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Where to Buy Bubble Tea
Whatever you choose to call it—bubble tea, bbt, boba—almost everyone who tries it agrees that this Taiwanese drink, which doubles as a snack thanks to the chewy tapioca pearls and lots of other toppings, is simply addictive. Because of this, many people are searching for where to buy bubble tea.
Since Pearl Lemon Tea has been serving bubble tea for a while, adding it to the menu at our Fulham headquarters’ Pearl Lemon Café was an obvious choice from the outset. More often than not, our customers grab some of our great coffee to get them going in the morning, but by midday, they are clamoring to consume bubble tea, and we are more than happy to accommodate that craving.
What’s All the Fuss About? Bubble Tea Explained
What's All the Fuss About? Bubble Tea Explained
This buzzed about beverage stands out from others on the market thanks to the boba, or bubbles, in the bottom of your cup. OK, you say, but who created bubble tea? What steps are involved in making it? Why are we so fascinated by it? What does it taste like?
If you’ve never tried bubble tea, you might indeed be wondering why there’s such a big deal being made about it, but when you give it a try, you’ll know why. As they say, when you know, you know. Here is everything you need to know in the meanwhile about this wonderful beverage!
What precisely is bubble tea?
Because the term bubble tea may be used to describe a wide range of beverages and the options are practically endless, this is a bigger question with a bigger answer than you might have expected when you decided to search where to buy bubble tea.
Tea may or may not be present in bubble tea. Sometimes there might be juice instead. Or coffee. But, to return to the basic question, though, let’s say that tea is where it all begins: the fundamental bubble tea beverage is made from green, black, oolong, or even white or matcha tea.
Following that, a creamy element is added to the tea, which can range from regular milk to almond milk to oat milk and anything in between. The end product is an aromatic, tasty, and thoroughly enjoyable beverage like no other.
The issue of the sweeteners is another way you can customise your bubble tea. You can sweeten bubble tea with anything from sugar to agave to honey, but many people find that it’s necessary to experiment a bit, since it alters the flavour a lot.
The toppings and garnishes are the last component of a great bubble tea beverage. The namesake bubbles, the last component that gives bubble tea its charm, are of course the most widely used topping. The cassava starch, which comes from a South American root vegetable also known as yuca, is used to make the bubbles, which are also referred to as tapioca balls, pearls, or boba.
With a chewy, bouncy texture akin to mochi and yuca bread, tapioca is gluten-free and boba comes in lots of different flavours. Other popular toppings for bubble tea include fruit, fruit jam, aloe vera, almonds, and even exploding bubbles (flavored liquids explode rather than chewy bubbles made of tapioca).
With so many customization options, Pearl Lemon Tea’s bubble teas are all unique. As previously mentioned, some bubble tea beverages use fresh fruit or fruit juice as their foundation rather than any actual tea. Even cheese foam can be a topping for bubble tea (yep, people drink it and enjoy it because it tastes uniquely amazing). Although it is hard to define, bubble tea is always delicious.
Where did bubble tea start?
Although it’s not known if there is a single person who can be given the credit for creating this amazing beverage, we do know that bubble tea first appeared in Taiwan in the 1980s. Asian civilizations have traditionally included lots of tea in their daily lives, and tea stalls have existed there for thousands of years.
Due to fierce competition among tea booths, Taiwanese tea merchants began selling cold tea, tea with milk, flavor-infused tea, and eventually tea with tapioca pearls. This kind of fair but fierce competition is ideal since it encourages rule-breaking and innovation. And gave bubble tea to us.
These days, when searching for where to buy bubble tea, you can find bubble or boba tea shops on six continents (sorry, Antarctica), and the craze is just getting bigger by the day.
What's the big deal, then?
You may have noticed that there are more and more bubble tea shops popping up everywhere. It’s a great sector to be in because of the large profit margins and the fact that the beverages essentially promote themselves through social media. Before you drink the bubble tea, you can’t help but take a picture of it.
Since there are many flavours of bubble tea, it makes for a great conversation starter when you want to tell your friends about your new favorite bubble tea shop. The core of the bubble tea craze is the undeniable fact that bubble tea (true bubble tea, not the fake powder crap, but boba beverages made from premium tea and real milk like we serve at Pearl Lemon Tea) is incredibly tasty.
The chewy consistency and springy character of tapioca make for a delicious mouthful. Even though the traditional milk tea includes sugar, it tastes good and does not make you feel too horrible about yourself. Due to a combination of FOMO (fear of missing out) and a product that does not let consumers down, bubble tea is here to stay and will only continue to gain popularity. Or at least that’s what we think, and our customers seem to agree.
Is bubble tea good for you?
If food that makes you happy is healthy for you, bubble tea is one of the healthiest drinks ever. A boba a day wards off the devil, have you heard?
But seriously, you can enjoy bubble tea as long as you don’t consume excessive amounts of sugar and just drink it sometimes. When prepared properly using loose tea leaves rather than tea bags, tea is a powerful antioxidant that slows down the aging process and guards against disease.
When consumed in moderation, milk is a great source of calcium and energy and a healthy addition to your diet. Not a fan of milk? No sweat! These days, you can drink your bubble tea with nutritious milk substitutes like almond or oat milk.
As long as you limit your consumption of bubble tea, it’s simply another dessert beverage. The bubbles themselves are mostly carbohydrates derived from starch, so they aren’t very healthful, but they are harmless, tasty and lots of fun.
Can’t get to our café in Fulham? Consider purchasing one of our DIY bubble tea kits. These kits give you complete control over the amount of sugar and bubbles in your cup. These kits also allow you to enjoy the best boba tea because they come with everything you need to brew delicious bubble tea at home as well as comprehensive instructions on how to do it properly.
We suggest you buy bubble tea and try out various flavor and ingredient combinations to get the bubble tea that best suits your preferences and personality. Buy bubble tea from Pearl Lemon Café, either locally or online, and get ready to have the most fun with a drink you’ve had in a long time!
FAQs
We allow customers to customize their order by choosing the type of tea, sweetness level, and toppings. Some popular toppings include tapioca pearls, grass jelly, pudding, and fruit.
Bubble tea should be consumed soon after it is made, as the tapioca pearls will become hard, and the tea will become cold. If you need to store it, it’s best to keep it in the refrigerator and consume it within a day.
Bubble tea can be high in sugar and calories, especially with sweetened milk and syrups. We offer healthier options, such as sugar-free syrups or alternative milk. We recommend you check the nutritional information and ingredient list before ordering.
