of bubble tea
Drinking tea is a bit different here. Now, I'm used to drinking hot tea without sugar. I prefer it that way, straight up green tea or whatever like the Chinese do. But cold tea drinks? I like 'em with sugar. But the Japanese don't do sugar at all in their tea, hot or cold, unless it's a cold Royal Milk Tea or tea latte. The cold jasmine or other tea (non Lipton)? No sugar. The same goes for their bubble tea apparently.
Bubble tea is a bit hard to find in Japan. From what I'm told, it's not really well done either. So it's no surprise this bubble tea from First Kitchen was a bust. First of all, it comes out like a Starbuck's styled drink, with soft serve ice cream on top. Second, their tapioca is of the medium/small variety and is a bit too soft (overcooked). Third? The tea wasn't sweetened AT ALL. The only way this drink was palatable was by mixing in the ice cream.
But then we found another bubble tea place in Saitama, and they were the closest to getting it RIGHT. Pictured is a small, which is half the size of a regular in the States. A large apparently isn't any larger, and far more expensive. The peach bubble tea was actually decent, and the coconut milk tea wasn't too bad (although the coconut was quite strong).
I had been planning to write more about things that are different in Japan, but now I can't remember them all. I'll get back to that when I remember.