Editing Bubble tea (section)

== Popularity ==
In the 1990s, bubble tea spread across East and Southeast Asia with ever-growing popularity. In regions like Hong Kong, [[mainland China]], [[Japan]], [[Vietnam]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tomiyama |first=Atsushi |date=3 May 2018 |title=Vietnam Embraces Taiwan-Style Bubble Tea |work=Nikkei Asia |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Vietnam-embraces-Taiwan-style-bubble-tea |url-status=live |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401115622/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Vietnam-embraces-Taiwan-style-bubble-tea |archive-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> and [[Singapore]], the bubble tea trend has expanded rapidly among young people. In some popular shops, people would line up for more than thirty minutes to get a drink.<ref name=":1" /> In recent years, the popularity of bubble tea has gone beyond the beverage itself, with boba lovers inventing various bubble tea flavoured-foods, including [[ice cream]], [[pizza]], [[Toast (food)|toast]], [[sushi]], and [[ramen]].<ref name=":10" />

===Taiwan===
In Taiwan, bubble tea has become not just a beverage, but an enduring icon of the culture and food history for the nation.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wu |first=Valerie |date=2021-03-22 |title=Boba Diplomacy: Bubble Tea's Influence on Taiwan's Soft Power |url=https://www.glimpsefromtheglobe.com/regions/asia-and-the-pacific/boba-diplomacy-bubble-teas-influence-on-taiwans-soft-power/ |access-date=2021-04-24 |website=Glimpse from the Globe |language=en |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425123529/https://www.glimpsefromtheglobe.com/regions/asia-and-the-pacific/boba-diplomacy-bubble-teas-influence-on-taiwans-soft-power/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, the date April 30 was officially declared as National Bubble Tea Day in Taiwan.<ref name=":1" /> That same year, the image of bubble tea was proposed as an alternative cover design for Taiwan's passport.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Tzu-ti |date=20 April 2020 |title=Legislator Proposes Erasing 'China' from Taiwan's Passport Cover |work=Taiwan News |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3919576 |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=23 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423130009/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3919576 |url-status=live }}</ref>  According to [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]], bubble tea has become synonymous with Taiwan and is an important symbol of Taiwanese identity both domestically and internationally.<ref name="Al Jazeera 2020">{{Cite news |last=Hale |first=Erin |date=26 June 2020 |title=Taiwan Finds Diplomatic Sweet Spot in Bubble Tea |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/taiwan-finds-diplomatic-sweet-spot-bubble-tea-200623065750371.html |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626093010/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/taiwan-finds-diplomatic-sweet-spot-bubble-tea-200623065750371.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bubble tea is used to represent Taiwan in the context of the [[Milk Tea Alliance]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Nicola |date=3 May 2020 |title=#MilkTeaAlliance: New Asian Youth Movement Battles Chinese Trolls |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/03/milkteaalliance-new-asian-youth-movement-battles-chinese-trolls/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/03/milkteaalliance-new-asian-youth-movement-battles-chinese-trolls/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera 2020" /> [[50 Lan]] is a bubble tea chain founded in [[Tainan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=萬蓓琳 |date=2008-07-31 |title=台南小攤變身全國最大冷飲加盟店 - 今周刊 |url=https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/80393/post/200807310032/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=www.businesstoday.com.tw |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref>

=== Hong Kong ===
Hong Kong is famous for its traditional Hong Kong–style milk tea, which is made with brewed black tea and evaporated milk.<ref name=":2" /> While milk tea has long become integrated into people's daily lives, the expansion of Taiwanese bubble tea chains, including [[Tiger Sugar]], Youiccha, and [[Xing Fu Tang]], into Hong Kong created a new wave for "boba tea."<ref name=":4" />

