Something old, something new...

I’m a firm believer that trying new things is the best way to get out of a rut, combat depression and kick start the creative process.

I was in the mood for something new on Friday evening, so off we went to the mall where I indulged in something I’ve been wanting to try for a while now, but haven’t had the courage.

I got myself a bubble tea.

Radical right? I know. I’ve been putting it off since the craze began and I couldn’t hedge any longer.

A little bit of background on bubble tea – it’s a cold milk tea usually sweetened with fruit flavors, shaken vigorously to produce a layer of bubbles on the top. Then tapioca pearls are added which sink to the bottom of the cup and appear as more dark ‘bubbles’ in the bottom. It’s served with a wide straw so you can suck up the tapioca pearls and eat them.

Fascinating concept. Eating your drinks. I’ve never been fond of chewing liquid, but I just had to give this a try.

It tasted good, not very tea-like though. I ordered strawberry which tasted more like strawberry Quick with ice – hyper sweet, very pink. Sort of like ping-pong balls in a lottery machine, the tapioca pearls roll around in the bottom of the cup until one of them decides to make a break for it and travel slowly up the straw. Now, you can’t just go chugging bubble tea willy nilly. You have to be prepared for that pearl when it reaches the top of the straw because you have to chew it. It has the consistency of a gummy bear, and not much actual flavor. Again, not bad...but just not very...you know...drink-like.

My concern with bubble tea is of course the fact that I’m easily distracted. So walking, through the mall [all that visual stimuli], while holding a conversation with my peeps, and drinking at the same time is hard enough, but to have to be aware that at any moment I might be called upon to start chewing a strange little gum drop that popped out of my straw, was just too much for me to process at one time. I got about halfway through the bubble tea before the squick factor overcame my enjoyment of the strawberry coolness.

Hey, it was an experience. Now I know. Bubble tea is too complex for me. It tastes good, but there’s just too much going on in the cup for me to really relax and enjoy it.

How about you? What new thing have you tried lately?