A new bubble tea cafe has come to Leeds, adding to the numerous spots located across the city. Over the past few years bubble or boba tea has become very popular, if you don't know, bubble tea is a flavoured milk tea (obvious I know) with little flavoured boba - tapioca - pearls at the bottom, complete with some form of topping.
I have never had bubble tea, I've seen it on social media, and in the streets and often thought about trying it but just never have. So in a bid to tick something off a very dull bucket list, I decided to try the new place in the city.
Gong Cha, the latest cafe, opened on Saturday (October 2) and gathered hundreds of people queuing up and into the Merrion Centre. The brand has venues in Manchester, London, Newcastle, Liverpool and now Leeds so it seemed no better time for me to lose my boba virginity.
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I took a wander over to Merrion Street, not really knowing what to expect, I had done a little research on the best 'starter' tea to buy and was initially a little overwhelmed. The basic premise is, you choose your tea - which comes in different flavours such as brown sugar, caramel, and green - then you choose the size, ice level, sugar level and any additional toppings.
I didn't know what the percentages really meant so asked some friends, basically 100 percent is the standard, if you want less sugar and less ice you go down the list.
It's pretty simple really, once I got my head around it and asked a few friends what they would recommend. I went with a medium caramel milk tea with regular pearls, milk foam and left it at that, I didn't want to overcomplicate and potentially ruin my first ever bubble tea, that would be a shame.
I ordered at an electronic kiosk in the small but fresh café, you can also order at the counter of course and within around 10 minutes I had my order, 10 minutes seemed a while but I was merely comparing to coffee shops where the drinks are a little less involved so I won't focus on that too much.
Once I had my tea and a big old straw I had my first taste. I was worried after choosing 100 percent sugar that it would be too sweet but no, 100 percent is the standard and it was pleasant, really pleasant.
I've had my share of iced teas or the godforsaken Frappuccino's from coffee shops and often they are way too sweet, this was not however, it was just right (as Goldilocks would say).
The little boba at the bottom, which might put some off were good - I'm not entirely sure if they did anything other than collect the syrup but I had no problem with them, after all it wouldn't be bubble tea without the 'bubbles'.
My drink with an extra topping came to £5.20 which was about what I expected, it seemed a little steep at first but as a treat I can see why people would choose them. They are not the healthiest choice however, it's sugary tea with whole milk so I myself wouldn't go for one everyday.
The cafe had seating inside, a nice bright atmosphere on a very gloomy day and the staff were efficient and friendly, I have almost no complaints. My first experience of bubble tea was good, I probably will get another just to try a different flavour but I don't think it will become part of my routine. I shall stick to an espresso or Yorkshire Tea to quench my thirst.
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