If you are an active user of social media platforms, then there is almost a 0.1% chance that you haven’t heard of Bubble tea. This tea has become a sensation amongst the youth and is heading towards becoming a phenomenon. A fact that may surprise you is bubble tea was not invented recently but has been around since the 1980s. It only got fame recently, and stating that social media has largely contributed to it won’t be wrong. 

The craze for Bubble Tea, popularly known as Boba Tea, has transcended to another level, resulting in many new outlets selling different variations. You can easily find an outlet for bubble tea near me if you want to understand the sudden surge in its popularity. 

How Bubble Tea Became A New Sensation?

Giving social media sites like TikTok and Instagram the credit for making Bubble tea a new trend is fair, but we can’t take away the fact that it does have great taste. However, many other factors have contributed to its recent popularity. We will make you aware of those.

Aesthetic Appeal

In today’s world, good-looking people and things steal attention. This played a significant role in the popularity of the Bubble tea. Unlike coffee and other drinks, Bubble tea has an aesthetic appeal. Different coloured flavours and small chewy tapioca pearls increased its social media appeal. 

With influencers and people sharing images of Bubble Tea on their social media handles, more and more people followed the trend. Not only did it become a sensation, but it surpassed the popularity of the Social media icon, Starbucks, in a very short time. 

Good Taste 

Besides having an excellent appearance, bubble tea has a heavenly taste. As the name suggests, white, green or black tea is mixed with a cocktail. Further, milk and chewy tapioca balls, boba or pearls are added, which is sweet in taste. 

Everything together makes the drink incredibly delicious and worth the hype. It is not only about the aesthetic appeal but also the taste.

Customization 

We all live in a world where getting everything customized per our preferences defines our inclination. If something can get customized, it becomes an instant hit. The same happened with Bubble Tea. The drink has been amongst us since the 1980s, but the fact that one can customize it, unlike other regular beverages like coffee, added to its hype. 

You can choose from various teas like white, black, jasmine, and green. Add different flavours of vanilla or strawberry, and you can choose to add ice creams or yogurt. Not just the flavours, but one can also select different toppings and fruits to go with the tea, with boba being common in every drink. There are hardly any beverages that come with this many options. 

Vegan 

If you are aware of the drink Bubble tea, you must be aware of the term vegan and how fast people are adapting to it. Now, to add to your knowledge, vegan refers to food and drink items that do not use products that are produced by animals and stick to a plant-based diet.

Being vegan is relatively complex as the options for consuming food and beverages get limited, but Bubble Tea can be an exception. If you are a vegan, you can opt for products not produced by animals, like skip milk, yogurt and ice cream. This is another reason that bubble tea is becoming popular amongst the masses because it caters to everyone.  

New Stores and Flavours

The love for bubble tea has given way to new stores. Many stores and online businesses have introduced their own version and flavours of bubble tea. Some have even introduced new flavours of tapioca balls. There are now flavours suitable for diabetic people.

In the past, there has never been a drink which has been experimented with this much while keeping its essence intact. As many new stores have opened, chances of finding a bubble tea near me open now are high. 

Origin of Bubble Tea 

Bubble Tea may have become a trendsetter drink recently, but one can trace its origin back to the 1980s in Taiwan. However, the origin of this tea is still debatable. Drinking milk tea was a common practice in Taiwan and most Asian countries. On the other hand, tapioca balls and shaved ice were consumed as a dessert. 

It has been said and written in many places that a breakthrough thought dawned on the tea store owner, Liu Han-Chieh. He combined all three items and created a drink: bubble tea. However, the tapioca ball innovation, boba or pearls, came later. This boba became the unique identity of this drink. 

With time, the drink underwent several transition stages, and people started adding different teas, milk and flavours to bubble tea. Slowly, the drink began to travel the world. First, it reached Asian countries, then to Western countries, where it became a hit. 

The Future of the Bubble Tea

Though the drink has stayed a staple in Asian countries like Taiwan (for obvious reasons), China, Japan and Korea, it precisely became popular in other countries in the last decade.

Seeing the recent dramatic increase in its consumption, it won’t be wrong to say that it is here to stay. As per research, bubble tea’s market value was US$ 6.17 billion in the year 2023. At this speed, the bubble tea will possibly expand further.  

As long as new flavours are introduced along with the latest experiments, the tea will never go out of the trend.  

Closing Thoughts

We must give the proper share of credit to social media for making boba or bubble tea a phenomenon, but let us not ignore the fact that it has a great taste. With plenty of options to customize and flavours to taste, Bubble tea has rightly taken the throne of the best tea in the world. 

If you want to try the best bubble tea around you, try Palgong Tea. The store deals in different bubble tea flavours and gives you plenty of options to customize your drink to your taste buds.