=== Mainland China ===
Since the idea of adding tapioca pearls into milk tea was introduced into China in the 1990s, bubble tea has increased in popularity.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Yawen |date=2020-12-23 |title=Tea Bubble Is Set to Inflate in China |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bubble-tea-china-breakingviews-idUSKBN28X040 |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=28 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228082351/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bubble-tea-china-breakingviews-idUSKBN28X040 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020 it was estimated that the consumption of bubble tea was 5 times that of coffee in recent years.<ref name=":11" /> According to data from QianZhen Industry Research Institute, the value of the tea-related beverage market in China reached {{Currency|53.7 billion|RMB|passthrough=yes|first=yes}} (about {{Currency|7.63 billion|USD|passthrough=yes|linked=no}}) in 2018.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |date=7 August 2019 |title=Milk Tea Becomes Increasingly Popular in China |work=People's Daily Online |url=http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0807/c90000-9604164.html |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=10 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910050551/http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0807/c90000-9604164.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  In 2019, annual sales from bubble tea shops reached as high as {{Currency|140.5 billion|RMB|passthrough=yes|linked=no}} (roughly {{Currency|20 billion|USD|passthrough=yes|linked=no}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Noël |first=Steffi |date=2020-09-09 |title=The success of bubble tea in China explained |url=https://daxueconsulting.com/success-bubble-tea-china/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Daxue Consulting - Market Research China |language=en-US}}</ref> While bubble tea chains from Taiwan (e.g., Gong Cha and Coco) are still popular, more local brands, like Yi Dian Dian, [[Nayuki]], [[Hey Tea]], etc., are now dominating the market.<ref name=":12" />

In China, young people's growing obsession with bubble tea has shaped their way of social interaction. Buying someone a cup of bubble tea has become a new way of informally thanking someone. It is also a favoured topic among friends and on [[social media]].<ref name=":12" />

=== Japan ===
Bubble tea first entered Japan by the late 1990s, but it failed to leave a lasting impression on the public markets.<ref name=":13b">{{Cite web |last=Shih |first=Yi-yun |date=2019-06-06 |title=How Taiwanese Bubble Tea Conquered the Taste Buds of The Japanese |url=https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2429 |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=CommonWealth Magazine |archive-date=21 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921060827/https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2429 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was not until the 2010s when the bubble tea trend finally swept Japan.<ref name=":13b" /> Shops from Taiwan, Korea, and China, as well as local brands, began to pop up in cities, and bubble tea has remained one of the hottest trends since then.<ref name=":13b" /> Bubble tea has become so commonplace among teenagers that teenage girls in Japan invented a slang for it: ''tapiru'' (タピる). The word is short for drinking tapioca tea in Japanese, and it won first place in a survey of "Japanese slang for middle school girls" in 2018.<ref name=":13b" /> A bubble tea theme park was open for a limited time in 2019 in [[Harajuku]], [[Tokyo]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roll |first=Dale |date=30 July 2019 |title=Bubble Tea Amusement Park to Open in Harajuku |language=en |work=Japan Today |url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/bubble-tea-amusement-park-to-open-in-harajuku |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031095059/https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/bubble-tea-amusement-park-to-open-in-harajuku |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Singapore ===
Known locally in Chinese as {{Lang-zh|t=泡泡茶|labels=no}} ({{Lang-zh|p=pào pào chá}}), bubble tea is loved by many in Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quek |first=Eunice |date=3 May 2020 |title=Tightened Covid-19 Circuit Breaker Measures to Stay for Another Week but Your Favourite Bubble Tea Could Still Be Available |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/your-favourite-bubble-tea-could-still-be-available |access-date=9 July 2020 |website=The Straits Times |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709143326/https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/your-favourite-bubble-tea-could-still-be-available |url-status=live }}</ref> The drink was sold in Singapore as early as 1992 and became phenomenally popular among young people in 2001.<ref name="hermesauto">{{Cite web |last=Quek |first=Rachel |date=25 July 2019 |title=Consuming Singapore: The Obsession with Bubble Tea |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/videos/consuming-singapore-the-obsession-with-bubble-tea |access-date=9 July 2020 |website=The Straits Times |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709052759/https://www.straitstimes.com/videos/consuming-singapore-the-obsession-with-bubble-tea |url-status=live }}</ref> This soon ended because of the intense competition and [[price war]]s among shops.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Yap |first=Jan |date=28 January 2014 |title=Bubble Tea |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-01-29_182158.html |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Infopedia |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418055213/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-01-29_182158.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, most bubble tea shops closed and bubble tea lost its popularity by 2003.<ref name=":0" /> When Taiwanese chains like Koi and Gong Cha came to Singapore in 2007 and 2009, the beverage experienced only short resurgences in popularity.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2020-01-19 |title=A Drink from South-East Asia? The History of Bubble Tea |url=https://thekopi.co/2020/01/20/history-of-bubble-tea/ |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Kopi |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125021/https://thekopi.co/2020/01/20/history-of-bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, interest in bubble tea rose again at an unprecedented speed in Singapore, as new brands like The Alley and Tiger Sugar entered the market; social media also played an important role in driving this renaissance of bubble tea.<ref name=":14" />

