As a teenager, I thought drinking bubble tea would be a
fad. Just like Orbitz, a juice with small spheres of fruit floating throughout,
its popularity would wane once consumers got over the novelty of having food in
their drinks. Yet, my psychic abilities are non-existent, thankfully, and consumption
is still going strong.
Although the drink didn’t arrive in Toronto until the
mid-1990’s, it was developed in 1988 when a product development manager at Chun
Shui Tang (a Taiwanese teahouse) added sweetened tapioca pudding to their tea
and the company loved it so much they started selling it!
For those not in the know, at its simplest, bubble tea is
the combination of sweetened tea with a food additive, which isn’t necessarily
tapioca (although it’s the most popular choice). In fact, the “bubble” in the
name has nothing to do with these pearls, but rather the foamy bubbles floating
on top that’s developed through the shaking process.
Nowadays the drink and topping options seem endless. At
CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice, refreshing juices are added in the base and even
chopped fresh fruit on top. Nevertheless, there’s something about the tried and
true ingredients that still draw people in. Over March, as fans were voting for
their favourite drinks, with the exception of passion fruit juice, the winners
had scarcely a fruit in sight.
Although a little sweet at first, despite getting the
drink at 50% sugariness, the Bubble GaGa ($4.20 for regular or $4.70 for large)
is rather refreshing with its passion fruit and green tea base. It’d be great
for the warmer months as one begins to crave something tropical since it also
incorporates coconut jelly with the tapioca.
But my favourite has to be the 3 Guys ($5 for regular or
$5.50 for large), a simple milk tea with three toppings: tapioca, pudding and
grass jelly! The tapioca provides that requisite chewiness and the grass jelly
an interesting herbal property to the tea. Yet, it’s the pudding, an ingredient
I’ve never tried, that’s most surprising adding a silky creaminess when you get
a bite with the drink.
The longevity of bubble tea is outstanding, so much so,
that the global CoCo franchise turned 20 in April. During this milestone,
they’re offering their patrons a few perks:
- The two top drinks noted above are on sale for April where you can get the large for just $3.80.
- During April share a photo of CoCo’s tea using hashtag #CoCo20th on any social media platform and that’s your entry towards their contest for winning one month of free CoCo products (that’s one a day)! There will be five winners and to help you along the way, CoCo has photo booths set up in Ontario locations.
Happy birthday CoCo Fresh Tea and good luck to all. May
the bubbles be with you.
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