The tea that is bubbling under
Bubble tea – I have to admit, I am experiencing a bit of an addiction for this milky cold tea.
A few weeks ago, I tried bubble tea for the first time in Dublin – not liking the winter watermelon flavour but loving the sensation of the tapioca bubbles.
The other day, I was enjoying a rare day in town and while promenading down Oliver Plunkett Street, I came across Butter Bubble Bakery & Café. I am not sure when it opened as I am not that often anymore in town but I was drawn in to give the bubble tea another try.
This time I chose banana flavour – although it was made with a flavoured powder, I liked the tea. You can choose from different bubble toppings like the traditional tapioca, coconut jelly, popping bubbles, coffee jelly and a lot more. I love the tapioca bubbles as they have a nice burst.
My first time (and yes, I have returned again), I only planned to get the milk tea but when I saw their cute little buns, I had to get one. These little buns have cute teddy bear faces and are either filled with chocolate mousse (a milk chocolate version) or red bean paste.
I thought of bringing the chocolate version home to Mr T but have to admit that I ate it all myself (don’t tell him, Eddie Dorney).
As I am not too keen on chocolate but loving the bun itself, I got the red bean paste version on my second visit. Being my first time trying red bean paste, I wasn’t sure what to expect – for some reason, I thought of it as a savoury filling but it was sweet with an interesting flavour underneath.
It was thankfully not too sweet and it went well with the sweetened bun – I enjoyed it and would even prefer it to the chocolate filling.
At my next visit (and there will be a next time) I will try the matcha milk tea but knowing me, I will stick to the tapioca bubbles.
The bubble tea (also called boba tea) originated In Taiwan and according to research, the original boba tea was served warm with black tea, tapioca pearls, condensed milk and either syrup or honey (there are limited resources in English available about the original invention).
These days, it seems that the cold version is more widely known and in Butter Bubble, it is served with ice cubes. The tea is poured in a plastic cup with a plastic film on the top and a giant straw. The plastic film enables the drinker to shake the tea nicely without any spills and the straw lets the pearls through. Although I normally don’t like plastic cups at all (you’ll never see me with a take-away coffee or tea) but I have to admit that bubble tea has become my guilty pleasure.
Apart from the tea and tasty pastries, the team also offers bubble waffles which is served with ice cream and different toppings like Oreo, Smarties, Kinder Bueno and of course tapioca pearls. I am looking forward to more bubbles and wish the team great success!