Bubbletale tea bars seem to be popping up everywhere around Athens – if you excuse the pun! Established in 2013 by a creative young team of individuals interested in creating new trends on the local market, the bubble-tea idea is catching on like wildfire. Greek teens are being drawn by the drove like bees to honey. As the mother of one adolescent and another on the verge of puberty, I couldn’t resist finding out what all the hype is about. So I took a peek into the Bubbletale store that has fast become the latest teen hub at Nea Smyrni Square.
The drinks reminded me a little of that MTV show, “Snack off”, where contestants take ordinary munchies and combine them in unusual ways. And indeed, the refreshments offered are like something that only a desperately creative “Snack off” contestant could bake under pressure. Massive calorie-laden productions filled with marshmallows, cheerios and the magic ingredient – bubbles! All these concoctions are served with color, gusto and a larger-than-life straw.
Despite having associated bubbles with Ayurvedic oil baths, I decided to embrace the bubble-drinking experience. As a novice bubble tea drinker, I had no idea whether to choose the Trampolino Milktale or the Mojo Jojo. In all fairness, the menu on the board across from the counter had detailed descriptions of the drinks on offer, but the combinations were so unusual with ingredients that seemed to be at odds with each other that I had no idea whether to choose the merry Cherry Yellow or the dizzying Carousel…
Thankfully, the staff is willing to create a signature drink for every person who walks in, and so it was for me! With 200+ combinations, there’s a lot to choose from! I left it to the lady at the counter to decide – after carefully sizing me up – that I should have green tea with sour apple bubbles and sweet strawberry syrup squirted with a splash of watermelon. I wondered if she was a bubble psychologist of sorts because each potion she prescribed was like a little personality test of sorts giving hints into each drinker’s temperament.
Once served, it looked more like a colorful science experiment than a drink. As for the taste, it was as artificial as it looked. It may not have been very wholesome it was lots of fun to drink. The bubbles come speeding through the straw as though they are whizzing down a water slide only to – literally – splash and explode onto your tongue so that each taste comes in waves to blend with the previous flavour. The child relished in the sheer frivolity of it all, but it was at odds with the stuffy adult that questioned the nutritiousness of the ingredients and was inclined to disapprove. Thankfully, it was the child in me that won out in the end.
The circus-styled decor with the striped tents, hot air balloons and lopsided corridors just add to the fun element and it’s easy to see why the store has caught on with teens. I did wonder how much pocket money kids are getting in crisis-hit Greece these days, bearing in mind that drinks are priced everything from 2.80 euros to 6 euros (depending on the amount of ingredients you add)!
Still, I guess it’s worth saving up for because you get Christmas in a cup even though it’s still October – and I guess we could all use some cheer in these dismal times. So if you want to slurp down a few childhood memories and help support a budding Greek franchise that’s doing remarkably well despite the economic crisis, ask for a drink of pure fantasy that gives your digestive system a bubble bath! I suspect that Bubbletale teas are of dubious nutritious value and probably full of artificial colors, sweeteners and preservatives, but at least they’re not ALCOHOLIC!
There are stores at downtown Athens, Egaleo, Kallithea, Santorini, Athens Metro Mall, and of course the one I tried at Nea Smyrni (25 Martiou Street, Nea Smyrni). Open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
