Cairo-Born Boba Favourite Ming & Tea Is Opening in Zamalek

Cairo's relationship with bubble tea has become rather more serious in recent years. What was once a novelty involving an oversized straw and a mildly bewildering collection of tapioca pearls has developed into a proper drinking habit, complete with favourite orders, preferred levels of sweetness and people who will cross town for a particular cup.

Among the places responsible for cultivating this enthusiasm is Ming & Tea, the Cairo-born boba spot whose Maadi beginnings have made it a familiar name among the city's bubble-tea devotees. Now, at long last, it is making its way to Zamalek, bringing its particular brand of chewy, creamy, occasionally extravagantly sweet refreshment to the island.

The menu has plenty to occupy anyone who regards tea as a starting point rather than a finished beverage. There are milk teas, fruit teas and matcha concoctions, including the brown sugar boba matcha milk and taro boba matcha milk tea, for those who prefer their afternoon caffeine with something substantial to chew on.

For Zamalek, a neighbourhood already well supplied with reasons to linger over a drink, Ming & Tea's arrival offers another excuse to abandon whatever one was supposed to be doing and spend an unreasonable amount of time debating flavours. The pearls, naturally, are part of the appeal.