How does it feel to see the most common of street foods in one’s native country popularized in the rest of the world? Just as happened to Japanese sushi, Indian curry and Italian pizzas, one of Taiwan’s favorite treats is fast becoming a global phenomenon.
Bubble tea, or pearl milk tea, a bubbly mixture of milk, tea and chewy tapioca balls, has been Taiwan’s everyday drink since the 1980s, when a local tea shop’s experiment went wildly popular and then swept up the entire nation with over 50,000 bubble tea shops, serving up to 180 million cups of tea annually.
The bubble tea trend has traveled well over the world along with Taiwanese immigrants. In recent years, bubble tea shops have flourished overseas, first in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan expat communities in North America, the U.K. and the European continent.
The quirky drink can now be enjoyed in 30 countries. Since 2010, bubble tea shops run by locals have emerged in Berlin, Dubai, Manila and Mumbai, all places without prominent Taiwanese communities. In early 2011, a string of specialized bubble tea shops popped up in downtown London, clamoring for the title of the drink’s harbinger in the English capital.
As far-flung as these stores are, many of them actually share the same root—acquiring their skills from Possmei International Co. Ltd., a Taipei-based company that saw something noble in the tapioca pellet-filled drink that others had perhaps failed to grasp.
“Bubble tea is truly Taiwan’s culinary treasure, yet it has been taken for granted for too long,” said Jacky Wang, Possmei’s CEO. “Now it’s time for a change.”
Wang made the remarks on the back of the solid foundation he laid for his business. For the past 20 years, his company has supplied tea drink materials to many overseas customers. But as many of his buyers ended up failing in their businesses, Wang figured out a different strategy was needed: Instead of just selling products, he became a consultant to his clients.
In 2009, Wang launched the “Bubble Tea Academy” for his clients, trying to pass on everything he knew about the beverage. “It’s a foolproof package that ranges from tea-making recipes, personnel training, interior design and marketing campaign ideas to the Corporate Identity System,” he said.
Unlike many well-known bubble tea brands from Taiwan that have made a name for themselves overseas, Possmei prefers to stay away from the spotlight. “We aim to help our clients succeed with their own brands rather than promoting our company, because we want the world to know Taiwan’s bubble tea culture is more than any particular brand,” he said.
Wang’s dream of selling Taiwan is not limited to beverages. He is already repackaging Taiwanese street eats such as pepper fried chicken, red bean cakes and snow ice, making them more marketable and accessible. “First we market the delicacies to other countries; eventually, these places will become captivated by the richness of Taiwan’s food culture.”
Some naysayers dismiss bubble tea as a cheap snack not worth all the fuss, but Wang is undaunted. “We will bring bubble tea into mainstream culture, where it will rival Starbucks coffee,” he said. “Look at it as street food, and that’s what it will always be; but treat it as a luxury drink, and you can create a trend.”
Apparently, Wang is not the only one who thinks Taiwan’s colorful tea culture can achieve the fame that coffee long enjoys.
As soon as Assad Khan, a British national who fell in love with the Taiwanese tea, opened Bubbleology in April in London’s Soho district, he became an ambassador for the drink.
“Bubble tea can be a projection of Taiwanese culture: full of diversity, vigor and fun,” Khan told Taiwan Today during an early May visit to Taiwan in search of new products for his cafe.
In selling the product in Europe, Khan, a former investment banker with JP Morgan, seems determined to defy conventional thinking. “They say ‘You’re not supposed to chew your drink,’ and I’d say ‘Why not?’” he said.
To guarantee the authenticity of his drinks, Khan insists all of Bubbleology’s ingredients and materials—be it tapioca balls, syrup, milk powder or the signature fat straws—come directly from Taiwan. “Now that a large majority of my customers are Taiwanese, I feel obliged to protect the originality of my products,” Khan said. “If they keep coming back, it means we’re doing it right.”
“Just as Indian curry and Japanese sushi already have their lion’s share of gastro-diplomacy, bubble tea will do the same for Taiwan, making its beauty and diversity better known,” he said.
“I hope in the near future, the majority of ordinary English people will come to know what Taiwan is about, where it is and what its favorite foods are,” a smiling Khan added.
As commonplace as the streetside drink might appear to most Taiwanese, more and more entrepreneurs are recognizing its potential to stir up the world. Wang puts it well: “A little guy with big enough dreams can become a giant one day.” (HZW)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw