Bubbleology

Bubble tea vendors are as ubiquitous in Taiwan as coffee shops are in Seattle, selling sweet milkshake-style teas containing globular tapioca ‘bubbles’ that you suck up through a wide straw. Here, in a Rupert Street takeaway styled like a mad scientist’s lab, a team of ‘bubbleologists’ in white coats concoct the best you’re likely to find in London: expect zany combos such as hot ginger cream (made with Assam tea) & mango with a cold jasmine tea base & optional passion fruit-flavour ‘popping boba’ – capsules made of natural seaweed that burst in your mouth. There’s room for 20 people inside, & takeaway snacks are available if you’re peckish – think coconut or peanut & banana toasties. Could ‘bubbles’ be the next craze in Chinatown?