Malaysia

Malaysia is rediscovering a trend that was thought to be a fad and was originally dismissed by the tea drinking crowd. Yet, the bubble tea craze has stood the test of time. The country is being overrun by various bubble tea stalls and tea shops with their ubiquitous “black pearls” – the gummy tapioca “bubbles” – proudly on display.
The drink came originally from Taiwan, where there are currently over 8,000 bubble tea cafes. It first arrived in Malaysia about 10 years ago when Starbucks Frappucinos and sidewalk cafés were all the rage.
At the time, bubble tea was quickly dismissed as a curious enough beverage you had on the odd occasion you actually happened to see a place selling one, which was rather rare. Nevertheless, the drink (that targets teenagers and young people on the go) has managed to make great strides in various Asian markets and has even become popular in Australia, the United States and more recently in the UK.
It is seen as a sign that Asians have started to embrace a modern tea-drinking culture much more influenced by current fashion than by age-old tradition.