Jumbo, jumbo, what???

Taiwanese tapioca tea. Call it alliteration, or call it bubble tea. This whimsical concoction is like a treat straight out of a Harry Potter book. Bubble tea partakers tend to either love or hate the drink. I had the opportunity to experience bubble tea this past weekend, and as a first-time bubble tea-er myself, I was right on that fine line between the two extremes.

After trekking over 30 minutes down windy, narrow roads on a snowy evening, my friend Alex and I finally pulled up to Asia Taste Jumbo Jumbo Cafe in Rockville, Md., one of the area’s finest. I was more than ready to try this Taiwanese classic. As if the name of the restaurant wasn’t enough to elicit some humor, the colorful lighting inside sure made for one jovial night.  

For dinner, we ordered spicy, crunchy chicken over rice and ginger-basil chicken over rice; for the main attraction, we ordered jasmine green tea with lychee jelly and mango tea with the classic boba (or tapioca pearls). We placed our orders at the front counter and sat down at a table, anxiously awaiting our meal. The tea was prepared first and brought to us in vacuum top-sealed cups, which we had to pierce with telescope-like straws.

I love all sorts of teas, as I have a piping hot mug or two every night before I go to bed; but, I like my tea unadulterated. Not sweet. Not cold. Not with a twist of lemon. Just plain and hot. So this bubble tea reached far beyond my comfort zone, but in a pleasant way. Yes, both teas were sweet, but no cloyingly so that I could not enjoy them – the mango tea actually tasted of the fresh fruit and the jasmine green tea was palatably round and floral. While the texture of the boba and lychee did take several tastes to get used to, I grew to enjoy their characteristic slippery chew. I preferred the mouth feel of the lychee, which were like long, transparent, rectangular gummies, over the boba pearls.

Shortly after our tea arrived, our food was brought to our table and we ravenously dug in with our chopsticks. Both dishes were fair, and rather on the chewy side, as they were prepared with dark-meat chicken. The spicy, crunchy chicken was indeed crunchy, but otherwise not overly exciting. Likewise, the ginger-basil chicken, which I slightly favored, was tasty, but hardly awe-inspiring.

Overall, we had a very lovely girls evening. I’m thrilled to have finally tried bubble tea, and while it’s not something I’d drink everyday, I would certainly try it again.