===United States===
[[Taiwanese Americans|Taiwanese immigrants]] introduced bubble tea to the United States in the 1990s, initially in [[California]] through regions including [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].<ref name="AsianAmericanIdentity">{{cite news |last1=Zhang |first1=Jenny G. |title=How Bubble Tea Became a Complicated Symbol of Asian-American Identity |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora |work=Eater |date=5 November 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Some of the first stand-alone bubble tea shops can be traced to a food court in [[Arcadia, California|Arcadia]], in Southern California,<ref name="AsianAmericanIdentity"/> and Fantasia Coffee & Tea in [[Cupertino, California|Cupertino]], in Northern California.<ref name=":15">{{Cite thesis |last=Trazo |first=Talitha Angelica |title="Wanna Get Boba?": The Bond Between Boba and Asian American Youth in San Jose, California |date=2020 |degree=M.A. |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7d24w91f |page=3 |language=en |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424115344/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7d24w91f |url-status=live }}</ref> Chains like Tapioca Express, Quickly, Lollicup, and [[Happy Lemon]] emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bringing the Taiwanese bubble tea trend to the US.<ref name=":15" /> Within the Asian American community, bubble tea is commonly known under its colloquial term "boba."<ref name=":4" />

As the beverage gained popularity in the US, it gradually became more than a drink, but a cultural identity for Asian Americans. This phenomenon was referred to as “boba life” by Chinese-American brothers Andrew and David Fung in their music video, “Bobalife,” released in 2013.<ref name=":4" /> Boba symbolizes a subculture that Asian Americans as social minorities could define themselves as, and “boba life” is a reflection of their desire for both cultural and political recognition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nguyen |first=Heather |date=2020 |title=Boba Binds You and Me: An Exploration of Boba, Asian American Identity, and Community |url=https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone/1049 |journal=Senior Capstone Projects |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416133959/https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone/1049/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also used disparagingly in the term [[boba liberal]], a term that derides mainstream Asian-American liberalism.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zhang |first1=Jenny G. |date=5 November 2019 |title=How Bubble Tea Became a Complicated Symbol of Asian-American Identity |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=Eater |language=en |quote=While bubble tea itself is neither inherently political nor bad, per se, some Asian Americans are critical of the dominant strain of Asian-American politics, called "boba liberalism," that the drink has come to represent in certain circles. Boba liberalism — is the “substanceless trend-chasing spectacle” that is mainstream Asian-American liberalism, derided as shallow, consumerist-capitalist, and robbed of meaning.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Frias |first1=Lauren |title=Boba liberalism: How the emergence of superficial activism could cause more harm than good to the AAPI community |url=https://www.insider.com/boba-liberalism-critique-on-a-shallow-political-identity-amid-crisis-2021-3 |website=[[Business Insider]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240911015723/https://www.businessinsider.com/boba-liberalism-critique-on-a-shallow-political-identity-amid-crisis-2021-3 |archive-date=11 September 2024 |access-date=8 January 2025 |date=6 May 2021 |quote=Traced back to Twitter user @diaspora_is_red (the original account is now suspended from Twitter), boba liberalism is described as "a type of mainstream liberal Asian-American politics" — one that, like the drink, is "a substanceless trend-chasing spectacle."}}</ref> Other regions with large concentrations of bubble tea restaurants in the United States are the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]]. This is reflected in the [[coffeehouse]]-style [[teahouse]] chains that originate from the regions, such as [[Boba Tea Company]] from [[Albuquerque]], [[New Mexico]], No. 1 Boba Tea in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], and [[Kung Fu Tea]] from [[New York City]].