The first time I went to New Mexico, it was for the Balloon Fiesta. We were young so it was a real doozy. Flew for a day, arrived at midnight, slept at the airport, woke at 6am, brushed our teeth, spent the day at the hot air balloon fest, rented a bicycle, rode downtown looking for food trucks in the afternoon, and flew back that evening—phew! What a journey. There were no food trucks on scene. Fast forward a few years later, there were food trucks everywhere, it was a food truck “Feasts”. Went back for a food truck rodeo, news flash! Yours truly was a judge. There were so many unique cuisines and one of my favorite doesn’t sell food. It had BUBBLE TEA—yesss! Ran by a couple from Vietnam and serves Bubble Tea made from real and fresh ingredients. The name is Bing Tea, which stands for Ice Tea. Bing has many meanings in Chinese with the most common being Ice.
Bubble tea, also known as Boba tea originated in Taiwan around the 1980’s and has since spread around the world. It’s not your cup of tea — wink. It’s much more; creamy, sweet, and chewy, with so much texture. It can have a milk or fruit flavor with edible tapioca pearls. Tapioca is a starch made from cassava roots, known as the Pearls or Boba. The pearls are very chewy. Did you know the term means large breast—haha. The actual funny part is that I don’t like sweet tea but love boba tea. I know we can’t compare the two (rolling eyes), but the point is that boba tea is a cold brew that has a tea base. There are a variety of boba options from traditional black pearls, to popping boba which are fruit-based, and jelly toppings which are fruit flavored bites. Tapioca can make or break a boba tea.
I don’t know when I fell in love with Boba tea but I do remember my love for the Bing Tea Truck.
The truck came to life after one of the owners had a near-death experience. The owners were reborn and decided to conceive. They put it into conception, eight months of incubation, and the truck was alive. It’s like having a brand new baby — Bing. Confused? Ugh, full story here. It’s all grown up now, 3 years old, and I can honestly say it is brew-tea-full. Everything on the truck is freshly made from the boba, to the tea, the syrup and all other ingredients. Even the flavors are unique. There is a story behind every flavor which is inspired by their travels. Let’s sip as I spill the tea. I will start with my top flavor from the ones I tried. The Twisted Taro was sweet, and creamy with creme brûlée swirls, reminded me of a milkshake. The Hawaiian Coconut with creme brûlée gave me summer vibes, reminded me of Hawaii, the beach with toasted coconut flacks and cherry on top almost like an ice cream. The Lychee Rose Lemonade is a little flora like a summer breeze. The lemonade balances it and the lychee makes it a little sweet. It’s like a burst of sweet and sour. Let’s not forget the tasty strawberry popping boba with real fruit flavors. The Imperial Jasmine Milk Tea had an acquired taste with sakura “cherry blossom” boba. It was floral with a lavender aftertaste. I don’t like any food that tastes like or has lavender. However, this looked so inviting with the pink, white, and blue that I just kept drinking and chewing. It was very floral and I learned to embrace it. There wasn’t any combination he made that didn’t taste good. The awesome thing about him is that he is so good and passionate at his craft that he can create tasty and unique flavors on the spot. We had a special one made called Four Wheel Feasts — “jumping with joy”. The colors were unique to resemble our logo. The flavors were…I don’t know if I should spill this tea — LOL, check out the video on the creation of our bubble tea on our YouTube channel. The series is coming out on January 24, 2025, even if it’s 2yrs later (sigh).
Everything at Bing Tea food truck was aesthetically pleasing and inviting. The presentation looked so delicious that you want to try it. There are vibrant colors with swirls, floats, color contrast, and color blocking. Yes, I’m talking about something we taste. They have over fifty different drinks from matcha, to sweet or milk tea, and more. Every time I see a new post, I either reminisce or look for the price of a flight for a weekend. If they were near, I would be drinking boba tea every day. Oh wait, they only operate three days a week. Find them on our locator page. They also have a chocolate business if you want to learn more.
