“Nowadays, Chinese milk tea shops are popping up all over Dubai. With the inclusion of delivery services, an average shop can sell around 500 cups a day, priced at approximately 50 RMB (Chinese Yuan) per cup. It is indeed a fantastic business,” Jackson, who has been residing in Dubai for over ten years, told Xiaguang Society. In the economic and financial center of the Middle East, Dubai, Chinese milk tea shops are springing up like mushrooms after rain.
In the vicinity of the “International City,” where Chinese people gather, there are Chinese-owned shops such as “MuMu Tea,” “Panda Milk Tea,” “BaBa’s Tea,” “33 Milk Tea Shop,” and even imitation versions of “Heytea.”
“My first store is located in Dubai’s International City, where many local Arabs come by car to buy brown sugar pearl milk tea and creamy mango. Middle Eastern people who are familiar with Asian culture have heard of pearl milk tea, and many come out of curiosity. After trying it, they become addicted,” said Ajing, the owner of “MuMu Tea” in Dubai, to Xiaguang Society.
Not only in Dubai but also in major cities across the Middle East, scenes of local people enjoying Chinese milk tea can be seen.
In the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, there are OneZo Fruit Tea and Sunrise Tea from Taiwan, China. In the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, there is Tiger Sugar with a logo featuring a tiger. In the capital of Turkey, Istanbul, there is Monster Teashop with sloth-shaped cups. Even in the capital of Egypt, Cairo, located in North Africa, there are milk tea shops with Kung Fu Panda logos, selling brown sugar milk tea, herbal jelly, and taro milk tea with mochi.
