“Sushi is the trademark cuisine of Japan, while Korea is famous for pickled cabbage [kimchi]. Yet few people know that bubble tea actually hails from Taiwan,” said Ko Ning-hui (葛寧卉), the Taiwanese proprietor of a Swiss-based bubble tea shop who is determined to bring her home country to wider attention through the sweet, ice-cold beverage.
Ko’s self-assigned mission to make the birthplace of pearl or bubble tea known to the world began a few years ago when she was studying for a masters in business administration in the US and was in a relationship with a Swiss man, who later became her husband.
On one occasion, Ko’s then-boyfriend tried to describe to her — with occasional use of body language — a “perfect and wonderful cup of tea” he just had at a store in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesey of Ke Ning-hui
It turned out that what he had believed was an American product was actually bubble tea.
“While it is not news that bubble tea is available in many countries and has made a splash in the US and in some European nations, such as France and Germany, relatively few people are aware of its place of origin,” Ko said.
After marrying, Ko settled in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she spent nearly three years carrying out market research before deciding to introduce bubble tea to local residents.
To gauge the popularity of the drink, Ko initially served it for free as an accompaniment for diners who ordered set meals.
Although some diners said that the drink just seemed to be sweetened milky tea that “came with fish eyes,” it was gradually accepted by consumers following eight months of marketing by Ko.
Ko then went on to open her first bubble tea store in Lausanne about a year ago, which she named Kony Bubble Tea Taiwan.
Shortly after opening the shop, she became pregnant with her second child.
After the birth, Ko insisted on breastfeeding her child, and said she had to wake up about four times a night to nurse the newborn before starting her working day at 7am, preparing ingredients for the store.
In addition to struggling to balance her career with her family responsibilities, Ko said that she also faced problems over cultural differences between her and her husband.
Despite their occasional quarrels, Ko’s husband still helped her cook the chewy balls for the bubble tea and delivered them to the store daily, providing much-needed support, she said.
Ko said that running the tea shop has also opened her eyes to the darker side of human nature, citing an employee she laid off because of his alleged ambition to copy her bubble tea manufacturing know-how, and also his inappropriate behavior such as pretending that he was in charge of the store.
“After being fired, the man even slandered my tea shop and threatened to open his own store nearby to poach my customers,” Ko said.
Despite many bumps along the road, Ko’s tea shop gained in popularity after it was featured in the “Sooishi” food blog and in the French-language newspaper Le Temps.
Ko’s success has won her praise from the Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation in Switzerland, as well as an invitation to a WTO-initiated global festival in which she introduced bubble tea to representatives from 157 WTO member states.
“Persistent adherence to my principles was the key to getting where I am today,” Ko said, referring to her decision to import all necessary equipment and ingredients, such as taro and red azuki beans, from Taiwan, to bring the most authentic bubble tea to her customers.
Ko plans to open another bubble tea shop in Lausanne on March 9, and to possibly open a chain store in Geneva in June or July.
“What I run is not just a store, but rather a stronghold from which Taiwan can gaze upon the world,” Ko said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard