Bubble tea lovers, and those who have yet to experience the joy of boba, will have a chance over the next few weeks to enjoy the sweet as the Calgary Bubble Tea and Asian Desserts Festival kicked off on Saturday.

The festival, which runs from Aug. 17 through to Sept. 1, is being hosted by three of Calgary’s business improvement areas: Chinatown, Crescent Heights, and International Avenue.

The goal is to give Calgarians a chance to enjoy the dozens of local businesses serving up the popular drink and vote for their favourite shop, with winners crowned by the people’s vote and a panel of celebrity judges on Sept. 7.

“The BIAs and BRZs have come together to present the festival to just try and get some awareness and let Calgarians in on some really delicious things that they might not have tried before,” said Camie Leard, Executive Director for the Crescent Heights Village BIA.

“It’s a bubble tea and Asian dessert festival. So yes, there’s bubble tea—and that comes in hundreds of different kinds—but then also some really great ones like mango flavoured desserts and some interesting things at the bakeries and other sweet treats throughout the three BIAs and a little bit beyond as well.”

Leard said that the inspiration behind the festival, which has been running since 2021, came about from an idea she had when she became executive director of the BIA.

“We’re a relatively new BIA, and when we formed, I noticed there were a lot of bubble tea places in our neighbourhood. I thought, ‘you know, it’s a kind of a great way to try and get folks out or to do a self-guided tour,’ but when I did a little research I saw how many more there were in both of those other two BIAs as well,” Leard said.

“Whenever we get the opportunity to work with other organizations like ours, it’s just win, win, win all around. We’ve worked together on these for a few years now, and it’s been a great way to promote each other’s businesses and also just the Asian food scene in general.”

Chinatown BIA Executive Director Judy Eng-Hum, said that the very first bubble tea shop opened in Calgary in Chinatown on 3 Avenue, and that the drink itself has become part of mainstream society.

“Now bubble tea has popped up everywhere in all of the neighbourhoods. We want people to come to have bubble tea and the wonderful different flavours.”

“We’ve got a new tagline now in Chinatown: Discover the treasures of Chinatown culture, cuisine and community. This is a great way for people to come down to Chinatown to discover something new. We’d love to have people who haven’t tried bubble tea before to come and discover this new treasure that they could add to their daily life.”

Boba drinkers can visit any of the bubble tea shops located in the three BIAs, and then vote for their favourite via the BIA websites.

What is bubble tea?

Bubble tea is a drink that first originated in the 1980s in Taiwan, and consists of a tea-based beverage combined with pearls of tapioca.

A common alternative name for the drink is boba.

Some popular locations include Coco and Try Again Beverage House in Chinatown, Koi Fresh Fruits and Tea and 6A Snack Bar in Crescent Heights, and JusFruit on International Avenue.

Across Calgary, dozens of shops have opened up, and the drink is now commonly available from specialty bubble tea shops to shopping malls.

The winner of the 2022 festival was Xing Fu Tang, which styles itself as the number one boba from Taiwan.

In describing the winner, the Crescent Heights BIA said that its signature brown sugar pearl milk with pan-fried handmade brown sugar pearls won the judges over—almost like a creme brulee in drink form.

The 2021 festival winner was Noodle World in Crescent Heights, which won with their mango paradise entry.

“I keep waiting for it to go out of style, because the moment [the festival] began quite a few years ago… the interest does not seem to be waning,” said Leard.

“There’s so many different options, and I think as people start trying them, and saying, ‘oh, this is actually pretty good,’ the popularity continues to grow.”

Calgarians can vote for their favourite boba at crescentheightsvillage.ca/yycbubbleteafest.