Love Bubble Tea? Well, So Does Japan, and They've Gone a Little Crazy

この投稿をInstagramで見る

そんみぃ（セブン専用）さん(@sonmii_711)がシェアした投稿 - 2019年 7月月6日午前7時59分PDT

• 

  Image Source
  
  Of course, no one would stand for just one flavor option when it comes to Tapioca Toast. As well as no. 17, the basic milk tea flavor sandwich, you can also get no. 18 chocolate tapioca toast, and no. 19 coconut jam tapioca toast.

• 

  Image Source
  
  19TEA
  32-6 Udagawacho, Shibuya City, Tokyo
  11:00 am - 11:00 pm
   

• 

  Image Source
  
  The bread is steamed and then deep-fried, before being cut open and filled with whipped cream and tapioca pearls tasting of brown sugar.

• 

  Image Source
  
  Then, of course, it's topped with a heart-shaped pink marshmallow.
  
  
  Aazai no Yatai
  1-20-5 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo

• 

  Image Source
  
  That's right, you saw the words written in the title. This limited edition ramen is for real. This summer, Menya Musashi, a Tokyo ramen spot, started offering a limited 15 bowls of the chilled tapioca tsukemen each day during June. The dish did so well, they had to extend the promotion.

• 

  Image Source
  
  Of course the bowl of broth? milk tea? bubble tea soup? which is normally just for dipping noodles also came with a straw, for that satisfying traditional bubble tea experience.

• 

  Image Source
  
  Use a spoon and you'll get a whole mouthful of pearls, though. They go perfect with noodles??
  
  According to reviews, it's actually a pretty good dish of tsukemen! The soup is made with milk, soy milk, and earl grey tea (!), lending it a light tea flavor while still leaving it with lots of savory umami.
  
  Menya Musashi Gorindo
  5-29-1 Shiba, Minato City, Tokyo
  (Mon ~ Sat) 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

• 

  Image Source
  
  Since tapioca is a recent trend in Japan, the idea that you might just be able to pick some up seems unlikely to your average resident of the country. Nojuma, however, said that he started seeing it everywhere when he started looking. Normal supermarket, international import stores, the internet... tapioca pearls are not actually that rare.

• 

  Image Source
  
  Tapioca takes a little too long to cook for it to just be thrown into a styrofoam cup for a minute, so he started by boiling the pearls in a pot.

• 

  Image Source
  
  But then, the moment of truth! Our friend Nojuma prepared his cup noodles with added tapioca, mixed it up with an appropriately sized bubble tea straw, and gave it a taste...
  
  Sounds like it was fine? Nojuma comments that the tapioca was a fun little accent, and that it made him want to carry the cup (with straw) around his neighborhood and take pictures for instagram. I guess tapioca on its own isn't particularly flavorful though!

タピオカ流しですが豆つかむより難しかったです
流行るわけねーだろ！！！ pic.twitter.com/q9wIuxYJX2

— 美少女jsねくろのみこん (@nekuro_ruruie) 2019年6月18日