<ref name="The New Mexican 2013">{{Cite news |last=Hyde |first=Justin |date=October 8, 2013 |title=Loan Helps Couple Expand Beyond New Mexico |work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]}}</ref><ref name="KLAS-TV 2020">{{Cite news |last1=Houston |first1=Kate |last2=Wright |first2=Lucas |date=February 27, 2020 |title='No. 1 Boba Tea' Expands Throughout Las Vegas Valley Despite Pandemic Challenges |work=KLAS-TV |url=https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/no-1-boba-tea-expands-throughout-las-vegas-valley-despite-pandemic-challenges/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030718/https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/no-1-boba-tea-expands-throughout-las-vegas-valley-despite-pandemic-challenges/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Albuquerque and Las Vegas have a large concentrations of boba tea restaurants, as the drink is popular especially among the [[Hispanos of New Mexico|Hispano]], [[Navajo]], [[Pueblo]], and other [[Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest|Native American]], [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic and Latino American]] communities in the Southwest.<ref name="Hoodline">{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2019 |title=Albuquerque's 5 Best Spots for Inexpensive Bubble Tea |url=https://hoodline.com/2019/11/albuquerque-s-5-best-spots-for-inexpensive-bubble-tea/ |access-date=December 20, 2020 |website=Hoodline |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030717/https://hoodline.com/2019/11/albuquerque-s-5-best-spots-for-inexpensive-bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gil">{{Cite web |last=Garduno |first=Gil |date=February 9, 2020 |title=Kawaii Boba Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico |url=https://www.nmgastronome.com/?p=54156 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |website=Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030720/https://www.nmgastronome.com/?p=54156 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TheFancyNavajo 2017">{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2017 |title=Fancy Navajo Boba Almond Milk Tea |url=https://thefancynavajo.com/2017/05/01/fancy-navajo-boba-almond-milk-tea/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |website=TheFancyNavajo |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030719/https://thefancynavajo.com/2017/05/01/fancy-navajo-boba-almond-milk-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Best Things To Do and Places To Go in New Mexico 2018">{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2018 |title=The 10 Best Places for Bubble Tea in New Mexico! |url=https://bestthingsnm.com/bubble-tea/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |website=Best Things To Do and Places To Go in New Mexico |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125100/https://bestthingsnm.com/bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A massive shipping and supply chain crisis on the U.S. West coast, coupled with the [[2021 Suez Canal obstruction|obstruction of the Suez Canal]] in March 2021, caused a shortage of tapioca pearls for bubble tea shops in the U.S. and Canada.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paglinawan |first=Denise |date=April 16, 2021 |title=No Bubble Tea This Spring? Canada Faces Boba Shortage Amid Shipping Delays |work=CP24 |agency=The Canadian Press |url=https://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/no-bubble-tea-this-spring-canada-faces-boba-shortage-amid-shipping-delays-1.5390967?cache=wpwecmoua%3FclipId%3D1921747 |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511051359/https://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/no-bubble-tea-this-spring-canada-faces-boba-shortage-amid-shipping-delays-1.5390967?cache=wpwecmoua%3FclipId%3D1921747 |url-status=live }}"</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yetikyel |first=Gia |date=April 20, 2021 |title=West Coast Bubble Tea Shops Brace for Boba Shortage as Cargo Ships Jam Los Angeles Ports |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/boba-shortage-us-creates-limited-supply-bubble-tea-180977545/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125021/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/boba-shortage-us-creates-limited-supply-bubble-tea-180977545/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of the tapioca consumed in the U.S. is imported from Asia, since the critical ingredient, tapioca starch, is mostly grown in Asia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Everington |first=Keoni |date=16 April 2021 |title=Bobapocalypse: US Milk Tea Shops Face Taiwan Boba Shortage |work=[[Taiwan News]] |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4178788 |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916024237/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4178788 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[TikTok]] trends and the [[Korean Wave]] also fueled the popularity of bubble tea in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Spe |last2=Hong |first2=Jinshan |date=2023-03-31 |title=How Taiwanese Bubble Tea Has Taken Over the US |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-bubble-tea-us-taiwan/ |work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref>

