Long lines stretch out onto sidewalks, eager patrons ready to plop down cash in exchange for a cool treat to help them cope with summer’s scorching heat. Clusters of people mill around, comparing their choices and trading tastes, figuring out what to get the next time they stop in. A buzz fills the air as folks pause to refuel and refresh.
But they’re not stopping for ice cream, or dropping by the lemonade stand—when they’re in need of a break that’s as fun as it is fresh, those in the know reach for bubble tea, that sweet, sticky, frothy beverage that’s slurped through giant straws. Part dessert and part beverage, bubble tea (also called boba, after the candy-like tapioca pearls that are often added) is an almost irresistible combination. It delivers an explosion of flavor that’s as entertaining to drink as it is to look at—and how can you not love something that’s both plaything and thirst quencher?
“At bubble tea shops, young people are ordering their tea the way coffee aficionados order their Starbucks,” says Julia Montague, communications specialist for Tourism Richmond. We’ve just taken a seat at Zephyr Tea House in Richmond, British Columbia, maneuvering our massive pink straws into a shared glass of taro milk tea. A burst of something that can only be likened to a gummy candy milkshake hits our palates, an energizing, refreshing encounter that brings us right back to childhood.
Enter a bubble tea shop and you have to be prepared to do some work—there’s a lot of decisions to make. Your first decision is the type of tea—black, green, milk, or herbal? Each category has some 30 varieties, from kiwi black to mango green, pudding milk to sesame and hazelnut milk. Next, choose the bubbles you want: pearl, otherwise known as tapioca balls; coconut jelly; pudding; grass jelly; or coffee jelly, to name just a few. Finally, do you want your tea hot or cold?
