​Boba Tea Takes the World by Storm(a)|台湾珍珠奶茶攻占全球

On June 11, several hundred McDonald's McCaf in Germany began selling Taiwan's much-loved boba, iced tea with milk and tapioca pearls. The drink has been catching on around the world, as increasing media exposure has turned it into Taiwan's most recognized beverage. In fact, boba shops have been popping up all over the planet in recent years, ranging from Sydney and Montreal to Paris, London, Berlin, and Istanbul. Rough estimates suggest that Europe already has several thousand boba shops of its own. How is it that the vast majority of these shops are being opened by foreigners trained in Taiwan? The short answer is Jacky Wang, chairman of Taiwan's Possmei Corporation.

A middle-aged man named Chan McTi sips a cool beverage amidst a cloud of colorful bubbles, practically dancing for joy as he imbibes each mouthful. The scene is part of a McCaf?ad airing on German TV this summer, introducing the company's newest beverage, Taiwanese-style boba, to consumers. Germany's McCaf deliver the drink in much the same way Taiwanese shops do. Consumers choose black, green, or milk tea as their base and then add whatever ingredients they like, such as cubes of passion-ruit-flavored jellies or something even more exotic. This mixing and matching yields up to 250 flavor combinations for about NT$83 per serving, which ends up being 2.5 times the typical price in Taiwan.

"Germany has taken to bubble tea more strongly than the rest of Europe," said Jacky Wang. "German consumers used to order meals at McDonald with a bubble tea or boba from another restaurant already in hand. Sensing an opportunity, McDonald's dove into the market."

台湾珍珠奶茶攻占全球

6 月 11 日，德国数百家快餐店麦当劳破天荒地卖起国人最熟悉的珍珠奶茶。随着国际媒体的大量曝光，珍珠奶茶也一跃成为最具知名度的台湾美食。事实上，近年来珍珠奶茶早已在雪梨、蒙特娄、巴黎、伦敦、柏林、伊斯坦堡等全球各大城市攻城略地。粗估欧洲已有数千家珍奶专卖店。这些专卖店的经营者，绝大多数是金发碧眼的老外。他们远渡重洋来到台湾，学习地道珍奶的制作技术和经营策略。而隐身幕后为他们运筹帷幄的推手，就是矢志将台湾珍奶文化发扬光大的原物料供货商──伯思美国际实业公司董事长王俊峰。

一位名叫 McTi 的中年大叔，在不断冒出的五彩泡泡中，畅饮清凉饮料，只见他手舞足蹈地边喝边嚼，似乎每一口都充满惊喜！这是今年夏天德国麦当劳在当地电视台强打的广告片段，McTi叔叔喝的新奇饮料 Bubble Tea，就是来自台湾的珍珠奶茶。德国麦当劳也保留了台湾珍奶文化的精神──消费者可任选红茶、绿茶或奶茶为茶底，添加百香果冻或是其他更具异国风味的配料，自由混搭成多达 250 种口味的茶饮，每杯售价约新台币 83元，约为台湾的 2.5 倍。

王俊峰表示，『德国是珍奶接受度最高的欧洲国家，当消费者在麦当劳点餐时，都会捧着 1 杯从别家店外带的泡沫红茶或是珍珠奶茶。不甘商机被抢的麦当劳，当然只能加入开卖行列！』