Fields Corner has become the “hot spot” in the city for Bubble Tea and other Asian drinks and desserts, thanks to its cluster of Vietnamese businesses that were well poised to capitalize on an international surge of interest in the market.

“I would say Bubble Tea is to Fields Corner what the cannoli is to the North End,” said Jackey West Devine, director of Fields Corner Main Streets, which works with merchants and residents to focus on the business district. “People love Bubble Tea so much from so many different cultures now. It’s a great amenity for our neighborhood and we’re lucky to have such a strong Vietnamese population here.”

Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and was imported to America in the 1990s. It is typically made with a base of black, jasmine, or green tea fortified with some type of milk, and containing tapioca balls (called pearls or boba) at the bottom.

Sweet Sip owners Diana and Phuoc Nguyen have become known for their Bubble Teas, Butterfly teas, and their unique waffles.

The craze has exploded in recent years as a staple of pop culture – often tied intimately to Korean Pop, or K-Pop, bands. Most shops worth their chops serve the drink cold in a sealed container so it can be shaken, punctured later, then consumed with an oversized straw to capture the pearls.

On a recent afternoon in the Coco Leaf Dessert Café on Dorchester Avenue, high schoolers Tian Long Lin and Lesley Ly said they often stop there for specialty drinks after school.

Eric Ly and Peter Om of Coco Leaf in Fields Corner said they are excited about the innovation and creativity that is making Fields Corner a “hot spot” for Asian drinks and Vietnamese specialty desserts.

“I think Fields Corner is a hot spot because you have so many places like Sweet Sip, Gong Cha, Coco Leaf and a lot of others. too,” said Ly. “I feel like it does have a reputation for a lot of diverse Bubble Tea shops, which is a good thing.”

Added Long Lin: “I think a lot of the popularity now is because of social media and everyone likes to show and take pictures of their food.”

Tam Le, who runs Reign Drink Lab on Dorchester Avenue, started drinking Bubble Tea in the 1990s at a shop in the Chinatown Eatery.

There are other places to get Bubble Tea, like Chinatown and North Quincy. I wouldn’t say there is anything in Fields Corner that is any different, but what makes Fields Corner unique is the variety…There are things you won’t find in any other place than Fields Corner.”

Reign Drink Lab, for example, now specializes in Vietnamese Coffee, though they still sell smoothies and Bubble Tea. Meanwhile, Coco Leaf features a seasonal Bubble Tea menu and Vietnamese pastries. Sweet Sip on Adams Street is known for its Bubble Tea and Butterfly Tea while also carving a niche with rolled ice cream, real frozen yogurt, and their increasingly popular waffles.

Eric Ly and his Coco Leaf business partner, Peter Om, have branched out to another location on Newbury Street. They are weighing a franchise expansion, but say Fields Corner is their base of innovation, pushed along by a cluster of great pioneers.

“There are a lot of different options in Fields Corner,” he said. “Everyone serves something a little different. I think that’s great because it’s like in Vietnam. You’ll find streets that focus on just one thing, like the Durian fruit, and other areas that focus on selling one similar item. I encourage it; it sort of pushes creativity and doesn’t allow us to get complacent.”

Ly also agreed that “the K-Pop and K-Drama cultures, all of that, helps drive the Bubble Tea trends. The BTS group had a McDonald’s commercial. It definitely does have an impact on everything. I think if we were to create a special BTS or MonstaX drink, it would probably be a hit in Fields Corner.”

On Adams Street, Phuoc and Diana Nguyen took a chance in 2017 and opened Sweet Sip, a popular shop that sits next to Bambu – a Vietnamese franchise drink shop that has similar products but specializes in Ché sweet puddings.

“Some people were angry at us because they think we’re competing with Bambu, but we’re not,” said Diana. “There is a lot of differentiation here in the businesses.”

High Schoolers Tian Long Lin and Lesley Ly enjoyed Bubble Tea and smoothies at Coco Leaf after school this fall. Seth Daniel photos

With deep roots in Fields Corner, the couple started their shop with virtually no experience. While they are well-known for their teas – particularly the Butterfly lychee tea – they have also now gained a positive reputation for their Vietnamese waffles.

“I really wanted waffles, and no one had waffles around here,” said Diana. “My husband said, what do you know about waffles? We made so many different batters and tried so many different things, but we finally developed our own recipe.”

At Bambu, they specialize in a Vietnamese Ché pudding while also selling drinks. Sweet Sip has promised not to venture into that area, and instead they offer rolled ice cream and traditional frozen yogurt.

“Our recipes are really fresh,” said Phuoc. “We’re very careful about what we use and almost everything is made from scratch every day. We don’t make things in large batches. We try to keep things different by always changing our recipes and hopefully that’s always for the better. Plus, we make fresh boba [pearls] every three hours.”

At Coco Leaf, Ly and Om said they continue to innovate with their drinks, recently working on one incorporating Ovaltine or Milo. Ly said he would like to focus more on his pastries.

“Fields Corner is always going to be our home,” said Ly. “I’ve lived in Dorchester close to 15 years and I’ve seen Fields Corner transform - a very large transformation. I’m proud to be in Fields Corner and to see where it is going and to be a part of the process of that.”