Crafting a cup of bubble tea is nothing short of a work of art because each and every step requires a tremendous amount of skill, knowledge and concentration and whereas brewing the tea and getting the flavor right are important, preparing and cooking the bubbles or pearls are just equally as important because the tea and bubble go hands in hands, don’t they? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be named “Bubble Tea”.

Cooking the bubbles/pearls is as tricky as it can get because if one fails to get it right, the pearls can either be lumpy or too soft and not the perfectly soft and chewy texture that it’s supposed to taste and today, FoodBuzz is going to give you our readers a little insight into how pearls come to life, from scratch.

An cha has recently introduced a new member to their extended drinks and topping menu which is the “Fresh Bubble” in 5 exciting flavors such as Sweet Purple Potato, Sweet Yellow Potato, Butterfly Pea Flower, Matcha and Chocolate. FoodBuzz had the privilege to experience and observe a session of the making of the fresh bubble and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share it with you!

Starting off, the sweet potatoes are chopped into small pieces before being boiled for 10-15 minutes until they are tender enough to be mashed. Once thoroughly mashed, it is mixed with flour and sugar and hand-kneaded before being cut into small bits and flattened. The small bits then go into the bubble-making machine where they will be first cut into small stripes then cut again into small balls of flavored-doughs or uncooked pearls/bubbles.

In terms of flavor and color extraction, for the Butterfly Pea Flower flavor, the color and aroma need to be extracted from the flower through boiling and flavored matcha and chocolate powder are respectively used for the Matcha and Chocolate bubbles followed by the same steps for the rest.

To fully transform into the vibrant colored bubbles, the bubbles are to be boiled for 10 minutes then allowed to sit in cold water for 1 minute to retain the glossy and bright color and next thing you know, Voila! The bubbles are now in your drink!

And you needn’t worry about your “Fresh Bubbles” not being fresh because just as its name, the bubbles are freshly made every day using the finest ingredients and zero food coloring or preservatives.

Add these fresh bubbles of any flavors to your usual favorite milk tea and you’ll find yourself enjoying a fun and upgraded drink and you won’t ever get enough of it!

Fresh Bubbles are now available exclusively at An cha BKK only but will soon be available at all An cha branches. Try it and let us know how you like it!

Location: An cha BKK1, Street 63, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang, Khan Chamkarmorn, Phnom Penh | Googlemap 

Opening Hours: 7AM - 9PM

Price: $0.5 on top of your drink order