I tried Bubble Tea in China, but had no idea it was available in Minnesota until last month. How exciting!
Although I sipped my first bubble tea in Beijing, it actually originates from Taiwan. What makes this type of green or black tea unique? It’s all about the bubbles. The bubbles are actually tapioca made from cassava plants. At The Tea Garden, bubbles also expand to 9 varieties of fruit and coffee-flavored jellies.
On the Saturday we went to the Tea Garden in Uptown, it was a gorgeous Indian Summer day. Thus, the place was packed. Half the time we were there the line went out the door. Wow. Needless to say, it wasn’t a place to sit and chat with your friends. It was a place to try new things, however.
The menu is extensive, ranging from hot or cold lattes, chai, iced teas, coolers, shakes and hot cocoa. PLUS, you can pick from a range of jellies and bubbles. You could go to the Tea Garden every day for a year and try a different combination. For the newbie, the menu is a bit intimadating. Thank goodness for “Specialty Shakes”. I went with Calvin’s topical shake: sour sop, guava and mango. Yum! Bubbles made up half my shake. In the future, I’d ask for half as many.
Flavors range from the typical (strawberry and chocolate) to the exotic (guava, star fruit, kumquat) to fruits I’ve never heard of before (taro, coconut mung bean, lychee, and matcha). Here we were in Minneapolis, but I felt a world away. I’d recommend bringing anyone to the Tea Garden. Even the 8-year-old girl with us loved it.
According to
The Tea Garden has four “categories” of bubble tea.
• Fruit teas come with your choice of green (jasmine) or black tea, shaken in a cocktail shaker with your choice of fruit concentrates. Served hot or on ice.
• Tea lattes also come with your choice of green or black tea, shaken or blended with your choice of fruit concentrates or flavors such as cappuccino, coffee, chocolate, etc, plus non-dairy cream is added to give the drink a smooth, creamy taste. Served hot or on ice.
• Coolers are slushes/icees — Ice blended with fruit concentrates or flavors.
• Shakes are creamy smoothies — Ice blended with fruit concentrates or flavors such as cappuccino, coffee, chocolate, etc, plus non-dairy cream is added to give the drink a smooth, creamy taste. In addition, chai - a popular tea from India - is available in lattes or shakes.
Of course, tapioca pearls and/or jellies can be added to any of these bubble tea categories.
Pearls and Jellies: The tapioca pearls are about half inch in diameter, made from cassava plants. They are slightly sweet and chewy. The dark coloring is natural for unbleached tapioca. In addition to pearls, there are nine varieties of jellies: mango, green apple, lychee, pineapple, coffee, strawberry, passion fruit, crystal, and tri-color (strawberry, coconut, and passion fruit). They are made of either carrageenan or agar-agar (seaweed-based), and are vegan-friendly.
LOCATIONS
There are 5 Tea Gardens located in the Twin Cities: Uptown at Hennepin and 26th, Mall of America, 1692 Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Stadium Village Mall on the U of M campus, and in the US Bank Building Skyway in downtown St. Paul.
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