This year Bubble Tea Day lands on April 30th, and though this particular celebration hasn’t been observed for long, that doesn’t make it any less fun!
Bubble Tea Day, as I’m sure you can guess, is a day dedicated to enjoying and celebrating the Bubble Tea beverage, which over the past few years has taken the entire world by storm – but what exactly is Bubble Tea?
What is bubble tea?
Bubble Tea is a tea-based drink which originally came from Taiwan in the 1980’s, and was brought initially to the US in the 1990’s by Taiwanese immigrants – from places like LA in California, the drink became popular and has since spread to countless countries across the world.
The drink generally consists of some kind of tea accompanied by tapioca balls (the “bubbles” of the drink, also known as pearls or boba). From this basic formula, Bubble Tea can come in many different forms, which tend to fall under two categories: tea with milk, or tea without milk. Both choices come with a choice of black, green, white or oolong tea as the base. Milk teas usually use fresh or powdered milk, but also work with many different substitutes such as almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.
As it’s had nowadays, Bubble Tea is served cold. The tapioca pearls that make beverage so unique are originally made from tapioca, which is the name of a starch derived from cassava, the roots of a tropical shrubwhich was originally brought to Taiwan from South America. These pearls are the standard ingredient, however as time has gone on, a few other different pearl-making methods have been developed. Usually tapioca pearls appear black, due to being mixed with brown sugar, but there is an alternative now of popping boba, which are little spheres of fruit juice or syrup.
In addition, Bubble Tea often comes with a huge range of extra toppings! One of the most popular is jelly, which not only comes in a range of shapes (cubes, strips or stars) but also flavours, such as coconut, grass, lychee, mango, green tea, matcha and coffee. Other options offered by some stores include aloe, custard, or a milk/cheese foam to go on top of the drink, similar to whipped cream, which adds another element to the flavour profile. Also, customers can also choose the levels of ice and sugar in their drink, adding yet another unique point of interest to the already niche drink!
It’s difficult to say exactly why such a huge hype has grown around the drink for the past few years, but it’s likely to do with how there’s such a range of options available (with great dietary inclusivity), combined with the great taste, colourful appearance, and how practically every element is customisable.
Nowadays, there are countless stores and cafés which specialise in producing the drink, including in Lincoln no less!
Here’s a little list of where in Lincoln you can get this great drink for yourself!
Where to get bubble tea in Lincoln
CUPP
3–4 Cornhill, Lincoln, LN5 7HE.
Bubble Avenue
39 Silver Street, Lincoln, LN2 1EH.
Chatime
341 High Street, Lincoln, LN5 7DQ.
Bubble Tea is clearly one of the most versatile drinks in the world, so it makes sense that it deserves its own day to celebrate it! So this Bubble Tea Day, treat yourself to your own customised drink, and see how many options you and your friends can come up with!
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