Bubble Tea Party

Boston might throw it in the water, but why should we? Tea is the new old trend. While one Starbucks after the other is taking over Chinese sidewalks (thank god they kicked it out of the Forbidden City!), Bubble Tea (a.k.a. Pearl Milk Tea, 珍珠奶茶), the Chinese answer to American coffee shop chains, is starting to conquer the European market. Catering to those looking for an alternative to coffees and chai lattes, Bubble Tea is quickly gaining popularity in Germany and Austria, and can be found in and around most of UK's China Towns.

 

Originating in Taiwan, it came into existence during the 1980s. BT is made from black or green tea mixed with milk and now increasingly with fruit sirups, served hot or cold. The Bubbles or Pearls were originally made from Tapioca, cooked until having a chewing-gum consistency.

As with everything that has been invented, it needs to be constantly re-invented and so customers in mainland China can now choose from a range of different tastes for their teas (e.g. strawberry, taro, coconut) and their nutritious content, ranging from Tapioca balls or pudding, over coconut jelly to red beans.
Foto by KentonNgo

Chinese Milk Tea with Tapioka Pearls, Pudding, Jelly and Red Beans (possibly even more) - exceeded expectations and turned out to substitute an entire meal.

Asia-mania at its best? But European-style, please!
In Europe, where the strong taste of black tea might put off customers, the teas tend to be extremely sweet. As if that were not enough, there is also a huge difference between mainland China and European bubbles. The variety of the so-called "Popping Bobas", pearls made from fruit juices or joghurt by use of molecular gastronomy techniques and imported from Taiwan, is so vast in German and Austrian Bubble Tea shops that deciding is torture. However, adding sweet juicy pearls to already oversweetened milk or fruit tea does seem slightly redundant.
In Vienna and Frankfurt there are at least 5 BT shops, all of them sporting creative wordplays such as Tea-licious or QTea Panda, and it seems a new store pops out of nowhere every other week. You can usually get a cuppa around € 3,50. The good ones will offer original milk tea, that tastes of - you will never guess this - tea. The way it was intended.

(Maybe not so) useful words

珍珠奶茶 zhēn zhū nǎi chá
Bubble Tea, Pearl Milk Tea

双拼奶茶 shuāng pīnnǎi chá
Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearls and Pudding

原味奶茶 yuánwèinǎi chá
Original Bubble Tea

鸳鸯 yuān yang

Hong Kong variation, half tea, half coffee

Bubble Tea Locations

Frankfurt:

Bobo Q, Hauptwache B-Ebene, 60313 Frankfurt am Main

Mister Bubble, Münchener Straße 38, 60329 Frankfurt am Main

My Bubbletea, Münchener Straße 40, 60329 Frankfurt am Main

Wien:

Tea-licious, Margaretenstraße 22, 1040 Wien

Tea-licious, Donauzentrum - Kiosk 01/ BT 4, Wagramer Straße 81/2/3 /, 1220 Wien

Ginza, U-Bahnstation Praterstern, 1020 Wien

London:
BoboQ, Charing Cross Street, WC2H 0NE London