Bubble tea isn’t a new arrival in the Tokyo drink landscape, but the beverage has recently enjoyed a popularity boom. - [1]- Perhaps you’ve passed a long line of adolescents in front of a store, or your Instagram feed has been overwhelmed by chunkystraws and tapioca-filled, vacuum-sealed cups. - [2] -   The drink — which consists of flavored tea, often mixed with milk and sugar, with black tapioca balls at the bottom,waiting to be sucked up — originally comes from Taiwan, and has gained popularity internationally over the past few decades.Its arrival in Japan is a little less clear, though it seems the first real inroads bubble tea made in the country came at the start ofthe millennium. But the beverage has never been a true trend here until now. While bubble tea has had its devotees over the pastdecade and a half, it only recently connected with Japanese teens, the arbiters of culinary cool across the archipelago. - [3] -Perhaps owing to bubble tea’s photogenic properties, its colorful, layered toppings and add-ins easily visible in plastic cups,online outlets have referred to it as a nationwide “tapioca boom.” You know it has spilled over into the mainstream whenYouTubers and J-pop idols try to cash in on the trend.   Although bubble tea comes in all kinds of flavors, customers tend to go for sweet options, with milk tea versions the mostpreferred. Sweetened versions have become so omnipresent that publications such as Joshi Spa have reported on how unhealthythe drink can be for you. - [4] –   The Koiwa neighborhood seems to be a hot spot for memorable bubble tea drinks, housing places such as Toki Seven Tea,Golden Ratio and the chain Chatime. A recent arrival comes in the form of Takusha no Cha, located near Shin-Koiwa Station.This one has caught on with the Instagram crowd thanks to fruit-heavy takes on bubble tea that load up on slices of strawberryand whipped cream alongside the soft tapioca pearls. These creations are definitely not for those trying to cut calories, but theyrise above usual social media bait thanks to the actually enjoyable fruity flavors.
46. According to paragraph 2, which of the following statements is true of the bubble tea in Japan?
(A) Bubble tea originates from Taiwan and arrived in Japan in the late 90s.
(B) Bubble tea becomes really popular in Japan because Japanese teens have an appetite for it.
(C) Bubble tea enters the mainstream in Japan a decade before it was widely touted by Japanese Internet celebrities andentertainers.
(D) Japanese teens connect bubble tea with the island of Taiwan.
(E) No Japanese has ever liked bubble tea for the ten and a half years after the millennium.