Hi! Bubble Tea

Established in 2020. Bubble tea, invented in the 1990s in Taiwan, was always a street food made with powdered milk since refrigeration wasn't available. As bubble tea shops traveled west, many kept with the tradition. However, Van breaks the mold with her freshly brewed tea recipes at Tacoma.

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Touted as bubble tea "without the nasties", Hi!BubbleTea is the spot if you're looking for fresh ingredients and inventive flavors. Van T, Hi!BubbleTea's founder said she knew she wanted to start her own bubble tea specialty store when she noticed the gimmicky concepts behind others in Tacoma. "I wanted it to be a healthier, more realistic take on a dessert drink. When I came up with it, I wasn't just frustrated with the drinks. It was that people didn't care about it, as they care about specialty coffee. With bubble tea, it was like 'anything goes.'"