Well, as the ever-quotable Miss Lizzie G once said following a Yelp London boba event, 'I'm so full of bubble tea I feel like a beanbag.' That's how I feel right at this minute my friends. I've just punished a bucketload of Matcha Green Tea flavour milky sweet goodness and I feel like I could bounce off the walls. Welcome to Manchester's first bubble tea shop outside of Chinatown.
You know those giant stands they have in Selfridges, like the Squeeze Me smoothie one where it's circular and you can gather round it looking at everyone working away with blenders? That's exactly what I Love BoBo Tea is like, outside BhS in the Arndale, a brightly colourful little oasis in the desert of retail. And my oh my, does it tick all the boxes. First off, I'm a boba addict. I make no secret of this. It actually got so bad at one point that I dreamed I married the proprietor of Bubble Café on Portland Street. (I didn't go back there for a while, it was awkward to face her. But I soon got over it.) It's exactly the kind of drink I love to get my chops round - quirky, unusual, colourful, unique-tasting, served with a giant straw... and chewable. My tea from BoBo was the perfect combination of sweet and tea-y (regular slurpers will know what I mean by this), cold and fresh, and before now I didn't know there could be different levels of tapioca ball texture. Dearests, these were the softest and squidgiest I've ever had the good fortune to encounter.
The staff are friendly and warm, welcoming you in and today was a great day for noobs as they were giving out mini free samples of their wares for the Arndale's mass of shoppers to try. (Speaking of which, why were all these people *in* the Arndale? Do they all work in schools or something? Lucky sods.) And it's not just bubble tea on the menu, I took one away and you can get fruit ice teas in great varieties (including grape, be still my heart!), speciality drinks made with Yakult, Ovaltine and Horlicks, frappes, drinks made with sago, coconut milk, fruit purée and chunks of fruit, a good selection of hot drinks including Hong Kong style tea, oh... and there's FOOD! Yep, Japanese crepes with fruit toppings, and some even come with cheesecake or brownie.
So it's safe to say I'm in love. Between the food market with its local produce and its Pancho's Burritos, Smoothielicious Smoothies, M1lkshake and so on, Rollers' fresh hot cinnamon rolls and now this place, I've multiple brilliant reasons to come to the Arndale after all. Happy? I'll say! read more