YOU might think the bubble tea trend in Oxford has already reached saturation point.

But before you can say ‘tapioca balls’ another store has opened.

Bubble tea is the name given to the wide variety of flavoured fruit teas and milk teas served ice cold or piping hot with chewy tapioca balls and there are vendors in Gloucester Green, High Street and Golden Cross Walk.

Now the competition is hotting up as the Yi Fang chain has opened a new store in Queen Street.

Chris Yang, head of brand strategy, said the shop was now open and would officially open on Tuesday.

Oxford Mail:

She added: “We are very busy already and we sell Taiwan fruit tea and we do bubble tea as well.

“I think we are quite unique in the market as we use 100 per cent natural products and no artificial flavourings.

“All our fruit is hand-cut and we cook our brown sugar every day.

“I don’t think the bubble tea trend will burst anytime soon - it’s been the norm in Taiwan for years and soon it will be here too.

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“People come in and try out different drinks because they are curious and then they come back because they like it.

“”Queen Street is busy so I think this shop will work very well.”

Oxford Mail:

Ms Yang added that one of the most popular orders so far was Mudflip, a brown sugar pearl tea latte.

Made by layering fresh milk tea over natural brown sugar, your cup can be turned upside down to create a trickling down effect as the dark sugar slowly mixes with the fresh milk.

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Another favourite is Yi Fang’s Brown Sugar Pearl with Milk which comes complete with inky-black pearls that pop on your tongue as you gulp.

According to Ms Yang, the chain is named after the founder’s great grandmother, and it now has over 1,000 stores to date, including those in London.

The chain boasts that it ‘hand braises fruit jam with its secret recipe’ and no artificial flavours are ever added to drinks.

For all its UK stores, fresh milk is delivered from dairy farms daily including those in Somerset.

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There are a wide variety of fruit tea or bubble tea drinks on the menu, including vegan and decaf options. All drinks are also gluten-free.

Ms Yang said the chain’s six branches in London were doing well, together with a branch in Edinburgh.

She added: “Twenty-five years ago bubble tea started in part of Taiwan - people put tapioca balls in milk tea and then came up with the idea of toppings including grass jelly and lemon jelly.

“The competition is hotting up in the bubble tea market but we think our new shop in Oxford will be very popular.”

Oxford Mail:

A Taiwanese bubble tea and food store called Als Gongcha opened in Gloucester Green in September.

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And Bubbleology Oxford opened in High Street in July.

A recent Tripadvisor review said: “Stopped here quickly for some bubble coffee for my daughter and got a waffle as well as looked so good. Very friendly service.”