For my last blog post on Panther Eats, I would like to talk about a place located on Pitt’s campus that isn’t actually even a restaurant.The place that I am referring to is Fuku Tea. Fuku Tea is located right on the corner of Oakland and Forbes. It is a small location with the amazing smell of sweet tapioca filling the air. One of the main reasons that Fuku Tea is known across campus is for their delicious bubble tea.
Before coming to Pitt, I was not the biggest fan of bubble tea. I found the concept of drinking while eating to be quite weird but, I eventually started to like the beverage. During my freshman year, I lived in Forbes which is in the same block as Razzy Fresh. Razzy Fresh is a frozen yogurt location that also happens to sell bubble tea. For the first couple of weeks in school, that is where I went for bubble tea because the price was low and the location was convenient. One day, my friend suggested that I go to Fuku Tea with her and that is when my life changed forever.
The first thing that I noticed about Fuku Tea was the smell.The smell of sweet tapioca is all through the air with faint smells of fruits,simply delicious. The next thing I noticed was how small the shop is. It is roughly the size of a decent public bathroom and the line is often to the door.
The beverage that I get 80% of the time is the black and gold with tapioca. I like the black and gold because it is a mango and passion fruit green tea that comes iced. Every time I order this drink it is just perfect.The sweetness is always spot on and the tapioca to tea ratio is perfect. I don’t run out of tapioca mid drink or am stuck with tapioca when the tea is all gone.
If the black and gold does not interest you, you can create your own bubble tea in only six steps! First you choose your size, either small or large. Next you decide either green or black tea and you pick up to two flavors. These flavors range from mango to guava to even almond. The next two steps are to choose if you want milk or not and then choose a sweetness. I typically stay away from a milk tea unless it is a Thai iced tea in which case I cannot refuse. The last step is to add your toppings. Along with tapioca,Fuku Tea offers popping tapioca, chia seed, red bean, and more.
