The newest drink craze to hit the UW-Madison campus is hidden beneath University Square food court powerhouses Sbarro and Quizno's, but is worth searching for if you want an alternative to soda.
Dave Lin and Sam Hickerson created Bubble Island while in college, after being inspired by similar bubble tea businesses in California, and they've been in business since 2002. Although they've only opened up two other locations (both in Michigan), Midwesterners have fallen in love with their tea, frozen yogurt and smoothie creations.
Familiar terms such as tea and yogurt differ from those most Badgers have grown up with. But don't worry - whoever's behind the island bar will gladly answer any of your questions with a smile and a free sample of anything on the menu.
The menu has two sections: signature drinks and create-your-own. The signature drinks list of some of Bubble Island's most popular drinks, including Purple Haze (taro milk tea with colored bubbles), Tropical Rush (kiwi and pineapple juice with Calpico and mango stars) and Mango Amore (mango and passion fruit juice with green tea and mango stars).
First-time visitors to Bubble Island are recommended to create their own drink to see what they like or dislike. First, you select a base, which includes a type of tea or Calpico (which is a kind of fruit juice), then pick one of the many varieties of flavors, like mango. Finally, if you want, you can choose an add-on for your drink. These may seem a little strange, especially the black bubbles (known to some as boba), but they add a unique taste to a typical fruit, tea or coffee drink that you can't get anywhere else in the state.
Although it can get somewhat expensive for just a drink - at anywhere from three to five dollars - anything on the colorful menu will fill you up more than any soda could. Your buy-five-get-one-free stamp card will be filled sooner than you think.
