Bubble Tea

Hi steemit friends,

I thought I'd introduce myself to Steemit the only way I know how, bubble tea. Bubble tea originally a Taiwanese drink introduced in the 1980's was at the time made of milk, tea, tapioca pearls and a crap tonne of sugar. Although the sugar element hasn't changed much, there are now variety of twists to this drink which has taken over a lot of western countries. You will now see a variety of jellies, different tea bases and you can even determine how much sugar and ice you prefer making the modern tea a much more healthy alternative. Don't worry if you are lactose intolerant as most chains have great fruity tea alternatives.

I myself have watched the industry expand not just within the Asian community in Sydney but also amongst many others. Funnily enough I have now gotten to the point where I can distinguish the taste variation from shop to shop. I can determine which pearls I like better and what tea is sweeter and therefore suss out what my current favorite place to go is. Right now it's Coco fresh tea and juice.

So whats so great about milk tea? (if you have to ask this you probably haven't tried it). Well lets see, apart from being absolutely delicious it is a surprise to the senses because it is both a drink and something that needs to be chewed. When I initially tried it I was very close to swallowing the pearls because the concept of something in my drink was foreign, however now I can't imagine my life without it and I'm being dead serious. It is also a way for friends to come together. In fact me and my friends travel about 20 mins out of the way just to have milk tea together on weekends. Milk tea with low sugar can even be quite healthy for you, milk = calcium and tea = antioxidants.

So what are some of the popular places in Sydney:

1. Chatime: First opened their doors outside Taiwan in 2006 in California and later spread to many countries. In it's prime there used to be quite a line up at this store however with the opening of newer stores the lines don't appear to be as long. I personally find the pearls a little too chewy and the tea a bit powdery. Having said that they have these popping fruit pearls which are quite exciting and go well with fruit based green/black teas.

1. Sharetea: Was established in 1992 with over 450 shops open by 2018. Sharetea doesn't have as many stores in Sydney however there is a chance they will continue to grow. Both the milk tea and the pearls at Sharetea are sensational with the tea being a good strength, however when given the option of mini pearls don't say 'yes' because it is not at all like the normal pearls. Sharetea also has a kiwi fruit drink with little chunks of kiwi which is unique to only this chain.

1. Gong Cha: Gong Cha made their first appearance in Australia in 2012 and no one has looked back since. Business is booming for the workers of Gong cha and it doesn't look to be slowing anytime soon. With multiple stores in Sydney CBD as well as over several suburbs in Sydney and all over Australia. Have you ever tried passionfruit green tea with pearls, lychee jelly and passionfruit pulp? Well at Gong cha this is a specialty. Gong cha is known for their creative twist.

1. Coco: A bit late to the game opened its doors in Australia in 2015 and believe it or not it's still not known to many milk tea fanatics however I have definitely caught on and glad I did. Coco has an astonishing 2000 stores across the globe making the founder very rich. Coco has a sweeter milk tea with very nice chewy pearls and a very cute shaped plastic cup. I'm a big fan, not just of the milk tea but a few other unique drinks such as the lemon dunk (which actually has a whole lemon dunked in the tea). Coco also has a very cute logo.

There are several other boutique shops and I'm sure many more up and coming ones with unique twists. It's nice to see what used to be a very niche market, grow the way it has today. Hopefully this post encourages everyone to get themselves a drink :) Cheers to that!