How much of a bubble tea addict do you have to be to buy a mask that has a hole in it so you can safely drink your bbt while a pandemic rages around you? The truth is that the idea of such a mask is so ridiculous and fun, you don't have to be a fan of sugary boba-filled beverages to want one. But how well does it work? And is it worth your moolah?

8days.sg finally got our hands on the bubble tea mask from The Whale Tea, which we pre-ordered a month ago. It's $9.99 each not inclusive of shipping fees (it's $1 for delivery via post). Despite the excitement when the idea of a bbt mask was announced, and the fact that Singaporeans really, really love their bubble tea, it's surprisingly hard to find a real bbt mask to buy. The Whale Tea one seems to be one of the few local ones available.

So, the mask itself is chic and black, and big enough to accommodate both male and female faces, with adjustable straps. It's made of three layers of polyester, ES non-woven fabric and cotton. The material that goes against your face isn't the softest we've tried, but softness isn't the USP of this particular mask. There's a wire at the nose bridge and the mask is sorta 3D, which creates a good space between your face and the mask. The Whale Tea logo is printed on the left side, and there's a flap slightly off centre, on the right side of the mask.

Open the flap by popping open the press button (which, if you ask us, is a little too tight), and you see it — the holey grail mask that bbt lovers have been waiting for. Ringed with a plastic protector is the opening for your bbt straw, and that space between your mouth and the mask is essential, so there's some space for the straw to go in.

We get why the hole is off to the right side — putting the hole in the middle, where our mouth is, might have messed with the shape of the mask). But the position does make drinking rather awkward. For us, when we poked a straw in, it went into the extreme right corner of our mouth. To drink comfortably, you either have to tilt your cup and straw at an odd angle, or force the mask a little to the left, so the hole is positioned a bit more to the centre of your mouth. Perhaps having the hole a little lower, so the straw goes up into your mouth, may make more sense.

We suppose it takes some getting used to, but if you like to stroll and drink your bubble tea, this is quite useful. Of course, you can drink all kinds of beverages with straws with this mask on, so bring on the teh-c and milo peng and everything else. No need to take off your mask when you want to take a sip of something — although to many, to be honest, taking off your mask for a few seconds for a drink is a welcome respite from mask-wearing. Also, we tried to poke our reusable silicone bubble tea straw into this — no can do. The straw is too big, and the silicone material is hard to slide in. No problem for normal-sized silicone straws.

Get if you can't live without your bbt and need to drink it all the time, even on the go. Get it just to show your love for your favourite beverage, maybe, or for a laugh. Also get it for the fact that it makes it easier for you to have a drink without taking off your mask, especially if you work in an environment where it's troublesome or inconvenient to remove your mask. And the bbt icon is kinda cute lah.

$9.99 from The Whale Tea. DM @thewhaleteacitysquaremall on IG to pre-order. Delivery or self-collection in two weeks.

Photos: Pyron Tan / 8days.sg