Inside the bubble tea shop that's brought a taste of Taiwan to Sea Road in Sunderland

Business partners Ka Leung Wong and Yung-ni Wu opened their Tea Rest cafe last autumn after transforming a former tattoo shop in the local high street in Fulwell.

Hailing from Taiwan, they’ve grown up with the speciality drink, which has a tea base, which is then customised with chewy tapioca pearls or different flavoured popping boba (bubbles).

One of Taiwan’s most well-known exports, it’s a drink that’s grown hugely in popularity in this country in recent years, especially with teenagers and students.

For their business venture, the partners imported specialist equipment including a Teapresso machine to brew the teas, which they also bring over from their home country.

Yung-ni said: “We named the business Tea Rest because we know how people in this country like to relax with a cup of tea. Also, our logo is a T-Rex, which sounds similar.

“We looked at some premises in the city centre, but we liked that this is a community high street with lots of schools around. There’s nothing else like this in this street and we wanted to bring Asian tea culture to the community.

She added: “We opened the doors in October last year and it’s been on and off, but the cold version is a very summer drink, so we’re hoping it will pick up as the weather warms up.”

As well as doing bubble teas for takeaway, the shop has some seating inside which Yung-ni says has become a popular hangout for kids after school.

The businesswoman said: “I think it’s such a popular drink because it’s fun and people like that you can totally customise it to your own tastes.”

There’s a range of tea options at the shop, priced from £4 including Assam Tea, Earl Grey, Highland Oolong and more.

*Tea Rest is open 11.30am to 6pm. Closed Wednesdays and Sundays.