It started in Asia (both Korea and Taiwan have laid claim to its origins), made its way to New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and has finally landed in Austin. I'm talking about light-bulb boba tea, and as of right now, there's only one place in Austin where you can find it.
Mango8, the West Campus dessert shop known for its piles of shaved ice, started offering the trendy drink earlier this month. If you're not familiar with light-bulb teas being a thing, here's a brief history: the Hyundai Department Store in Seoul, South Korea, first started serving its tea-based sodas in light bulbs in early 2016. At the same time, a Taiwanese boba shop gained attention on social media when it started posting photos of their own light-bulb creations. The trend has since made the rounds—and it was only a matter of time before Austin got in on the action.
At Mango8, you can order any of their drinks served in a light bulb—I tried the butterfly milk tea latte with boba, a creamy, refreshing drink that sports a pastel ombré effect. The light-bulb option adds an addition $1.25 to your tab, but you get to keep the plastic bulb in case you want to recreate the sensation at home. Mango8 isn't trying to keep it a secret, either—a huge sign on the front door promotes their new glassware, along with some new summer flavors: mint Thai tea and Mangonadas, among others.
As it has in other cities, the drink is blowing up on social media in Austin. Check out the waves Mango8 is making on Instagram, and hop on over to the shop before lines start forming:
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