New things are really exciting, so no one can say- there’s nothing going on in Peterborough as this week there definitely is…
So back to those bubbles….Bubbles for breakfast? Yes that’s what I said…. I went along to celebrate with Ola, Pawel & Karen, for the opening of Double Bubble Tea House in Rivergate. They have worked tirelessly with preparations in the run-up last week to the opening of their new venture: Taiwanese Bubble Tea. You may think, oh yes I know that that is, or others like me are definitely in the dark, so what is bubble tea? It’s a range of cold teas that are flavoured with syrup or flavoured milk, mixed with ice and then have a ‘topping’ added to them in the form of flavoured tapioca pearls, also known as tapioca balls, boba, popping boba. Now before you pull a face….it’s okay. Just jump in with two feet and try one. The pearls are also 100% vegan as well as being both gluten free and dairy free.
I spoke with Vesta, serving on the till, and explained that I don’t like tea! What was I going to have? Her recommendation was that the ‘Traditional Tea’ made with Assam Black Tea would probably be too strong tea-tasting so advised me to choose a ‘Milk Tea’ because the milk taste would overpower the tea. Tick. I chose Strawberry as my base and then opted for Blueberry bubbles. She said that these would obviously complement each other rather than going for some of the others like kiwi, green apple, passionfruit, etc. Order placed, the pearls were popped into the bottom of the cup and then sent to the creative team and Pawel at the back of the counter for some shaking and making. The tea and flavoured milk were added (you can also have soya milk if you prefer) ice chunks were placed in and then it went through a whole lot of shaking. I picked a straw in order to pierce through the top and voila! my drink was ready.
I sat down with trepidation of getting a mouthful of tea but, I was pleasantly surprised at the taste. The tea did not come through at all, it was a smooth, silky-not-think drink like a strawberry milkshake, just more refreshing. Now the best bit is, that when you drink you get the pearls rise up the straw to your mouth. No two ways about it, it felt like little jelly balls rolling around in your mouth, but then as you bite them they explode with their flavour. So, I had strawberry milkshake with blueberry explosions – what a wonderful fruity mix. It’s definitely something I will come back for again and try a different flavour. Karen was going round with a taster tray, so I tried the mango which was very rich in flavour, refreshing and punchy – one for my next visit – the banana one was more watery and mild, so I won’t personally select that one. Just as a note, because the tapioca pearls are fairly large, these drinks are not suitable for younger children.
I had a chat with some of the early customers. In the queue for the doors to open this morning at 9.30am when I arrived was a gentleman who lives with his daughter in Germany, who are over here visiting at Huntingdon, they have had bubble tea before and had seen on social that this little tea shop was opening today, so what did they do? They just came all the way back from Huntingdon to try it! Second in the queue was David, originally from up north in Manchester, he’s seen a lot of these cafes already in the big cities like Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. He’d also seen that this cafe was opening, couldn’t wait as he liked bubble tea so much, being vegan he choose their soya milk option and decided to come and try what Double Bubble would be like, he didn’t come as far as the others.. just down the road from Market Deeping.
As we sat and chatted, there were various passers by being enticed by this pretty little cafe. Lots of young girls, mums with daughters and a few friends trying out the tea for the first time but also those knowing exactly what they want. Inside you’ll find they have a beautiful flower wall ready for selfies, a lovely velveteen sofa and chairs and other dotted small table and chairs. In the window you’ll see a lovely old-fashioned bike adorned with balloons and flowers and a few seats outside. (There is no loo here, so you’ll have to pop into Asda for your nearest)
Also on the menu it’s not just tea…. There were some wonderful sweet enticements on the counter like pistachio muffins, apple pie, banana-pineapple-coconut muffin and pecan slice. I’ve saved my apple pie piece for later this afternoon as there was something more on my mind. The final column on the menu board was ‘Thai Rolled Ice Cream’. How could I resist? So over to Ola I popped so she could show me exactly what it was about. She loves to bake and create so on this counter she really is in her element. I let her choose the flavours to make for me as she added her cream recipe to the freezing panel. Now, this freezing panel is taken down to -30 degrees so there’s NO touching, well unless you want to lose your fingers but it’s not advised! The base goes on with a little syrup and then she added some fresh strawberries. She slides this around the panel and chops the fruit into small pieces. Every now and again the temperature needs to rise just to keep the mixing in check before it’s ready to freeze. When all the strawberry bits are small enough to be flat, the next part starts. She spreads the mixture out and flattens everything as the ice-cream starts to congeal. When it’s completely frozen she then, with the scraper, pushes in columns along the ice-cream which in turn creates the curls. It’s really clever and you end up with around 4-5 curls which are then placed into your ice cream pot. She then topped this off with squirty cream, some strawberry sprinkles and 3 lovely pink biscuit sticks. It was a beautiful, colourful creation and tasted wonderful – Pink ice cream with a fresh strawberry taste. Delicious. I have to say it was a bit strange to be eating ice-cream at 9.30am in the morning, but there are some things you just have to do in the name of We Love Peterborough! LOL
I believe that this little cafe really could be the next BIG thing to hit Peterborough. Be prepared to not get a seat as there are only a few there, you are quite welcome to take-away, which is what quite a few of the customers were actually doing. I wish them all well in their beautiful pink parlour. It’s great to see little independent businesses popping up in Peterborough. Good Luck and see you soon!
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