A new bubble tea bar has opened its doors in Aberdeen joining the fleet of existing shops aiming to introduce the tea-based drink to locals in the city.
Keen to welcome a new drinks business to the city centre, Shuqin (Amy) You opened the doors of Fun Tea last month on Back Wynd.
The store sells a wide variety of flavoured teas and smoothies, as well as homemade desserts.
Amy, 45, already has a decade’s worth of experience in managing a takeaway, known as HoLok Chinese and Thai, in Peterculter, so felt comfortable taking on the challenge of starting a bubble tea business.
It is now the third of its kind in the city, joining Hea on Castle Street and Tchit on King Street.
Bubble tea (also known as boba tea) is defined as a tea drink that contains bubble toppings, such as tapioca pearls, jellies and popping boba.
The milk tea is smooth, thick and aromatic, while the tapioca balls are often described as chewy. It can be served cold or warm.
Daughter’s inspiration
The idea of opening a bubble tea shop stemmed from Amy’s daughter, 16-year-old Zoe, who had spoken about the tea-based drink growing in popularity on several occasions.
The business owner then took it upon herself to learn about the ins and outs of bubble tea and how to make it.
“My daughter talked about this new kind of drink (bubble tea) and said it was what all the young people were into,” she said.
“I was already interested in starting up a new shop and it sounded like a fun challenge, so I learned to make bubble tea and desserts from a chain store in Edinburgh.”
Amy’s heart was set firmly on opening a bubble tea store in March, but it wasn’t until August that she secured a space to lease.
Around three months were spent renovating the shop before it was open to the public.
Amy added: “The shop’s interior is inspired by flowers and romantic themes since I love nature. Plus, my favourite hobby is gardening.
“I thought this would match the sweet flavours and colours of the drinks, too.”
Teas and bakes
In terms of the food and drink offering, freshly made fruit, bubble and pure teas (hot and cold) and fruit smoothies are all available.
There is also a selection of homemade desserts including cookies, Japanese cheesecake, and Oreo and Lotus Biscoff cakes.
Amy said: “We can put additional toppings into the drinks, too, to give them even more variety.
“The process of making bubble tea is a lot less physically taxing compared to my previous work at a takeaway. I enjoy being able to practically run the store by myself.
“Our teas are from China, while the tapioca pearls and toppings come from Taiwan.
“For fruit teas, most of our customers like fresh watermelon and pineapple green tea and special fresh fruit green tea.
“For people who want to try bubble tea, I highly recommend having brown sugar milk tea with pearls.
“I’d also encourage people to try warmer teas in the winter.”
“I feel very satisfied with what I have been able to do with Fun Tea.
“I’ve spent quite a lot of time working on the shop and hearing very positive feedback from customers is motivating and makes me happy.”
Fun Tea is open from 11.30am to 8.30pm daily.