A NEW drink all the way from Taiwan is bubbling beneath the service in Old Town.

Bubble tea went on sale at Rays Ice Cream, in Devizes Road, this week, bringing with it a unique mix of fruit tea with flavoured bubbles, which are called pobbles.

The beverage, which originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, made its way across Asia before coming to our shores in 2013, with bubble tea being served in London.

It is thought that Rays Ice Cream is the only place in Swindon where bubble tea can be purchased after owners Hadi and Dan Brooks decided to bring the drink to the town after seeing it being served on a visit to the capital.

“We decided to give it a go and see how the people of Swindon react to it,” said Hadi.

“So far, the response has been very good and we’ve had lots of people coming in who want to try bubble tea.

“We were aware of young people travelling out of Swindon just to buy bubble tea.

“So, we thought we’d start offering it in our shop and see how it goes.”

Currently, Rays offers a limited range of bubble teas with customers having a choice of passion fruit, grape or blueberry teas and mango, strawberry or lychee pobbles.

The bubbles are consumed through a big straw and burst in the drinker’s mouth releasing a mix of flavours.

“We’ve started with a small range, but will certainly expand if the demand is there.

“We are looking forward to seeing how it takes off,” Hadi said.

“There are loads of different flavours available, which we’ll happily start offering if bubble is popular.”

The drinks contain around 50 calories per serving, no artificial colours or flavours.

They are suitable for vegetarians as well as being are gluten, lactose and caffeine free.

It takes around two minutes to mix the drinks and Rays hope it will compliment their range of ice creams, waffles and coffees.

Rays Ice Cream will be open daily between 11am-5pm over the Easter holidays.

For more information visit www.facebook.com/rayswiltshire or call 07590 669302 and watch our video below to see how bubble tea is made.

Taste testing bubble tea...

HAVING never been one for hot drinks, the prospect of taste testing something called bubble tea, wasn’t something I was 100 per cent enthusiastic about.

But the more I read about the drink, which originates from Taiwan, the keener I became to give it a try. As a little research suggested the drink wasn’t to be served warm but in fact cold.  

When I arrived at Rays Ice Cream, in Devizes Road, reportedly the only place in Swindon which serves bubble tea, Hadi Brooks, who runs the parlour, explained more about the fruit-based drink.

It is a unique mix of fruit tea with flavoured bubbles, which I’m reliably informed are called pobbles. Rays has a good range of choices and I plumped for passion fruit juice with strawberry pobbles.

I thought it was a really tangy, delicious treat with the pobbles releasing an extra surprising addition of refreshing flavour.

I’m sure it will prove to be popular with people of all ages, particularly children, and I’d imagine it’s a healthier option than having fizzy drinks too.

If anyone is interested in giving their taste buds something new to sample, I’d recommend bubble tea as a good choice. 

Craig Jones