Houston Community News >> Bubble Tea Popularity

7/21/2007-- A frothing machine hums. An MTV reality-dating show, Next, plays on a flat-screen TV. Phuong Mai, 21, grabs her specialty drink, sinks into a plush sofa and pops open her laptop.

For young Asians, Starbucks is so five minutes ago. The destination du jour: hangouts such as Mai's Lollicup Coffee & Tea that serve bubble tea and bubble drinks, which look like smoothies or Frappuccinos -- except for the pellets of tapioca at the bottom.

Such drinks were created in Taiwan in the 1980s by street vendors and popularized by a Japanese television show. Bubble tea shops -- often branded the 'Asian Starbucks' -- have popped up across Taiwan and China.

The drink has many nicknames: pearl tea and QQ (Chinese for chewy). Hong Kong office workers dubbed it 'boba' -- slang for well-endowed women.

In the United States, bubble tea has caught on through chains such as Q-Cup, Lollicup and Tapioca Express -- all started by Asian entrepreneurs. The first shops opened in heavily concentrated Asian areas of California and New York but have since gone mainstream with outlets in Wichita, Kan., Houston and Denver.

Lollicup is the largest and has about 100 locations, including three in Central Florida run by Quang Vu.

A University of Central Florida alumnus, 28-year-old Vu immigrated to the United States from Vietnam at age 10. He sipped his first bubble tea at an anime store in Houston. His first impression: 'Whoa, what the heck is going on with my drink?' By the time he finished, he wanted another.

Vu opened his first shop in 2002 in Orlando Fashion Square but closed it two years later. Then he opened a shop on East Colonial Drive near Mills Avenue among the many Vietnamese businesses. On Sundays, the location buzzes with shoppers spilling over from the nearby Asian markets.

Allison Bond, 23, walked into a Lollicup recently not knowing anything about bubble tea. Now she's a regular and has told friends about it.

'The drink definitely evokes curiosity,' she said.

Vu and Gary Lee, who owns Q-Cup on West Colonial Drive, want to make bubble tea as mainstream here as in California, where it's found at malls.

'I want to break out of the Asian mold,' said Lee, who opened Q-Cup in Pine Hills' Chinatown three years ago. He plans a second Q-Cup in the food court of the new UCF basketball arena when it opens in September.

(Contributed by Orlando Sentinel)