The controversial success of bubble tea, appreciated by teenagers, hated by dieticians

The recipe for bubble tea, or pearl tea, is very simple: tea and tapioca pearls. To these two ingredients are added colored syrups and fruity flavors to create this product tasted all over the world.

In his Taiwanese tea room in the heart of Paris, Yi sees customers rush to get this precious trendy drink. Since its opening, about five years ago, he has noticed that the phenomenon is attracting an increasingly large audience.

“Teenagers are an important part of our clientele. But we are seeing more and more variety in our customers. More and more people want to try this type of drink and this type of recipe.”

Yi, bubble tea seller

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Teenagers remain the biggest consumers of bubble tea. They spend an average of five euros for a half-liter cup. For them, flavors are part of its success, because everyone can find their own: “I like the matcha taste, with tapioca pearls, the basic thingexplains a teenager. There’s something for everyone, there’s every taste”. But what makes it really popular is its very sweet taste: “I really feel like it’s full of sugar, but it’s a choicesays another customer. When you order a bubble tea, you expect it to be sweet, that’s part of it.”

In France, this bubble tea fever is not new, according to Rosalie. For this online bubble tea vendor, teenagers have been ambassadors for the drink, and that’s what made her so popular.

“As of 2012, we realized that young people are the ones who represent themselves the most on social networks, that bubble tea is an Instagrammable product, which is very visual, it’s a bit of a show.”

Rosalie, bubble tea seller

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Above all, she sees bubble tea as “the symbol of belonging to a group” because it is a product “from pop culture”. Victim of its own success, bubble tea is about to become the new soda, and this is what worries Monique Lasry, dietitian: “They can drink it like you drink water to quench your thirst, but in fact, they take a lot of sugar all at once.”

“You have a liquid drink that is good when you drink it, so why not a little more? What people remember is also the energizing side, it wakes you up, it’s a kind of tonic taste.”

Monique Lasry, dietitian

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Globally, the bubble tea market will continue to flourish. According to the American firm Allied Market Research, it should weigh more than 4 billion dollars by 2027.