===Vietnam===
Taiwanese milk tea was introduced to [[Vietnam]] in the early [[2000s]],<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2019-07-16 |title=Là thương hiệu trà sữa số 1 xứ Đài, được hậu thuẫn bởi The Coffee House, tham vọng đấu lại Pepsi và Coca, vì đâu Ten Ren vẫn phải cay đắng đóng cửa? |url=https://cafef.vn/la-thuong-hieu-tra-sua-so-1-xu-dai-duoc-hau-thuan-boi-the-coffee-house-tham-vong-dau-lai-pepsi-va-coca-vi-dau-ten-ren-van-phai-cay-dang-dong-cua-20190716095531328.chn#:~:text=Tr%C3%A0%20s%E1%BB%AFa%20du%20nh%E1%BA%ADp%20v%C3%A0o,l%C3%AAn%20v%C3%A0o%20kho%E1%BA%A3ng%20cu%E1%BB%91i%202009. |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=cafef |language=vi}}</ref> but it took a few years for this drink to become popular with young people. Roadside stalls and carts rarely served milk tea, and the milk tea trend gradually cooled down in the late 2000s. Many shops had to liquidate or close, while others struggled to survive. Bubble tea also gained controversy because of information about tea of unknown origin, tapioca pearls allegedly being made from [[polymer]] plastics, etc.

By 2012, Taiwanese brands arrived in Vietnam, still the same old milk tea but served in a completely new style: milk tea with toppings, developing a chain model, and a space designed as well as any famous coffee shop. Also, the halo of Taiwanese milk tea gradually returned, especially around the end of 2016, to the beginning of 2017.<ref name="Trang thông báo lỗi 404">{{cite web | url=http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/nguoi-nguoi-uong-tra-sua-nha-nha-ban-tra-sua-trao-luu-nay-se-di-ve-dau-52017141085434855.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040558/http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/nguoi-nguoi-uong-tra-sua-nha-nha-ban-tra-sua-trao-luu-nay-se-di-ve-dau-52017141085434855.htm | archive-date=6 April 2018 | title=Trang thông báo lỗi 404 }}</ref> According to a survey by Lozi, in 2017, the Vietnamese milk tea market witnessed an explosion with 100 large and small brands coexisting and over 1,500 points of sale, including major brands from Taiwan such as Ding Tea, [[Gong Cha]], BoBaPop.<ref name="ttvn.vn">{{cite web | url=http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/chuoi-tra-sua-thuan-viet-lon-nhat-nhi-ha-noi-vua-tuyen-bo-2-thang-nua-se-co-mat-tai-my-52017231085016458.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142923/http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/chuoi-tra-sua-thuan-viet-lon-nhat-nhi-ha-noi-vua-tuyen-bo-2-thang-nua-se-co-mat-tai-my-52017231085016458.htm | archive-date=12 June 2018 | title=Chuỗi trà sữa thuần Việt lớn nhất nhì Hà Nội vừa tuyên bố 2 tháng nữa sẽ có mặt tại Mỹ? }}</ref> This survey also shows that milk tea is becoming a popular drink in Vietnam when 53% of people are confirmed to drink milk tea at least once a week.<ref name="Trang thông báo lỗi 404"/>

