Tea business bubbling in Abilene with Lustea boba shop opening

As the tea beverage industry continues to brew, a franchise that originated in Vietnam is opening a second United States location in Abilene.

Featuring teas, bobas and other colorful specialty drinks and snack products from Vietnam and neighboring Asian countries, Lustea will have a soft opening Saturday at 3751 Catclaw Drive in the Shops at Abilene shopping center.

Teas are brewed in-house using fresh leaves from Taiwan, said Lustea spokeswoman Kim Beechner. She speaks on behalf of the Abilene franchise holder Ngoc Huynh, who came to the city four years ago. 

Additional flavors are added using fresh fruits such as coconut, kumquat, cantaloupe, pineapple, passionfruit, mango and strawberry. Taro and matcha also are incorporated into some beverages.

“Lustea offers a fresh, natural take on tea,” Beechner said. “You have to travel to larger cities like Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio to find this kind of tea.”

What is boba?

Since working in the restaurant industry for the last 15 years, Beechner has noticed “an extreme explosion of boba tea shops. Same with a lot of international cuisines,” she said.

Boba tea, also known as bubble tea, originated in Taiwan. Boba refers to the chewy, pearl-sized tapioca balls that are added to the drinks. A wider straw enables the squishy bobas, which can have a burst of flavor when popped, to be slurped from the bottom of the cup.  

Also on the menu are milk teas, made with milk or nondairy substitutes such as almond milk, and cheese drinks with a foamy layer made of milk, cream cheese and sprinkling of salt. Smoothies, featuring fresh fruits or even cookies, and slushies are other beverage options.

Customers can have the sugar level customized to be 30%, 50% or 70% of the regular amount in the drinks, Beechner said. 

“We have four different types of milk. That way if they’re lactose intolerant or if they want almond milk or soy milk because they don’t drink regular milk we can do that as well,” Beechner said.

Complementing the drink menu are traditional Vietnam desserts and snack foods, including crème brulee, brown sugar bubble soya pudding, fried cheese, fried fish ball, fried pot stickers and tempura shrimp.

To make ordering easier, the menu has photos of the drinks and foods. Items can be ordered by name or number.

Reminded of home

While Abilene has several tea shops, Huynh found them overly sweet compared to what she had in her native Vietnam.

Huynh discovered Lustea during a trip to San Antonio and was immediately a fan because “the taste was more authentic to back home,” Beechner said. 

Huynh reached out to Lam Hamai, also known by her American name Amie, who opened the first franchise in San Antonio in October 2020 and is offering other franchise opportunities. Lustea, which has 39 locations throughout Asia, is Huynh’s first business. 

“Amie has a very particular preference for quality. She only uses certain products from Vietnam and certain types of boba,” Beechner said.

The boba is sourced from an American company, Beechner said. Like some products in other industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted boba supplies worldwide. 

More: Bubble tea shortage 2021: Shipping backlog making it harder to find boba. How long will the COVID-19 shortage last?

“We will not order from any other company because we do not want to sacrifice quality. If we cannot get boba from them, we will be temporarily out until we can get more,” Beechner said.

Huynh is bringing Lustea to Abilene to expose the beverages and foods popular overseas to a new market. Serving the local Vietnamese community also motivated her, Beechner said.

“They don’t have their own native snacks or their own native drinks,” Beechner said.

After the shop opens, online ordering will be rolled out. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sundays. Lustea Abilene also is on Facebook.

Boba tea bubbling in Abilene

Beverages with boba have been popping up at Abilene restaurants and tea shops in recent years. Providers include:

  • Little Ninja, 4102 Buffalo Gap Road
  • NobiliTea, 3625 S. Clack St.
  • Pho King, 2025 S. 14th St.
  • Phoenix Pho, 2439 N. Judge Ely Blvd., suite 2501
  • Tea2Go TeaN’ergy, 3562 Catclaw Drive

More: Coffee bar and roastery coming to Abilene SoDA District

Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com

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