Bold Street opened its new bubble tea store – Gong cha in style with a traditional lion dance performance to bring good luck.
The lion dance outside the premises at 13 Bold Street attracted a large crowd as it made its way through the queue to the entrance bringing good fortune to the business and employees for the year ahead.
The first 100 visitors also received good fortune in the form of a free bubble tea of their choice from the 40+ combinations available. They could select the ingredients, level of sweetness and drink size according to their personal taste. Typically, the base drink will be chosen from Green, Black, Earl Grey or Oolong tea. Texture will be added through pearls which are chewy tapioca balls, coconut jelly or pudding, a sweet jelly. Flavours running from passion fruit to mango are added and drinks may then be finished with a milk foam.
Bubble tea originated in Taiwan where Gong cha has its headquarters and is now increasing in popularity across the continents with the most recent value of the global market at $2,407m.
The trend to try this distinctive tea is growing in England with two Gong cha stores opened in Manchester in 2019 and the Liverpool store, with its location on popular Bold Street, well positioned to meet the demand from the Liverpool market.