From the consumer perspective, milk tea is characterized by its sweet, creamy taste, suitable for many customers, not only students, but also children and office workers.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Người Việt Nam chi gần 8.500 tỉ/năm cho trà sữa: Thứ nước có gì mà vạn 'tín đồ' mê mẩn? |url=https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-viet-nam-chi-gan-8500-tinam-cho-tra-sua-thu-nuoc-co-gi-ma-van-tin-do-me-man-1851490209.htm |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=thanhnien.vn |date=5 September 2022 |language=vi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-02 |title=Thưởng thức Trà sữa GongCha Hàn Quốc |url=https://www.gohanquoc.com/thuong-thuc-tra-sua-gongcha-han-quoc/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |language=vi}}</ref> In addition, milk tea is constantly "transforming" to meet all customer needs, from cheese cream tea, fruit tea to low-fat tea. Another important point that makes milk tea popular is the service style. Instead of small shops and school gate carts like in the past, the milk tea is designed into a spacious space, with fixed seats, and cool air conditioning.<ref name="ttvn.vn"/>

===Korea===
Milk tea is not only a daily drink, but it has also become a "fever drink" loved in many countries, including [[South Korea]]. In the capital [[Seoul]] alone, there are 4 famous milk tea shops, which are popular places for entertainment, dating, and meeting of Korean youth every weekend, which are [[Gong Cha]], Cofioca, Amasvin, and Happy Lemon.

In Korea, there are many different large and small milk tea shops, famous brands or just small shops with a drink counter and a table. Although pearl milk tea originated in Taiwan, it took certain changes in Korea. Koreans are very concerned about keeping in shape, every meal they have to check exactly how many [[calories]] they take in, so that they can do appropriate exercises to burn off excess fat. Therefore, when entering restaurants or bakeries in Korea, we will see the [[calorie]] index recorded very carefully as a way to protect the health of consumers. For example, at [[Gong Cha]] milk tea shops there, customers can choose the sweetness of their milk tea by choosing the sugar level (0%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%) and similarly choose ice to add personal favourite flavour to their milk tea.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gohanquoc.com/thuong-thuc-tra-sua-gongcha-han-quoc/ | title=Thưởng thức Trà sữa GongCha Hàn Quốc - GO Hàn Quốc | date=2 October 2017 }}</ref>

===Australia===
Individual bubble tea shops began to appear in Australia in the 1990s, along with other regional drinks like Eis [[Cendol]]. Chains of stores were established as early as 2002, when the Bubble Cup franchise opened its first store in [[Melbourne]]. Although originally associated with the rapid growth of immigration from Asia and the vast tertiary student cohort from Asia, in Melbourne and Sydney bubble tea has become popular across many communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=For Chatime, Gotcha, and Milksha, the Bubble Tea Craze Shows No Signs of Bursting Anytime Soon |url=https://qsrmedia.com.au/menu-innovations/in-focus/chatime-gotcha-and-milksha-bubble-tea-craze-shows-no-signs-bursting-anytim |website=QSR Media Australia |date=25 February 2020 |language=en |access-date=28 November 2021 |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128101037/https://qsrmedia.com.au/menu-innovations/in-focus/chatime-gotcha-and-milksha-bubble-tea-craze-shows-no-signs-bursting-anytim |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Mauritius ===
The first bubble tea shop in [[Mauritius]] opened in late 2012, and since then there have been bubble tea shops in most [[shopping mall]]s on the island. Bubble tea shops have become a popular place for teenagers to hang out.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Naidu |first=Darina |date=2020-01-13 |title=Bubble Tea: Is It Healthy? |url=https://www.lexpress.mu/node/368099 |access-date=2021-07-18 |website=Lexpress.mu |language=fr |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718120353/https://www.lexpress.mu/node/368099 |url-status=live }}</ref>