Pictures: Bubble tea store opens its doors in Northern Ireland 'serving cups of happiness' to queuing customers

Gong cha, one of the world’s fastest-growing global tea brands, has opened its first store in Northern Ireland welcoming the many queuing customers.

Located on Botanic Avenue in Belfast, the new store has created local 10 jobs is the first on the island of Ireland.

Gong cha Belfast franchisee, Adam Heyes, explained: “We're really excited to bring Gong cha to Ireland for the first time and start serving cups of happiness to the people of Belfast, a unique city with a fantastic blend of students, locals and tourists.

"Bubble tea is a fast-growing phenomenon which continues to spread globally thanks to its international appeal to a diverse demographic.

“The new store is the first on the Isle of Ireland and we are confident it will be a huge success offering a variety of bubble tea premium products and recipes to a new audience.”

Founded in Taiwan in 2006, Gong cha is known for its consistently high-quality, freshly brewed drinks from whole leaf tea, made with premium ingredients. It first expanded overseas in 2009 and has grown significantly to operate nearly 2,100 stores in 26 markets.

Customers in Belfast will now be able to create fully-customisable drinks from Gong cha’s menu of premium ingredients – from brown sugar tapioca pearls to coconut jelly - on a variety of bases. More than 600 product combinations are available, in addition to dozens of the Gong cha’s most popular drinks including its brown sugar milk tea.

Today, Gong cha has more than 2,100 locations globally but is currently executing an ambitious strategy to scale up to 10,000 stores by 2032.