The only tea I am interested in is Bubble Tea. I will have a Strawberry Black Tea with coconut jelly, regular sugar, and no ice. Please and thank you.
Everywhere I go, all I see is bubble tea *inserts the spiderman meme*. It is also known as boba tea or pearl milk tea. Bubble Tea, which, just like that, became a part of our daily lives, has a very long and exciting history.
History of Bubble Tea:
Let us take a step back and time travel to Taiwan in the late 1940s. Chang Fan Shu opened a tea shop right after world war II. He used to sell shou yao (well shaken by hands) tea with the help of cocktail shakers. Hot tea was put into shakers with ice cubes, shaken well to form a silky texture, and poured into a glass with bubbles on top. This, popularly known as bubble tea, comes in many flavours. Even today, shou yao is an essential part of bubble tea. The better the tea is shaken, the better it tastes. It was when the country thought and came up with a brilliant beverage- milk, tea, and bubbles (or that is also known as boba, i.e., little balls made from tapioca).
Fast forward to 1986, when the first bubble tea shop, Hanlin, was opened on the streets of Taiwan. After this, bubble tea gained popularity and became the talk of the town. Hanlin has over 80 branches in Taiwan and franchises in different parts, from North America to China. This was just the beginning. Something that started as a drink is now quite popular, as seen in cakes and ice creams. But in this blog, we will see how it gained so much popularity suddenly.
Bubble Tea’s Global Market Presence:
People are used to things from the west getting all the attention. When bubble tea was first introduced to the world, it took some time for people to get familiar with it. However, Mcdonald’s Germany had bubble tea on its menu in 2012. I know! I know! There’s more to the story of bubble tea. It might be hard to believe, but in 2018, there was an increase of 3000% in demand for bubble tea. *Woah, phew*. According to the research, the bubble tea market is expected to grow by a CAGR of 7.2% and reach USD 3.39 billion by 2027.
Bubble Tea in Canada:
Today, Canada is seeing a high demand for bubble tea. The sweet beverage has become the favourite drink amongst people aged 15-35. Some famous bubble tea brands in Canada are Chatime, Gong Cha, Kung Fu Tea, Coco Fresh & Juice, Real Fruit Bubble Tea, The Alley Yonge & Wellesley, etc. Burnaby had Canada’s largest bubble tea festival in 2022.
