It’s Bubblicious
Tea Time With a
Twist!
Kionna Comer &
Ashley Fredrickson
Imagine
the queen of England sitting down for high tea, but this time instead of her
delicately sipping her tea out of a porcelain cup, she is slurping it through an
oversized straw. As far-fetched as this may seem, this very well could be the
case if she was sitting down to a cup of bubble tea.
Bubble
tea has been described as a “new trend” that is sweeping across the nation.
This trend started in Taiwan at a small tea stand in the early 1980’s and is
now making its way to American culture.
Bubble
tea is a cold, frothy tea-like drink, served with gummy balls filled with
tapioca, which float on the bottom. The
tapioca-filled balls are made from sweet potato, cassava root and brown sugar.
Bubble tea is served in a clear plastic cup with an oversized straw to
accommodate the large tapioca balls that are sucked up as you drink.
Bubble
tea comes in many flavors, including almond, banana, green apple, 
strawberry, mango,
pina colada, pink guava and peanut butter cup, just to name a few.
Many
avid bubble tea drinkers add different mixes or flavoring effects to their
bubble tea, in order to spice things up a little. Some of these mixes include
cream and sour flavors.
One
place to find bubble tea here in town is the Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant,
located on 120th and Center, near Nobbies, where they sell the drink
for $2.99 a glass.
Since
bubble tea is new to Omaha, not many people have requested it, however, the
people who have tried it seem to like it. “The customers really like it,
especially the tapioca balls,” said Saigon Owner Ngoc Ngeyen.
Many
critics ask: Is this fun drink a trend that is it going to stick around or is
it just a fad that will eventually die out? Ngeyen says, “It’s definitely a
trend, its not going anywhere.”
You
can take part in this bubblicious trend by trying a cup of bubble tea, or maybe
even five. Bubble Bubble!
