ALTHOUGH it's called tea, Taiwanese bubble tea is about as far removed from the nation's favourite brew as it is possible to get.

Bubble tea is served cold in a variety of different flavours and an array of colours with lots of little juice balls bobbing around at the bottom.

And yet bubble tea is proving to be hugely popular - especially with younger tea drinkers and is set to transform the way we enjoy our traditional beverage forever.

Mei Pan, creator and owner of Yobu in Gervis Place, Bournemouth, sells gallons of the stuff as well as frozen yoghurt. (Yobu is a made up word based on the first two letters of yoghurt and bubble).

"When I first opened in 2015 I thought frozen yoghurt would sell more than bubble tea, but it turned out the other way round," she laughs.

Mei who grew up drinking bubble tea in her native Taiwan, explains that tea used to be big business until 30 years ago when younger tea drinkers started choosing soft drinks or coffee instead.

One clever tea shop owner started adding different fruit flavours to her tea in a cocktail-style shaker which soon became so popular that other concessions followed suit.

The name 'Bubble Tea' refers to the bubbly-foam at the top of the tea which is created when shaken. 'Bubble Tea' is also known as "Boba" Tea. The juice balls are the size of small marbles which burst in the mouth.

Mei who speaks several languages, worked in the pharmaceutical industry for about 15 years before setting up her own bubble tea business.

"We change flavours every few months. Our frozen yoghurt is freshly made on the premises. It's fat free, excluding the toppings, and made with a natural yoghurt powder from Italy to make it taste so creamy."

Yobu also sells a variety of unusual snacks including a healthier version of prawn crackers and Japanese kola biscuits - each one has a different design.

"We always try new things - if customers like them then we keep them."

New additions to the menu include gyoza dumplings which are boiled in water and served with choice of soy sauce and shallot sauce with chilli.

Yobu is already a big hit on social media and Mei is about to open a second Yobu in Basingstoke.

Mei adds: "I want it to be like your living room - we call it home away from home."