Get ready for a tea comeback in China. The drink so closely associated with the country’s history has been supplanted of late in the zeitgeist and financial markets as a bitter battle for coffee dominance rages. In 2021, however, investors will be gulping down the latest craze in steeped leaves.
Despite recent pandemic-related setbacks, Starbucks and its giant roasteries have made a caffeinated splash in Shanghai and beyond. Its success is inviting fresh challengers. The spectacular floundering of local wannabe Luckin Coffee left a competitive gap being filled by McDonald’s, local KFC owner Yum China and others. As java overflows, bubble tea has been quickly brewing. Since the concept of dropping chewy tapioca balls – or bobas – into black tea was introduced from Taiwan in 1997, China’s consumption has reached five times that of coffee, according to analysts at China Merchants Securities. They reckon the number of shops pouring fresh-brewed product registered 74% growth in 2018…