BeauTea

BeauTea opened on Wisconsin Avenue in 2019 as an original specialty tea brand in the Georgetown lower commercial district, in the cluster of businesses near the waterfront Circulator stop that serves the Wisconsin Avenue corridor. The bubble tea format, which combines tea of various types with sweeteners, milk or fruit bases, and the tapioca pearls or other toppings that give the drink its name and its distinctive texture, has established a significant consumer base in the Georgetown neighborhood over the years since opening.

The drink menu at BeauTea covers the categories that the bubble tea format has developed across its Taiwanese origin and its global expansion: fruit teas, which combine brewed tea with fruit syrups and real fruit pieces for the lighter and more acidic end of the menu; milk teas, which add dairy or non-dairy milk to the tea base for a creamier result; and yogurt drinks, which use yogurt as the base for a tangier option that the pure milk tea does not provide. The cheese foam topping, which has spread from the Taiwanese tea market into the global bubble tea scene, adds a layer of salted cream cheese foam on top of the drink that provides the contrasting flavor between the sweet tea below and the savory-sweet foam above.

The Brown Sugar Milk Tea is among the most ordered items, which reflects the broad appeal of the brown sugar flavor in the milk tea format. The caramelized sugar adds depth that plain white sugar does not, and the tiger stripes of brown sugar syrup on the inside of the cup provide the visual presentation that has made the drink popular on social media as well as in person. The Taro Milk Tea, which uses purple taro root for both the flavor and the distinctive lavender color, is another consistently popular choice.

Seasonal drinks rotate through the menu to provide novelty for regular customers. The Wisconsin Avenue location at 1073 is in the lower Wisconsin commercial district, across from the Georgetown Parking garage and near Sweetgreen. Hours run from 11am most days and noon Sunday. The tapioca pearl, which is the ingredient that gives the drink category its name and its most distinctive texture element, is made from cassava starch formed into spheres and cooked in sugar syrup. The result is a chewy, slightly sweet ball that the wide straw the drink comes with is sized to pass through. The texture contrast between the cold liquid and the chewy pearl is the experience that bubble tea culture has built its following on. BeauTea at 1073 Wisconsin is open from 11am most days and noon on Sundays. The Wisconsin Avenue address is accessible from the Georgetown Circulator’s lower Wisconsin stop, near the waterfront cluster of restaurants and cafes. For a Georgetown afternoon or a post-shopping stop on the lower Wisconsin shopping block, the bubble tea format provides the cold drink refreshment that the category serves well.