tea chain’s food safety standards.

In response, Chagee issued an official statement on its Weibo account on Jan. 6, stating that it took the video seriously and had launched an internal investigation.

According to the statement, their investigation revealed that the video was filmed at the Baolong City Square outlet in Zhangzhou, Fujian province.

Chagee said the video was a staged shoot conducted by a store employee who wanted to jump on an viral online trend to attract more customers.

The company added that the ingredients used in the video were discarded items from the store that day.

Surveillance footage also showed that the drinks were not sold to customers and the ingredients were disposed of immediately after the shoot.

Routine cleaning and disinfection procedures were also done after.

Chagee further said the employee later claimed that she had taken the video after business hours in an attempt to cover up her actions.

The company also stressed that its stores use automated equipment for tea preparation, with fresh tea made via machine-operated processes designed to minimise human contact with ingredients.

Though the drinks were not sold to customers, Chagee said the employee had violated company regulations and employee conduct guidelines.

"We are shocked and outraged by this," the statement read. "This behaviour completely deviates from our commitment to food safety and honest business practices, and violates our core principles. We will never condone such actions."

Chagee said the outlet involved will be closed indefinitely for rectification until it passes a stringent inspection.

The employee has also been dismissed, and both the outlet manager and regional supervisor will be demoted.

Top photos via Byron Wan/X