I did not immediately realize how obsessed Vancouver is with bubble tea when I initially observed how ridiculous it seemed when the first thing I thought was that it was a joke, that bubble tea was just a frivolous little thing that youths do to have fun, something cute, but then I came to realize that bubble tea is not a drink as many people have treated it to be, but rather a complete personality of many young individuals, specifically those that fall under the age brackets of 18-34 and it is something they do to have fun as they treat it like the rest of their personalities, as Chai and coffee is everything in India and this place has it everywhere but here the bubble tea is the real star, and the thing is that, people do not simply go and drink tea, they go to experience the whole atmosphere that comes with it. What a bubble tea shop in Vancouver looks and feels like: soft lighting, pastel colours, large menu boards, cute cartoons, soothing music, the atmosphere is very relaxed and one would want to stay longer. I also noticed a great number of students sitting there, drinking their bubble tea, studying, talking with friends, taking pictures on an Instagram or Tik Tok, or just sitting and resting. Once you have a bubble tea cup in your hand it in some way helps to relieve as it is cold when you are holding the cup, it tastes good and you can easily drink it whilst you are walking or sitting. In this case, the youths in this part of the world consider bubble tea a life style accessory, just as in India some individuals carry a cup of chai as they stroll through a college campus. Although individuals do not have big plans, they say, let us go get boba and it is already an outing in itself. The drink becomes the plan. The stores are turned into social places. You do not have to have a reason to go; you just go because you want to have that kind of feeling of a small treat. And not in the manner in which coffee can be strong and serious, bubble tea is light, cute, and friendly, which is quite consistent with the atmosphere of youth in Vancouver. The other thing that outrageous shocked me was the degree of choice. In India, the tea is primarily: milk tea, black tea, ginger tea, masala tea. However in bubble tea shop in Vancouver, the menu is so large that it appears to be a regular restaurant. You have a variety of milk tea, fruit tea, slush, smoothie, brown sugar, matcha, taro, Thai tea, mango, strawberry and so many other flavours, which I have never ever heard of in my life. Then you personalise the sugar, ice content, toppings such as pearl, jelly, pudding, foam, cheese foam, grass jelly, lychee jelly, coffee jelly and so on and on. I would have considered that people will be confused, but the young generation here has a passion to select every minor detail as this personalizes the drink. They make it the Maggi or chai way that we make it back home. There is a person who does not want sugar, another wants more sugar, another does not want ice, another wants warm, another wants oat milk, another wants soy milk, and the employees of such shops are prepared to all this information. The drink turns into a means through which people are able to show minor preferences. The other observation I made is that bubble tea can make an identity of an individual. You can hear such things as I am a taro person, I only drink brown sugar boba, I like matcha with half ice. It turns into little miniature of themselves and friends even make fun of one another about their preferred flavours much like Indians how they mocked each other about the amount of sugar they add in their chai. There is a comical yet healthy connection between young people around Vancouver as they share bubble tea. To use an instance, as two individuals have their first date the safest bet is always a bubble tea store since the place is quiet, the light is gentle, you do not need to eat sloppy food and you can easily talk as you suck your drink. Most of the couples living in this area tell us that they had their first date in a bubble tea shop and some people even joke that they cannot date a person who does not like bubble tea. It is a fun bonding exercise. You also notice a high number of groups of friends who are out at night and find themselves in bubble tea shops. Many of the places in Vancouver are closed early and the city goes to bed early hence bubble tea stores are open later than many cafes and this makes them one of the best places to hangout in the evenings and at night. You can sit and spend long hours without haste and the atmosphere is not that hot, it suits students who are too tired after classes or work and want to relax, not paying too much money on it. Another thing I discovered is that bubble tea is a massive component of the Asian culture, and since there is a large population of Asians in Vancouver, particularly Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Filipino, and Japanese, the bubble tea market remains highly dynamic. A lot of international students feel that they are at home since bubble tea reminds them of their countries. This makes bubble tea a cultural comfort beverage, something that one knows back home, in an unfamiliar city. In India, we have the chai shops and lassi shops wherein they feel at home whereas many Asian students in Vancouver have bubble tea shops where they feel at home. And due to such mixing of cultures in this place, bubble tea will become a common thing that all people will have together, regardless of their origin, whether Asian, Indian, Canadian, Middle East, or any other. The other huge factor that makes bubble tea popular is that it is pretty to capture photos. Youths are fond of posting bubble tea on their Instagram, Tik Tok, and Snapchat. The beverages are vibrant, the cups are adorable, the toppings appear whimsical, and even the shops are fashionable, thus making a photograph with the bubble tea a minor aesthetic experience. You will find it easy to scroll through the social media in Vancouver and see a lot of posts with words such as boba date, late night boba run or matcha mood. I even watched the people listing bubble tea stores on Tik Tok, conducting taste tests, reviewing, and suggesting new flavours. Bubble tea is then a drink and a social media content. The other thing that struck me was the fact that bubble tea is now a means of combating stress. The assignments are long; the students here are working part time, and there is a lot of pressure, so many of them claim that bubble tea helps them to relax. It is like a small reward. They tell, I am done with my homework, boba, and I had long day, boba. It brings a bit of happiness, such as we have a cup of chai in India when we are feeling fatigued. Even when walking the rainy evening in Vancouver, having a warm bubble tea in hand is very peaceful, particularly with the drizzling rain and the cool air. There are also some bubble tea stores in Vancouver which is so iconic that students use them as a landmark. When you say to your friends, “Meet me at Chatime” or Let us go to Coco or Bubble World everybody understands what you are talking about. These areas act as protection areas to the youths. You have got students with laptops, friends laughing, couples sharing a drink with two straws and workers taking large orders on behalf of groups. The mood is never bad, hostile, or unpleasant. And, I believe that is the greatest reason why bubble tea was such a huge culture in Vancouver: it is comfortable. It gives a sense of community. It grants you a little joy you can feel in your hand. It provides you with a sitting place even when it is cold and wet in the city. It provides you a little reprieve of stress. It provides you with an activity to participate in with your friends without having a grand plan. In this case, bubble tea is not only a drink. It is an emotion, a habit, a fad, a comfort, a culture and to most youths in Vancouver, it is an identity. I have lived here now, and I now know why they are so intoxicated with it, and at times I too feel the need to drive in and get myself a bubble tea at night to partake in the peaceful Vancouver atmosphere that comes along with a bubble tea.