3 minute read
PAEONIA
ANH PHAM’S PAEONIA HAS CAPTIVATED WINDSOR
Living in a BUBBLE
Since opening last year, Paeonia has wowed visitors to Windsor. With rapid expansion on the horizon, we catch up with founder Anh Pham to see why it has touched a nerve
By MARK KEBBLE
You’d think given the last two years, we would have had enough of anything to do with bubbles – but Paeonia in Windsor isn’t like anything else that has come before it. It’s home to bubble tea, which explains Paeonia founder Anh Pham is “a tea-based drink served cold, hot or iced with chewy tapioca pearls providing an addictive mix of textures”, and there are literally hundreds of combinations you can choose from.
Which perhaps explains why Paeonia is seeing high levels of revisits, as there is always something else to try. Originating in Taiwan in the 1980s, bubble tea really started to take o in the UK as the 21st century trundled on, with social media playing its part. “We have customers of all ages at Paeonia,” Pham says, “but bubble tea is, without doubt, most popular with the younger, Instagram-friendly generation. Bubble tea is so versatile and fun, it is delicious, you can tailor it to suit your tastebuds, and it also looks cute!”
Looks are everything at Paeonia, as the décor inside instantly puts a smile on your face. Why Windsor? “I instantly fell in love with Windsor when I first visited the town in 2015,” Pham smiles. “As a keen traveller, I have been to many di erent places, but Windsor has my heart. I instantly knew that I wanted to live here.” And Windsor, it seems, has embraced Pham too. “We had people queuing out of the door on launch day,” she says. “Our aim is to bring a very premium experience at Paeonia, where people can get familiar with new tastes they have never experienced before. As a bubble tea lover myself, I never stop creating new flavours every season to introduce to our customers.”
On the last point, it feels like there is no
limit to what you may find at Paeonia. “Our best sellers are the flu y cheese crème brulee with tapioca pearls and flu y dirty mess – milk tea with brown sugar pearls, flu y cream cheese and Oreo crumbles,” Pham says. “You can literally choose from a multitude of fruit and milk flavours. You can also make bubble tea with a variety of plant-based milks, including oat, coconut, almond and soya, with all popping balls and jellies being plant-based. We have also just introduced Vietnamese iced co ee on the menu, which is stronger and sweeter than regular co ee, and really worth a try.”
It’s amazing to think that Paeonia opened in Windsor during the height of a pandemic, especially given its immediate success. “There’s no doubt it was a tricky time for the whole hospitality industry,” Pham nods, “but when the pandemic hit, we were too far down the line to stop and just decided to go for it. Having a premium bubble tea room was my dream, and I never stopped making my dream come true.” With talk already that Pham will be taking Paeonia to other locations in Berkshire and further afield, that dream is very much a reality now. Paeonia is certainly bubbling away rather nicely.
PAEONIA WINDSOR
Unit 46, Windsor Royal Station, Jubilee Arch Windsor, SL4 1PJ 01753 206270 • paeoniacafe.co.uk
