Mr. Sato arrived bright and early for Tapioca Land Cafe’s grand opening, expecting a swarm of reporters and news-copters swirling overhead, but was surprised to find only himself. It made him feel good though, as clearly no one loved tapioca as much as he did. This was proof of that.
Sato先生一大早就来到了Tapioca Land奶茶店的开业典礼上,他以为会看到一大群记者,还会有新闻直升机在空中盘旋,但他惊讶地发现只有他自己。他还是很开心的,因为显然别人对珍珠奶茶的喜爱程度都不及他,事实也证明如此。

It also meant he would be the first person in the world to taste of Tapioca Land Cafe’s offerings — a rare honor indeed!
这也意味着他会是全世界第一个品尝Tapioca Land奶茶店的奶茶的人,这确实是难得的荣誉!

Although there was a wide range of bubble teas to choose from, they were all uniformly priced at 500 yen (US$4.60) a piece. It was all surprisingly normal, but just before he could feel let-down, Mr. Sato spotted something life-changing…
有很多珍珠奶茶可以选,统一定价每杯500日元(4.6美元)。实在没什么特殊的,就在他要失望的前一秒,他看到了让他大吃一惊的东西……

“Da Hong Pao Tapioca Milk Tea — 10,000 yen (US$92)”
“大红袍Tapioca奶茶——10,000日元(92美元)”

Mr. Sato’s heart jumped in his chest. This was why he had come to Topica Land Cafe. As the first customer, he felt it was both his duty and immense pleasure to purchase and drink this luxury tea.
Sato先生心跳加速,这就是他要找的。他感觉作为第一个顾客,买下并喝掉这杯豪华奶茶既是他的责任也是极大的快乐。

While waiting the 20 minutes that it took to prepare this beverage, Mr. Sato decided to research Da Hong Pao tea. Considered the world’s most expensive tea and used for state guests in China as well as the imperial family in Japan, Da Hong Pao is a variant of oolong tea grown in the renowned tea terroir of Wuyi, China. One kilogram of the stuff is said to go for over one million dollars.
等待奶茶准备的20分钟里,他决定研究一下大红袍茶叶。这种茶被认为是世界最贵的茶,在中国和日本的皇室都是用来招待国宾的。大红袍属乌龙茶,产于中国著名的武夷茶乡。据说一公斤茶叶售价超过100万美元。

Twenty minutes later his 10,000-yen tea arrived.
20分钟后,他的10,000日元的奶茶端上来了。

It looked more like cafe au lait than regular bubble tea, and was generally a little disappointing in the visual stimulation department. It was nice and all, just not 10,000-yen nice.
它看起来跟普通的珍珠奶茶不太一样,更像牛奶咖啡,视觉效果有点让人失望。整体来说还不错,但就是不值10,000日元。

Given the price, it’s hard to recommend this drink to everyone, just as it’s hard to say if any cup of tea — tapioca or no tapioca — is really worth 10,000 yen. But if there ever was one, boy, this would certainly be it.
就价位而言,很难推荐给所有人,也很难说这种茶,包括珍珠奶茶和普通的大红袍,是否真的值10,000日元。但如果你认为值的话,那这个真值得一试。

 

翻译:菲菲