Bubble tea chains are experiencing a resurgence despite petering out as a fad a decade ago. This time round, it shows no sign of abating. Instead, we are seeing more unusual renditions. Here are some flavours that might make you do a double take.

Drinking Rock Salt and Chese

The weirdest flavour is probably the Rock Salt and Cheese series from Hong Kong chain Happy Lemon (outlets at ION Orchard, Bugis Junction, and Junction 10).

This is the Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese. Surprisingly, it is quite pleasant, as the salty aspects enhance the drink the way chendol benefits from a tinge of salt. The cheese seems to be part of the creamy foam, as there aren’t any visible chunks. It’s very mild. The result is a smooth, rich and “happy” blend.

They also have a Coffee with Rock Salt and Cheese, but you can barely discern any saltiness, much less any cheese flavour. Perhaps it is all overpowered by the rather strong coffee. You could try the Cocoa version too, but we decided to stop at two.

Fancy some pink pearls?

Meanwhile, over at “Drink Tea”, we have possibly the most unimaginative English name for a bubble tea shop. The original shop name directly translated from the Chinese characters meant “water research community” which doesn’t quite translate well, but they do have some interesting drinks. In fact, the shop prides itself on its focus on health and wellness. They use Taiwanese tea and filtered water, and do not keep any brewed tea longer than four hours.

In terms of pearls, the world is not just black or white. It can be rosy too. These pink pearls are made with roselle, that species of hibiscus that purportedly has health benefits like reducing cholesterol, improving blood pressure and even fighting cancer. All the pearls at Drink Tea are pink. Well, healthy or not, the pearls definitely look bright and appealing, and have a satisfyingly chewier texture than regular pearls.

Milk tea not milky enough? Toss in some milk custard! This milk custard milk tea does taste extra fragrant, and the pink pearls make it look really different from regular bubble tea.

The other unusual drink here is the “Yellow, green, red” referring to the winter melon tea, green beans and roselle pearls that make up the colourful layers in the drink. This might not be traffic-stopping, but it certainly is delicious and refreshing.

Drink Tea has outlets at Jurong East MRT, Changi City Point, Nex Shopping Mall, and Heartland Mall Kovan.

Yakult invades bubble tea

Lastly, we have a Yakult green tea. If I had a cup of green tea and a bottle of Yakult, my first instinct would NOT be to mix them, but hey, this combination seems to be popping up across several chains. This one is from Taiwanese chain Share Tea (7 outlets across Singapore).

It tastes like…ice lemon tea. Well, it is a bit of an anti-climax. But we are dying to try the new Oolong with Salty Cream when it becomes available.

So, bubble tea variety isn’t limited to flavours of fruit syrups anymore although the majority of Singaporeans don’t seem too impressed by these funky flavours. Serene, a business analyst, says, “I would try the Green Tea and Yakult, but not the Rock Salt and Cheese – that’s more like for fries than drinks!”

Sherie, homemaker and mother of three boys, says, “Rock Salt and Cheese? No, I wouldn’t buy it but I’d be curious enough to take a sip if someone is having it. For me, I tend to stay safe with my choices. The most adventurous flavour I have gone for is almond milk tea.”

“I guess newer bubble tea setups need to create some distinct flavours to find an edge. The risk is – some flavours work, but most don’t. Some combinations such as which include yakult and fruit juices in the right proportion work surprisingly well. I have tried Drink Tea’s pink coloured pearls made from Roselle Plant extract. The roselle plant has been said to be used as a treatment to reduce hypertension and fatigue. I can believe that the plant can have medicinal properties, but I hardly suspect those pearls will have any. They are pretty to look at anyway,” says Daniel Ang, food reviewer and radio deejay.

Whatever it is, looks like the demand for the usual bubble tea is still going strong. Although it will be interesting to see how long this craze will last…this time