Bubble tea

Today I noticed how Taiwan has changed my appreciation for bubble tea. I also noticed that there are possibly no bubble tea outlets in Melbourne which will ever come close to the quality of Taiwan's. I remember having my very first bubble milk tea, it was from Ten Ren in Melbourne. I don't have a strong recollection of their drinks, probably because they were not very good. Which is ironic because Ten Ren is from Taiwan. The second time I had bubble tea was from a chain called Easyway in Sydney, circa 2009? I remember liking it and being ecstatic when they opened their first store here in Melbourne. Back in those days, there were not many bubble tea chains around. Chatime came into the scene a couple of years later, both in Malaysia and Melbourne. For a while, I was addicted to their Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly topping. On my first day in Taipei I stumbled upon Ten Ren which immediately evoked nostalgia. I bought myself a drink, it was my 'dessert' after my beef noodle soup dinner. Even though I did not enjoy pearls as much as I used to, I got them with my milk tea anyway because why not. As I have anticipated myself when I bought the drink, I couldn't finish it. Starchy pearls - there's only that much I can stomach. I did thoroughly enjoy the drink. I didn't think I enjoyed it that much until I tried a few other bubble tea drinks from other stores in Taipei which I found to be inferior to Ten Ren's. Their tea flavour just could not compare. Yesterday, I bought myself a pearl milk tea from Chatime because surprisingly I've missed it! Taiwan's bubble tea, I mean. The first time I tasted a Chatime drink many years ago I remember going "mmm..." with satisfaction but this time, I was mildly disappointed. Tea flavour was weak, pearls were way too 'al dente'. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I got a different pearl milk tea from a different Chatime store today; it was the same story. I am unsure if it was due to a drop in quality, or because Taiwan has spoilt me. Either way, I am now on the hunt for the best bubble tea I can find in Melbourne.