A plethora of popular locations throughout Montgomery County house bubble tea stores. One location in particular, located in The Block Foodhall & Bar in the Pike & Rose shopping and food district, is the well-known Gong Cha restaurant. Gong Cha’s Pike & Rose location usually garners many customers daily.
The international bubble tea chain has over 1,500 locations worldwide and almost 30 within the DMV area alone. Gong Cha prides itself on its famous milk foam tea drink and its abundance of flavors and drink combinations. The restaurant also holds special events and offers seasonal menus.
According to Gong Cha’s website, the company has released a variety of seasonal menus throughout this year, including a Strawberry Series, Peach Series and Witch’s Brew series; the Witch’s Brew series features bloody red strawberry syrup for Halloween. However, the bubble tea empire is no lone contender in festive holiday drinks. There is arguably no better time than the winter holiday season for splurging on limited-edition drinks and food. Gong Cha announced on Nov. 13 that—in addition to their new winter-themed drink, the Gingerbread Milk Tea with Milk Foam & Pearl—they would sell gingerbread bottles with each drink purchase. The gingerbread bottles gained traction for their visually appealing design and ran out of stock rapidly around the country.
Francesca Arbis, an employee at the Pike & Rose Gong Cha explained the high demand for the gingerbread bottles. “It gained a lot of customers and it was pretty popular on TikTok so that’s why a lot of people came here. Our bottles sold out a few weeks ago,” Arbis said. She added her thoughts on the Gingerbread Milk Tea and would recommend it to customers. “I tried the gingerbread drink once and it was pretty good. I could see the appeal and why people would want to order it,” she said.
Arbis believes what distinguishes Gong Cha from other bubble tea stores is the surplus of drink options customers can choose from, especially during specific times of the year. She explains, “Gong Cha definitely has a lot of variety. We have a lot of drinks that definitely attract a lot of customers and give them a lot of options. So, I think for the holidays, we can be pretty festive, especially with the gingerbread bottles. We also put different holiday seals on our cups.” Gong Cha’s holiday seals have included red stockings and snowmen in past years.
Indulging in seasonal items is one way to let loose for the wintertime. Each year, companies—from local businesses to billion-dollar corporations—rack up their shelves with aesthetically pleasing or Instagram-worthy holiday items. WISK, a restaurant management software, explains restaurant menu psychology in an article and how consumers are convinced to buy certain items. Describing the loss aversion principle, the article states, “We are more sensitive to losses than gains and will do anything in order to avoid them— even if it means making a purchase.”
With the hype of seasonal items and the psychology behind the fear of being left out, it is easy to understand why so many customers try to get their hands on these limited-time offers. Despite the brain science that comes with seasonal items and society, there is no harm in indulging in the food and drink festivity. “I do think drinks make a big play into the holiday season because there’s a lot of flavors. For example, Starbucks has pumpkin drinks that are pretty popular during the fall and winter. They’re the cozier drinks,” Arbis said.
Customer Kevin Adderly and his family, who are from Washington D.C., are frequent bubble tea store visitors. “This is actually our first time at [the Pike and Rose] Gong Cha. I like the drinks and how the location is fairly accessible,” he said.
Adderly shared similar thoughts regarding the connection between drinks and their role during the holidays. He said, “Sometimes my coworkers at my office will have a debate, and argue about which restaurant has the best pumpkin spice latte, for example.”
Gong Cha— and bubble tea in general—is a slightly unorthodox but still fulfilling way to bring comfort and joy during the holiday season. The various flavors and add-ins that come with bubble tea make it a focal point for bringing people together and enhancing enjoyment between friends and family. Even with the contemporary trends in festive drinks, it can be worthwhile to take a look at food and drink items that strive to capture the essence of winter and create a sense of celebration with family and friends this holiday season.
Written by of Pragna Pothakamuri of Thomas S. Wootton High School
Photo by Pragna Pothakamuri of Thomas S. Wootton High School