A brief overview of what is currently trending on X in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Lunar New Year: Celebrations are underway for the Year of the Snake being celebrated by the likes of Elmo, the NBA, & Netflix (to name a few).
Paris Fashion Week: The Gaurav Gupta Haute Couture show for Spring/Summer 2025 is all the rage as stars like Megan Thee Stallion have attended with bold fashion choices.
Kai Cenat: Streamer & YouTuber Kai Cenat & his experience with a $70,000 humanoid robot has sparked a broader discussion about the ethics of human behavior towards AI entities.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
The Comeback of High Tea šµ
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What It Is: While coffee & coffee shops have been all the rage, the delight of the afternoon tea has encapsulated the hearts of Gen Z & Millennials for its quirky, old-fashioned, British quaintness. If not an escape to London, people are also seeking out East Asian experiences where they can sip on the likes of oolong, green tea, or unique lattes like Houjicha in serene settings. For some, the inspiration comes from their recent exploration of the Chinese app RedNote where users ran to in the wake of a TikTok ban while, for others, this indulgence is nothing new. With these IRL experiences steeped (see what we did there) in etiquette & formal tradition, itās becoming more clear that the vibe is less stuffy. A writer over at Food & Wine recently recalled her shock at seeing a sea of ācrew-sock-wearing Gen Zers sipping locally infused teas,ā who understood the allure of homemade portioned bites as this cool, interactive tasting menu. With high tea a historic form of gathering, itās allure, too, could be in the escapism ā both to a time far from the chaos thatās already 2025 or in the infatuation with what can feel modernly haute couture.
Brand Takeaway:Ā Brands, first off, this is not to say coffee is out, because itās not ā 73% of Americans drink coffee every day. In terms of social presences, Starbucks & Dunkinā have the hearts of Gen Z & Millennials captured with their enticing unhinged content (think the Dunkinā spider) or relatable āiced coffee in winterā videos. However, a look at burgeoning tea experiences and the success of tea brands like Celestial point to the way this historically stuffy drink has become approachable and new. It, too, is aesthetic in nature allowing consumers to stand out amongst their coffee drinking counterparts. Colorful cakes, small sandwiches, elegant tea pots, and decorative, delicate cups are a means of ādemureā expression that pop on social feeds. All of this is a testament to the fact that what is once old always finds ways to become new again, especially when it presents a one-of-one experience to a generation that will eagerly take on a niche beverage-centric adventure post-pandemic.
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
Kendrick Lamar has chosen Willy Chavarria to make a capsule collection around his Super Bowl halftime show š
Will Microsoft buy TikTok? Trump says talks are happening š°
Major tea in the Bachelor world: Rachael Kirkconnell sat down with Alex Cooper to talk about her breakup š
2025 flavor of the year (according to McCormick): ajĆ amarillo pepper š¶ļø
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