Bubble tea began in Taiwan in the mid 80s and has grown in popularity to become a worldwide phenomenon, especially for those craving tea with a twist.
We all love a cuppa in Birmingham and with bubble tea Britain's national beverage has reached another level - served cold in a tall glass with tapioca pearls.
If you aren't a fan already, you may be interested to discover that bubble tea, or boba tea, is made with sugar, tapioca starch, and water - with the chewy pearls bringing that something extra to what would have been just flavoured milk or non-milk tea.
Among the venues serving bubble tea in Birmingham, you can discover flavoured tea AND flavoured "bubbles"! It's fair to say that bubble tea may not be everyone's cup of tea - but with dozens of stores in the city serving it, there's not doubt that it has many fans.
So we took a look at the top rated Bubble tea stores in the city and here are the highest rated eight shops that have at least 50 reviews:
1. i-Tea, Piccadilly Arcade
Rated 4.9 from 139 Google reviews, they take the top spot. They have traditional Taiwenese milk tea with boba pearls and a lot more options as well.
2. Mee Cha, Bullring & Grand Central
Rated 4.5 stars from 273 Google reviews, this store is located in Bullring Lower Mall. It's a family run business bubble tea/coffee, slush, frozen yoghurt and ice cream.
3. T4, New Street
T4 is rated 4.4 stars by 202 Google Reviews. Tea For You was founded in Taiwan in 2004 and it has been brought to the UK and the rest of the world. They have delicious milk tea in several flavours with boba for people of all ages. Their Pearl Milk Tea was among the top most ordered takeaway on Deliveroo in Birmingham.
4. Bubble CiTea, Linkstreet
Located at Linkstreet between Bullring and Grand Central, this bubble tea shop is rated 4.3 stars from 56 Google reviews. They are locally owned and keep in mind local needs along with traditional core value of Taiwanese bubble tea culture.