Bubble tea has been around since the ’80s, but don’t feel bad if you aren’t familiar per se. It is only recently that this Taiwanese invention has gained enough popularity in America that shops are actually featuring the beverage. Usually made from ice tea mixed with sweetened or flavored milk, it’s topped off with chewy tapioca balls or popping boba, fruit jelly, grass jelly, agar jelly, or puddings. Here are a few places near Sterling you can find the fun beverage.
Kung Fu Tea
Born from Taiwanese roots and fostered by the kung fu spirit, Kung Fu Tea brings authenticity to bubble tea in Sterling. Located in Community Plaza in Sterling, you can top off your tea with over 10 toppings — from fig jelly to tapioca, red bean, mung bean, herbal jelly, or the always popular popping flavors of coffee, grape, and mango.
Panda Express
Panda Express has 10 locations around Sterling. Panda Express has a great selection of Asian inspired drinks, including bubble teas. They have over 20 flavors of teas, from fruit teas and milk teas to sparkling teas and yogurt teas. Combine that with toppings like honey boba, aloe vera, jelly, fruit jelly, and even Chia seeds, and there is literally a drink for every taste.
Tbreak Pho and Boba
If you want Taiwanese, Tbreak is the Starbucks of bubble tea and a place you want to check out. Located on South Cottage Road, Tbreak brings Taiwan to you. They offer three different sweetness levels of their fresh brewed teas: Light, Regular, or Extra. Hot or iced, they only use real fruit in all of their teas, never a powdered mix.
Order one of their 14 signature teas by number and then select from 18 toppings. They have everything from basil seeds and Lychee jelly, to rainbow jelly and Pandan jelly, to five different fruit bits, like pineapple and mango.
Panda Tea House
Located at Dulles Town Center on the Macy’s side, Panda Tea House delivers the best bubble tea. Open whenever the mall is open, you can stop in and get an authentic fresh brewed tea with your choice of toppings, also made fresh every few hours. The Panda Tea House also offers rolled ice cream, and all you need to know is that it goes great with the teas. Stop on in the next time you’re at Dulles Town Center and see for yourself.
Guava and Java
Uniquely designed and devoted to airports, this concept delivers excellent bubble tea. So next time you are jetting out of town, look for their kiosk in the airport and order up one of your favorite bubble teas for the flight. They use only fresh local farms wherever possible and focus on fresh local flavors to break from the typical fast food options that abound.
So if you like bubble tea or are ready to try it for the first time, any one of these places will get you a great, authentic bubble tea.
Image “Bubble Tea” by ljguitar, used under CC BY 2.0
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