Bubbleology Notting Hill, 45 Pembridge Road, London, W11 3HG. As a token Chinese blogger, it was pretty much a no-brainer when I was invited to the Notting Hill branch of Bubbleology for a little soiree. I drink bubble tea all the time, there's an awesome bubble tea stall outside my apartment in Hong Kong, and I think one of my most commonly asked questions is 'what even is bubble tea?'.
Put simply, bubble tea is a classic tea or tea-infused drink with tapioca pearls or popping boba mixed in, originating from Taiwan who often label the beverage as their national drink. I always see bubble tea as a sweetened milk tea with tapioca pearls, a beverage I've had since I was a little 'un exploring Hong Kong for the first time. But I was really excited to hang out with the team and a handful of other bloggers and my sister to try some 'New-Gen' tea-infused versions.
My favorite was probably the white peach tea with lychee boba and tapioca pearls that I grabbed on the way out: super refreshing and light with a sweet, fruity taste. Just can't get enough of them tapioca pearls. I also tried the honeydew and vanilla tea which was surprisingly good - creamy, rich, fruity and light all at the same time.
To celebrate my sister (#Babybutter!) getting amazing A-level results and subsequently being accepted to her University of choice, I mixed up a cocktail bubble tea for her. Made up of a pina colada base, lychee jelly and passionfruit popping boba, it tasted darn good but I went just a tad heavy on the jelly much to the team's amusement. It's safe to say my future as a Mixologist is still far far away!