Chai with a twist

If your day is incomplete without a freshly-brewed cuppa tea or coffee; and one has probably heard you complain more often than not about a lack of frappé-equivalent when it comes to teas in India (there’s hardly any option apart from the good ol’ peach or lemon iced tea), then you’re in for a treat. Bandra now has a new tea bar; Dr. Bubbles—Chai Specialist, located at Hill Road.

Bubble Tea go 'pop'...not!
Wondering whether bubble tea has anything ‘pop’ about it...like the name suggests? We’re sorry to disappoint but the answer is no. The Taiwanese culinary invention, which is equally responsible to place the country on the global map, is a cold milk tea with a pearl-shaped, chewy and edible add-on (called boba) made out of tapioca starch. Other additions to this tea could vary from bubble and fruit jelly edible balls, and even choco chips.
Bubble tea, if you recollect, was introduced in India years back. In fact, Teaze, bubble tea makers who started out first in Manipal (in 2010), has an outlet in Charni Road. But, not many Mumbaikars took to the fad of this version of tea; the brew lost its relevance even sooner than one expected. A reason for this...Adnan Sarkar, Owner, Dr. Bubbles—Chai Specialist points out, “Not everyone likes the taste of the tapioca boba—made of tapioca starch, which helps cut down the sweetness of the tea—it is slightly bland for the Indian’s taste buds. Another reason is that the taste of regular bubble tea is an acquired one.” I’d assent to that statement!

What's new?
When we reached Dr. Bubbles, a small outlet with an additional outer space that has a seating arrangement with not more than three tables and six chairs, after some regular chit-chatting with Sarkar, we were offered the regular bubble tea made out of masala chai. I didn’t quite like the taste of boba; also chewing it was, weird as this may sound, boring. Sarkar says, “People have tried this concept earlier, but I feel it was not tailor-made to suit the Indian palates. We have tried to bridge the palates of two different cultures by providing alternatives. For example, some people really enjoy having the tapioca boba, which is the actual bubble. But 75 per cent locals who’ve tried it haven’t liked it. This is why we added some fruit flavour-filled bubbles, made out of an aloe vera base. For those who have a sweet tooth, we also have three different varieties of choco chips.”
Given such statistics, isn’t making an entry into this space a challenge? Sarkar explains, “Not really. The idea was to do something different; thus a bubble tea bar. Till now we’ve usually got word-of-mouth publicity. People walk in and tell us what they want; I customise their cuppa accordingly. Till date, I have tried and tested ‘en’ number of options; so I always give them something new... more often than not they usually like it.”

Mumbai's tea party...
As we were talking, a lady walked into the café and ordered a regular bubble tea. Sarkar, who offers tea in three bases—milk, green tea, and black tea—gave his two cents so she could choose the right flavour. The lady seemed satisfied as she walked out, sipping the tea happily. “Post our opening we we’ve had 15k in sales on an average, and we do receive a lot of repeat orders. Also, now we’ve got people who walk in with a screenshot of the menu,” smiles Sarkar.
Later, we tried a black tea-based bubble tea filled with strawberry bubbles (ones that actually pop in the mouth). This was one of the best iced teas I’ve ever tasted till date. For me, there’s no looking back at the ‘peach or lemon’ iced tea.
We were curious though...given that this is a summer drink, we asked Sarkar whether opening the cafe during the monsoons was a bad move. He says, “I’d agree that the monsoons are a problem since most people prefer to stay away from iced drinks. But Mumbai has only three months of rains, and we’ve got the crazy heat all year round. I’ve seen people having chilled bubble tea in London, even when the temperature drops. I think bubble tea loyalists in Mumbai will walk in for a drink when they please.” Ask him if it’ll ever replace the regular cutting chai...and he told us exactly what we expected to hear, “Nothing can replace the chai, especially Mumbai’s cutting. But we hope that our iced masala chai, with tapioca or choco chips can grab some attention.”

Get your chai fix here
Dr. Bubbles Chai Specialist, Opposite Globus/ Marks and Spencers, Hill Road, Bandra (W).