Teens are going wild for bubble tea, with adolescents (and a smattering of other curious consumers) lining up across Tokyo for the tea with the tapioca balls. Now the concept is mutating and arriving in convenience stores.
FamilyMart recently unveiled a tapioca tea latte °ì²¹°ì¾±²µ¨°ù¾± (shaved ice), transforming the trendy drink into a fully fledged dessert. Each cup (?198 after tax) packs a bunch of tapioca balls into a milk tea ice-filled cup, with milk-flavored ice cream in the center.
So far, the release has been a hit; finding it at FamilyMart stores can be a challenge, with most outlets sold out.
It¡¯s worth seeking out to try, but don¡¯t go over the top hunting one down. The ice cream is a pleasant enough milk flavor that will go down great on a hot day. And the tapioca is a solid bonus, managing to maintain a good level of squishiness considering that the whole item is essentially frozen. But taste wise, the balls don¡¯t add much to the dessert, and work more to change the texture than anything else. It¡¯s good, but far from a substitute for the real deal.
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