Photo: Bonnie White
Eric Finkelstein is a world record junkie. The American’s Guinness World Records include the largest flag mosaic made from table tennis balls, the longest table tennis serve and eating at the most Michelin-starred restaurants in 24 hours in New York.
Many would probably share the opinion of Finkelstein’s sister when talking about his records: “You’re a lunatic.”
But that’s not stopping him from his next big feat, and this time he is teaming up with his wife, Taiwanese native Jackie Cheng (鄭佳祺): visit and purchase a drink from as many tea shops in 12 hours. And they chose Taipei to do it.
Photo: Bonnie White
Cheng thought up the challenge, which blends their love for bubble milk tea with a trip to its birthplace.
THE CHALLENGE
Organizing the challenge was the result of two years of planning with the folks at Guinness World Records.
The company’s requirements are strict. A drink has to be purchased from each tea shop, a minimum of 250ml has to be consumed, participants must be on foot or use public transport and a signature from a shop attendant must be registered.
On March 26, they started in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), equipped with active wear, enough cash to purchase at least 50 drinks and their trusty measuring cups.
At 10am, Cheng downs a herbal jelly tea, her first drink of the day, in under a minute.
Soon, their first hiccup: many of the tea shops on their itinerary are closed, a possible game-changer for their tight schedule. Cheng quickly scouts out a number of alternatives, and they continue with only a minor amount of lost time.
The challenge heats up at noon when the streets fill up with office workers lining up to order beverages. More anxiety about time. But Cheng has a solution: place orders with tea shops in advance. More minutes saved.
The day has become “a lot of extra work on my part,” she says, because Finkelstein speaks only a little Mandarin.
WITNESSES
An important role is that of the witness. Neither friend nor relative, the witness works a four-hour shift monitoring the couple throughout the day as they imbibe as much tea as possible, in exchange for a free beverage.
Finkelstein says their nervousness over their initial lack of responses disappears when fourteen “drinking helpers” eventually volunteer. But there is one condition: to stay on schedule, they have to drink it in three minutes.
As time goes on, the volunteers develop a camaraderie, sharing beverages, toasting each other before chugging them down as though college students tackling an all-you-can-drink game.
“I haven’t had that much fun in a long time,” says witness Jordan, a Scottish cram school teacher.
WORLD RECORD
At 8pm, the group of boba enthusiasts arrive at their final destination, Ximending.
Finkelstein is his chipper and energetic self, and wants to continue. But Cheng has become visibly withdrawn — understandable, perhaps, considering she has just completed 18,000 steps, downed over five liters of liquid and spent the entire day dealing with baristas and navigating Taipei’s busy streets.
“It had to be a hundred times worse for Jackie because she had to do so much more” Finkelstein says.
So a decision has to be made: continue until their self-imposed time of 10pm, or stop. As the challenge only required the couple to visit a minimum of 25 tea shops — and they were nearing their sixtieth shop — the answer is obvious.
Finkelstein and Cheng say their love for bubble tea remains strong, even after forcing so much of it down their throats.
“I don’t know that we could have done it by the end of the day without everyone’s help,” Cheng says.
The record in the bag, now they only have to wait three months for Guinness World Records to validate their feat.
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