Coffee Jelly

With bubble tea more popular than ever, more and more people are being exposed to new add-ons beyond just the classic tapioca pearl bobas. Among those: coffee jelly!

Coffee jelly isn’t just for bubble tea though. It’s popular in certain coffee drinks — makes sense! — and can also be a delicious addition to ice creams and other desserts.

Although in many ways it feels like a relatively modern phenomenon along with toppings like popping boba, tapioca pearls, grass jelly, cheese foam, and other bubble tea favorites, coffee jelly actually has a 200+ year-old history. It’s had a few waves of popularity using different production techniques in the UK and North America, but its latest, most popular version is most associated with Japan.

Unlike many jellies which are made out of collagen-sourced gelatin, coffee jelly is traditionally made by flavoring agar — an algae-derived jelly — with sweet coffee before letting it set to form a vegetarian jelly.

You can find dessert and boba stalls with coffee jelly options at Uwajimaya’s food courts, plus coffee jelly itself at all our stores!