South Shields dessert shop becomes first in the borough to sell bubble tea

Sweet Dreams on Stanhope Road has become the first place in the borough to sell the popular drink which most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls ("boba" or "pearls"), but it can be made with other toppings as well, such as grass jelly, aloe vera, red bean, and popping boba.

Having only launched the drink last week the shop has received a lot of positive comments on social media.

Staff have been experimenting with flavours and some of the most popular flavours include Strawberry and Lychee, Mango and Passionfruit and Pineapple and Peach. There are also a few milk tea options to choose from.

Read South Tyneside's news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day's news and sport and enjoy even more from your Gazette. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.

Robi Haque who runs the business said: "I've been wanting to introduce bubble tea for a while. A lot of my customers are having to travel to Sunderland or Newcastle for the drink so I'm glad I've been able to bring it to South Tyneside.

"It's a fun and refreshing drink and I've already had people of all ages in trying it. I think it's going to be a hit over the summer months."

The dessert shop celebrates its first anniversary since opening tomorrow (13 June) and despite a tough start Robi is proud of where the business is heading and has worked hard introducing offers and giving back to the community over the last year.

The shop is currently only open on evenings but Robi is hoping to recruit more staff to enable the shop to open up during day time too.

READ MORE: Primary school pupils take part in Primary Engineer Leader's Award

To mark the launch of the bubble tea and the first anniversary the bubble tea will be on offer on Thursday (15 June) for £1 for a regular size. Maximum of one per person.

After 7pm normal prices will resume. £4.50 for a regular and £5.50 for a large. All other items in the store will be full price and will be no sit in availability between 5pm-7pm.

There will also be a photographer in the shop taking photos to be used across social media.

Robi is encouraging customers to come in and give the new bubble tea a try.