An adorable and interactive doodle created by Google on Sunday (January 29) honored the growing global popularity of bubble tea.
What is bubble tea
A non-alcoholic, non-carbonated cold tea beverage, bubble tea is also referred to as boba tea and pearl milk tea. The tapioca pearls in the drink, which resemble bubbles, have a jelly-like appearance, which gives the beverage its name. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the beverage became quite popular, especially with Gen-Z and millennials.
Why Google has chosen January 29 to celebrate bubble tea
Google has chosen January 29 to celebrate bubble tea because it was on this day in 2020 that it was declared that the iconic beverage will have its emoji.
Google has created a fun, interactive doodle that lets internet users make their milk tea concoctions and manage their shops in honor of the milky and tangy beverage. Users only need to click the doodle to start an animation playing on the screen. Netizens can play as Formosa Mountain Dog in the interactive doodle as they run a bubble tea business in the middle of a rainy forest. Players merely need to fill the cup with each ingredient, including milk and boba balls, to reach a set line, which is how users make tea in the game.
Before the shop closes for the day, players must complete five orders, each of which is harder than the one before it. The consumers line up their straws and satisfyingly poke through the cover after finishing each drink.
The interactive doodle for today features Taiwan's native Formosan Mountain Dog as well as a set of well-known Doodle characters, according to the doodle page. "Satisfy your craving and make a yummy cup of bubble tea in today's interactive Doodle," it says.
Google said on its Doodle page about the history of the beverage, "Over the past few decades, the popularity of this Taiwanese beverage has soared from its early roots as a local delight. The ancient tea culture of Taiwan, which dates back to the 17th century, is where the origins of bubble tea can be found. However, bubble tea as we know it now didn't exist until the 1980s."
It went on to explain, "Innovation on the original bubble tea has continued over the past few decades as waves of Taiwanese immigrants have exported this beverage internationally. In stores all around the world, new combinations, additions, and flavors are still being tested. The boba craze has spread to nations like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and more, and traditional tearooms all over Asia have joined in."
