Google Celebrates Popularity Of Bubble Tea Through Interactive Doodle

Today, Google is celebrating the popularity of bubble tea across the globe through an adorable and interactive doodle. Bubble tea, also known as boba tea and pearl milk tea is a non-alcoholic, non-carbonated cold tea beverage. The name comes from the jelly-like appearance of the tapioca pearls that look like bubbles in the drink. The beverage gained a lot of popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially among Gen-Z and millennials.  

Google has selected January 29 to celebrate bubble tea, as on this day in 2020, it was announced that the iconic drink would be given its own emoji. 

To celebrate the milky and tangy beverage, Google has come up with a fun, interactive doodle that allows netizens to create their own milk tea concoctions and run their own shop. All users need to do is click on the doodle and an animation will start playing on the screen. In the interactive doodle, netizens are playing as a Formosan Mountain Dog who operates a bubble tea stand in the midst of a rainy forest. The process of making tea in the game is straightforward, as users simply need to fill the cup with each ingredient like milk and the boba balls, to reach a certain line. 

All in all, players will need to fill five orders before closing shop for the day, each progressively harder than the last. After each drink is completed, the customers line up their straws and poke through the lid in a satisfying way. 

''Satisfy your craving and make a yummy cup of bubble tea in today's interactive Doodle, which features Taiwan's indigenous Formosan Mountain Dog as well as a crew of familiar Doodle characters!'' the doodle page reads. 

Explaining the origins of the beverage, Google wrote on its Doodle page, "This Taiwanese drink started as a local treat and has exploded in popularity over the last few decades. Bubble tea has its roots in traditional Taiwanese tea culture which dates back as early as the 17th century. However, it wasn't until the 1980s that the bubble tea as we know it today was invented." 

It further added, "As waves of Taiwanese immigrants over the past few decades brought this drink overseas, innovation on the original bubble tea continues. Shops around the world are still experimenting with new flavors, additions, and mixtures. Traditional tearooms across Asia have also joined in on the boba craze, and the trend has reached countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and more!"