While the internet can play a crucial role in pushing trends in Japan, it can be just as effective in turning people against the crazes it helps to hype.
What’s the latest fad to find itself caught in the crosshairs of social media? Bubble tea. The drink comes from Taiwan and consists of flavored tea, often mixed with milk and sugar, and black tapioca balls that line the bottom of the cup its served in.
It’s not new to Japan, but has definitely enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years. That’s likely due to social media-savvy teens, arbiters of all that’s cool, deciding bubble tea looks great in their snaps, especially on Instagram.