How to adapt your bubble tea menu to the different seasons of the year?
Seasonal Bubble Teas
Adding seasonal flavours to your bubble tea menu lets you take full advantage of holidays and events throughout the year. Keeping your menu current and relevant makes sure you’re meeting what customers want in every season. And it’s not just about flavours. Some seasons call for completely different drinks! Think hot, comforting drinks in winter versus cool, refreshing options in summer.
Winter Bubble Tea
Let's start with Winter, which, in the UK, can last quite a while. In winter, the first thing to note is that the weather calls for more warm and hearty drinks. Bubble tea, particularly classic milk tea style, is great hot or cold, so definitely consider adding some hot variations to your menu throughout these cold months.
Winter is also synonymous with Christmas, arguably the biggest holiday of the year. The month of December poses a huge opportunity to shop owners, with customers looking for festive-themed treats and happy to spend their money for a fun Christmas experience. With this being the case, ensuring your bubble tea menu is up to date with Christmas themed drinks is crucial to capitalise on this opportunity. Flavours like eggnog, cinnamon, pumpkin, chocolate and even mint (candy cane) are great ideas for bubble tea flavours or toppings to spruce up your selection. Do not miss out on the opportunities that come at Christmas. For a deeper dive into ideas for Christmas, check our our blog on how to add some Christmas flair to your menu!
Here are some Winter bubble tea recipes:
1) Gingerbread Bubble Tea
2) Yuen Yeung (Hong Kong-style coffee milk tea)
@taipec_uk Yuen Yeung, the Hong Kong drink that mixes milk tea with coffee. 🧋☕️ Ingredients, – 40g milk tea powder – Condensed milk – 200ml hot water – 1 or 2 shots of espresso – Ice #yuenyeung #milktea #coffee #drink #easyrecipe
3) Hot Coco Bubble Tea
Spring Bubble Tea
As the seasons change, so do consumer demands. Spring is when we start to feel the weather shift and get slightly warmer before summer. Spring is also known for its' floral essence and a fresh, crispness in the air. With this comes some great drink ideas. Consider floral flavours such as lavender, matcha and jasmine.
You'll also want to prepare yourselves for Easter, the main holiday in Spring. Create colourful, pastel drinks and introduce chocolate flavoured teas to give your menu an Easter theme. Use the Easter bunny and Easter eggs in your visuals on social media and in-store to further create the holiday-feel.
Some Spring-inspired bubble tea recipes:
1) Blue coconut matcha cloud
2) non-dairy mango matcha
3) Easter-inspired bubble tea
@taipec_uk Happy Easter! Let’s turn this into a bubble tea. #bubbletea #milktea #recipe #foodie #easyrecipe #drink #foryoupage #howto
Summer Bubble Tea
Summertime means the sun is finally out! Bubble tea tends to explode in popularity in the Summer months, particularly around the two May Bank Holidays. With so much sun and happiness in the air, boba shops experience huge peaks in demand. The key tips for Summer is to make sure you are stocked and prepared to meet all of this increased demand. Aside from this, ensure you fill your menu with fruity, refreshing and light bubble teas. Utilise tropical flavours such as watermelon, lychee, mango, and serve your bubble teas ice cold! A refreshing bubble tea is a huge attraction for customers in these hotter months.
Some Summer bubble tea recipes:
@taipec_uk How to make Mango & Papaya Milk Tea. It’s sooo good!! 🥭✨ RECIPE: – Add 1.5 scoop of mango powder, 1.5 of papaya powder and 1 of creamer to 200ml of hot water – Add 1-2 ladles of sugar syrup if you want it more sweet – Stir & add ice – Add 1 scoop of tapioca pearls It’s that simple! 😍 #bubbletea #milktea #recipe #foodie #easyrecipe #drink #foryoupage #howto #mango
@taipec_uk Can you taste the lychee? 🍹💖 Try this fruity tea recipe and let us know what you think! #fruit #summer #fyp #summerdrinks
@taipec_uk Happy National Frozen Custard Day! You HAVE to try this bubble tea recipe: PREP for caramel pudding: – 15g caramel pudding powder – 180ml hot water = add all ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix until blended, chill in the fridge for 2hrs. PREP for strawberry milk tea: – 200ml hot water – 36g strawberry powder – 12g creamer = add all ingredients in a shaker cup, mix until blended, add ice until the top, and shake. ASSEMBLY – vanilla ice cream – caramel pudding – strawberry milk tea #custard #bubbletea #recipe #fyp
Autumn / Fall Bubble Tea
Lastly, we have Autumn. As Summer wraps up and Autumn pulls around, customers start to enjoy more indulgent, hearty treats, especially once the sun finally disappears. Rich, cozy and autumnal flavours include pumpkin, chai, cinnamon, honey apple and more. Nutty flavours like hazelnut and pecan also increase in popularity in these months. Whilst the weather isn't always cold, this is the best time to start introducing those hot bubble tea options as temperatures start to drop before Winter.
When designing this menu, use autumnal colours like deep reds, oranges, browns and golds. This will help evoke the cozy and comforting autumnal feel that will draw customers into your store at this time of year. Be sure to check out our autumn bubble tea menu blog for a deeper look into how to tailor your menu to this season.
Some Autumn bubble tea recipes:
@taipec_uk The absolute easiest coffee recipe ever. Just mix your usual hot coffee with brown sugar and some chocolate, add ice and milk. That is it, seriously. 🤎🤎🤎 #coffee #chocolate #latte #easyrecipes #drinkrecipes
Conclusion
How do you adapt your bubble tea menu to the yearly seasons? You can adapt your bubble tea menu to the seasons by aligning your drinks with colours, flavours, and popular occasions throughout the year. In winter, offer drinks inspired by Christmas and Valentine’s Day, as well as hot beverages. In spring, focus on matcha, fruity milk teas, and Easter-themed creations. Summer calls for refreshing cold drinks, fruit teas, and smoothies, while autumn is the perfect time for cozy, sweet drinks that match the gradually, colder weather and shorter days.