bubble tea!! 珍珠奶茶 zhen zhu nai cha!!

With all this warm weather and sunshine - we are getting outside almost every day to explore and play. One of our favorite little spots to visit is the neighborhood Bubble Tea* stand. We go down the stairs, out the door and 2 blocks down past the middle school....

The place is called "Nothing But Tea" and the lady who runs the shop is named Coco. She speaks a little English, and is so friendly! We love to practice our Chinese too!

Today we tried the Coconut, Strawberry and Blueberry flavors! Yum!!
If you ever have the opportunity, please try some!!

COCO: 你要点什么？ni yao dian shenme? What do you want to order?

ME: 四杯珍珠奶茶。si bei zhenzhu naicha. Four bubble teas.

COCO: 好，什么味道？hao, shenme wei dao? Ok, what flavor?

ME: 两个 草莓， 椰子，和 兰梅。 liang ge caomei, yezi, he lanmei. Two strawberry, one coconut, and one blueberry.

COCO: 要冰的还是热的？yao bingde haishi re de? Do you want it cold or hot?

ME: 冰的。bing de. Cold.

COCO: 好。十二块。hao, shi er kuai. Ok, 12 yuan (3 yuan each!)

(puts in the tea, adds some milk, plops in the pearls, seals on the plastic lid with an automatic sealer, shakes it up and grabs a big straw)

COCO: 可以开吗？ keyi kai ma? Can I open it?

ME: 可以可以。谢谢！ keyi keyi. xie xie! Yeah. Thank you!!

This is a huge hangout spot for the middle school students, especially since her prices are so great! I love that she has a post-it board for all the students to write notes to one another, or just proclaim their deep thoughts and secrets. Justin Beiber was mentioned a few times!! I left my own message behind too.

*Bubble Tea - also called Pearl Tea 珍珠奶茶, Boba Tea or Tapioca Milk Tea came from Taiwan, and is usually made of sweet potato/tapioca-like balls, mixed with a strong tea-base and sweet fruit or milk flavoring. Sometimes it is warm, and shaken to form a foam on the top. The cup is vacuum sealed and popped with a large, fat straw. There are limitless combinations...but all are worth trying!! We are kinda hooked over here.