CONTENTS
Bubble tea, boba, tea with tapioca pearls, whatever you want to call it, the drink has been popular all over Asia and overseas for decades now. Somehow, though, bubble tea has only started to gain a following in Japan in the past few years. But now that it’s arrived, these tapioca bubbles are making a big splash, and not just into cups of milk tea.
Making a Quick 7/11 Run? Grab a Bag of Tapioca
You know a trend has gotten big in Japan when it becomes a new limited-edition snack flavor.
For when finding a good boba spot and then (sigh) actually drinking liquid becomes too much work, you can just grab a bag of these tapioca pearls covered in milk tea-flavored chocolate.
Not Grilled Cheese, But Grilled Bubble Tea
Nineteen Tea has more than 30 locations across Korea, but only recently did its first Tokyo shop pop up. And what will you find if you walk into that Tokyo shop? "Tapioca Toast", a hot pressed sandwich filled with tapioca pearls and "milk tea jam."
If Bubble Tea Were a Hot Dog, It Would Be This Pastry
At Aazai no Yatai, a restaurant dedicated to Taiwanese cuisine, you'll find the intriguing Bubble Tea Fried Bread. It's gained a fair amount of popularity after being featured on Japanese TV, and we must admit, it looks tempting.
Chilled Milk Bubble Tea… Ramen
The Bizzare Trend of Tapioca Cup Noodles
Once upon a time on the Japanese internet, a man decided to try to make his own rendition of the fabled "bubble tea ramen." Unfortunately, this man was no magical ramen expert or restaurant owner, and so he decided to set his sights a little lower. Let us tell you the brief story of Japanese netizen Nojuma, and his adventures in ramen creation.
Flowing Water Brings Flowing Bubble Tea?
Well, there's no tea involved here, although… there could be?
If the video below leaves you feeling a little lost (what is that machine and what is going on?), you first have to learn a little about traditional Japanese culinary culture. During the summer, noodles called somen are a popular dish, as they're eaten chilled with a dipping sauce. To keep the noodles cool, and keep them from sticking together, "nagashi somen" (流しそうめん, "flowing somen") is a fun serving style where the noodles are kept moving through running cold water. That can be along traditional bamboo pipes, or a compact modern machine like the one you see here.
For whatever reason, doing the same thing with loose tapioca pearls apparently seems like a good idea in Japan.
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
Welcome to Japan, the game has begun. Compete against your friends and family as you try to capture a single pearl: this is war!
Considering how much difficulty this poor twitter user is having, we don't actually recommend you try this at home.
But do consider searching for some of Japan's most unique bubble tea creations when you visit next! You never know what you'll find here.
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NAME:Bubble Tea Shops Around Japan
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