Written by Christie Crawford
Clarksville, TN – What franchise has now surpassed both Starbucks and McDonalds in terms of the number of food and beverage establishments it has? I’d bet you anything that the name will not be familiar to you but you might know what signature drink it sells; the bubble or boba tea. Mixue Bincheng has 45,000 retail outlets all over the world and is known for inexpensive drinks ranging from 30 cents to $1.20 in US currency.
Founded in 1997 in Zhengzhou in the Henan province in China, the business started out selling ice cream cones; no coincidence that its name translates to “honey snow ice city”. Bubble tea was added a year later and then the company took off in sales. So what is bubble tea, and where can you try it?
Bubble tea originated in Taiwan, although there have been several theories as to who was the mastermind behind it. It made its way to the United States in the 1980’s namely to California, and then migrated to Chinatowns and Koreatowns across the country. It is also known as boba tea, which refers to bubbles or pearls made from tapioca starch, water, and brown sugar. The great advantage of bubble tea is the variety of flavors and color combinations that can be concocted.
The drink originates with traditional teas such as green, black, jasmine, herbal, and fruit varieties, and is then mixed with milk (whole, low-fat, or even almond) or ice for a slushy version and a variety of sweeteners such as traditional brown sugar, honey, agave, or fruit syrups. To add to the mystique is the boba, which can be chewy traditional tapioca, fruit-flavored popping pearls that explode or pop when chewed, or even fruit-tasting jelly that is like a deconstructed Jello-O consistency. A milk foam can even be added as a top layer for even more flavor intrigue.
So where can you enjoy it? Our Clarksville Living team traveled around Clarksville to try various versions of the drink highly ranked on the app YELP. We’re not choosing to rank or review here, only describe and highlight the drinks we sampled to celebrate April as National Bubble Tea Month.
Pho King 210 – Needmore Road, Suite G
Served in large glass bowl-like glasses, we tried the slushy dragon fruit tea with dragon fruit popping pearls, the Thai milk tea and the local favorite, horchata, flavored like the popular Mexican beverage with traditional pearls. The dragon fruit really stood out for its refreshing fruit flavor and the horchata version really lived up to the comparison.
Kyoto Ramen – 2088 Lowes Drive
At the newly opened ramen restaurant, we sampled the traditional brown sugar milk tea and the sea salt milk foam green tea with aloe vera jelly. The drinks were served in tall branded plastic glassware with a colorful presentation. The brown sugar tea was spot on, and the green tea was an unusual but delightfully less sweet version with the special addition of the jelly.
Kohana – 120 Corporate Drive
Tasting sweeter than the other two offerings, we tried the mango slushy tea with mango popping teas and the taro with traditional bob in colorful branded cups. If sweet suits your palate, you will enjoy these traditional offerings but note that they can be adjusted upon request.
Tita Boba – 590 Fire Station Road
The only cafe dedicated to boba tea, the cafe also had fun merchandise displayed as well as popular bubble tea games, similar to a coffee-shop atmosphere. Monthly specials are available including the strawberry slushy fruit tea with popping strawberry pearls as well as make-your-own versions. The slushy strawberry special was refreshing, and the taro and coconut milk tea had a pleasant blended taste.
As April approaches and you think of grabbing a coffee or tea at your local coffeehouse, think “out of the box” and try ordering a bubble tea at one of these or other options around Clarksville – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
