Tea, fruit syrup, a dash of milk and gummy pearls: the Taiwanese trend drink bubble tea is back. Throughout Switzerland, Manor sells more than 20,000 bubble teas every week. "Demand has doubled since the beginning of the year," says spokesman Fabian Hildbrand to 20 minutes.
Thanks to the hype, the department store chain was even able to get some of its gastronomy employees out of short-time work. "We are overwhelmed by the customer reactions," says Hildbrand. Bubble tea is particularly popular with children and young people. But more and more adults are also discovering the slurp for themselves. Bubble tea at Manor costs between 4 and 6.50 francs.
So far, Manor has only sold the trend drink in branches that also have a restaurant. The relatively small department stores in Schaffhausen and Thun sell the most bubble tea. "As soon as the supply is secured, we will extend the offer to the remaining branches," explains Hildbrand.
Bubble Tea is a soft drink from Taiwan and is also called Pearl Milk Tea or Boba Boba. It is based on sweetened green or black tea. Fruit syrup and milk are often buried. The most important thing, however, are the colored balls, called bobas. These consist of tapioca or another starch. In this form, the beads are rubbery. But there are also the popping bobas. In this case, the beads are made of alginate and are filled with a liquid that flows out when you chew them. The drink is drunk with a wide straw.
On Tiktok, bubbleteas are a topic worldwide. There are countless instruction videos on how to make the drink yourself at home: Various Asia shops and pharmacies sell tapioca pearls for this purpose. And in the Bubble Tea Challenge, you have to push the straw into the cup with your eyes closed:
Bubble tea is spreading rapidly in Switzerland: within a few weeks, dozens of new bubble tea shops have opened. In Zurich alone there are now more than ten bars that offer the drink. "Despite the many competitors, business is getting better and better - bubble tea is booming," says Andreas Seidel. Together with Li Ma, he founded the local Só Tea in Zurich Niederdorf in December 2020.
At the end of last year it was only the second bubble tea shop in town. However, Seidel does not want to reveal how much sales the store is now making. But one can live with it. A cup of bubble tea in a Zurich restaurant costs between 6.90 and 9.80 francs, depending on the size.
False study slowed boom
Bubble tea has already been on the road to success in Switzerland: in 2012, Migros even opened four NYtea shops in Zurich and Bern. But when a study by the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule warned of carcinogenic substances in drinks, the trend quickly came to an end. The shops closed.
Although the study later turned out to be wrong, bubble tea had almost completely disappeared from Switzerland until a year ago. Now the drink is back. However, Migros does not want to revive the NYtea shops, as stated on request. Bubble tea is only available in individual branches in Geneva and Valais in the restaurant or at the take-away stand.
Coop is currently not selling bubble teas. However, the trend is being observed carefully, it said on request. Also at McDonalds Switzerland there will be no bubble teas to buy in the near future, says a spokeswoman.
The drink is fun and therefore successful
"Bubble Tea is an example of how people don't want to give up enjoyment, even if it's considered unhealthy," explains ZHAW nutritionist Christine Brombach. This is a kind of counter-movement to the trend towards sugar reduction.
There are also sugar-free versions of bubble tea. "The fun factor also makes a significant contribution to the success of the drink," says Brombach. Bubble teas come in many colors and flavors. In addition, the pearls in it are rubbery or burst when bitten. Whether the trend will last longer this time is difficult to say.
