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I first heard of it way back in the late 90s, but it probably only caught on in the mid 2000s big here. Now it's pretty mainstream and a new fad, and certainly not only enjoyed by Asians. There's a chain place called Utopia that has bubble tea, various other drinks, and Asian cakes and pastries, as well as several other chains, including those based in Taiwan. Sometimes I go through phases where I'm addicted to it, even though it's sometimes not really that good when you think about it.
It seems widespread in Asia, in the UK I saw a few. In the US I mainly saw it in a few places in LA and NY. Oddly enough in Germany they briefly sold bubble tea in McDonald's.
There've been health scares because of tests showing that the pearls contained cancer causing chemicals, but I think that has mostly been resolved...
I've never heard of it, and I've never seen it. There was apparently a bubble tea stall in Leeds, but it closed down for whatever reason - lack of customers I presume.
In Toronto, Bubble Tea has been around since the Mid-90s, by the late 90s early 2000s, bubble tea cafes and chain everywhere, the market was over-satuated so I'm not suprised that many have not closed down.
The craze died down, but it's still wildly available.
Never heard of it. Sounds disgusting. Apparently some places in Helsinki served it in the 90's, but common sense prevailed and they stopped selling it.
In Toronto, Bubble Tea has been around since the Mid-90s, by the late 90s early 2000s, bubble tea cafes and chain everywhere, the market was over-satuated so I'm not suprised that many have not closed down.
The craze died down, but it's still wildly available.
Mainly the craze hit Toronto first, because right now it's more popular than ever. In Melbourne there's a place called Gong Cha and another called Cha Time. There's always a long for them.
I've never heard of it, and I've never seen it. There was apparently a bubble tea stall in Leeds, but it closed down for whatever reason - lack of customers I presume.
I saw a bubble tea place at the Bullring, in Birmingham, that seemed well patronised, as well as one in Oxford and another in Chinatown in London that appeared to be doing quite well.
Not sure if it's popular. I have a friend who loves it (must be his East Asian genes ), so I sometimes go for one. I sort of like it. The location of bubble tea bars doesn't seem to correlate much with traditional East Asian immigrant hotspots, as it seems to be the case in London.
Mainly the craze hit Toronto first, because right now it's more popular than ever. In Melbourne there's a place called Gong Cha and another called Cha Time. There's always a long for them.
I guess the craze died down, because it isn't seen as "exotic" anymore. Now everyone is all about Macarons and Red velvet.
We still have many chains, there bubble Tease, which had a lot of location back in the 2000s, now they only have 6 in the GTA Bubbletease
But Ten Ren Tea is still popular have have many location, especially in the major shopping malls in Toronto. Ten Ren's Tea
I heard it's not as popular in Singapore as it used to be, but it's still super common there, as well as Taipei. I would assume Hong Kong too, but I didn't really know much about it in 2006 when I went. It's also fairly popular in KL and Bangkok. Not sure about Jakarta or Manila, but they did have boba at Jollibee in LA.
I also the macaron craze. 6 years ago you could barely find them, now they're everywhere!
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), so I sometimes go for one. I sort of like it. The location of bubble tea bars doesn't seem to correlate much with traditional East Asian immigrant hotspots, as it seems to be the case in London.
