|
Briton promotes
Taiwanese bubble tea in London
EXPERIENCED PALATE: ¡¥Bubbleology¡¦ owner Assad
Khan says he has a very good idea of how a ¡¥proper¡¦ bubble tea tastes, as he
once drank 40 cups a day to sample flavors
By Hu Hui-ning / Staff Reporter, in LONDON
Taiwanese Representative to the
UK Katharine Chang, right, holds a cup of bubble tea outside Bubbleology in
London on Saturday, with cafe owner Assad Khan.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan¡¦s unique bubble tea is slowly
winning the palates and hearts of Londoners.
Although there was a market for bubble tea in the UK before Assad Khan came
along, it was sold mainly in stores located in Chinatown.
Khan fell in love with the drink when he spent seven years working at a bank in
New York City. When he returned to London from the US, he discovered there was
no bubble tea that he liked.
Seeing the potential for a beverage business in London, he opened a store named
¡§Bubbleology¡¨earlier this month in London¡¦s Soho area.
Believing that only 100 percent Taiwanese flavor made the best bubble tea, Khan
had traveled to Taiwan for two months to research the process of making bubble
tea and the materials before opening his store.
He said he discovered that for bubble tea to really taste ¡§right,¡¨ the choice of
materials, water temperature and timing were essential.
He has imported the shakers, plastic-sealing machines and plastic cups from
Taiwan, along with the thick straws that allow customers to suck up the bubbles
and chew on them.
Store employees were all trained in how to make proper Taiwanese bubble tea,
Khan said.
Khan thinks he knows his subject intimately, because he used to drink four to
five cups of bubble tea per day in New York and 40 cups a day when he was in
Taiwan sampling different flavors.
However, it wasn¡¦t just the bubble tea that impressed Khan during his stay in
Taiwan. He thinks the Taiwanese are the friendliest people and he has books and
magazines in his store introducing Taiwanese culture. His waiters also wear a
Republic of China flag pin on their uniforms.
Two shops in Taiwan ¡X the Hanlin Tea Shop, owned by Lin Tsung-ho (ªL©v©M), and Chun
Shui Tang, owned by Liu Han-chieh (¼Bº~¤¶) ¡X claim to have invented bubble tea, but
since neither applied for a patent, the courts were unable to settle the case.
Khan said foreigners who develop a taste for bubble tea would eventually come to
like Taiwan as well.
|
