Identical twins open Black-owned bubble tea shop in Garner

Identical twins Nyah and Nicole Johnson were 19 when they started their own business. Personal touches like artwork, plush animals and a pink retro telephone line the shelves of their cozy tea café.

"We expected it to not be busy, but I think because we were new a lot of people came in," they said. "We have a lot of support in Garner."

The Willow Springs sisters first tried boba, or bubble tea, at 14, after their favorite YouTube star mentioned it. They quickly fell in love and researched where to find boba in North Carolina, visiting all the cafés they could find.

They expanded their search, trying to visit at least seven tea shops in each state they visited. A family vacation wasn't complete without a visit to every bubble tea shop they could find, and the sisters have sampled boba in New York, Washington, D.C., and even France. They even got to meet their favorite YouTuber in their travels.

"I think for our parents it was a trip to do other stuff, but for us it was a trip for boba," they laughed.

When it was time to get their business going, the twins received support from their parents and guidance from other small business owners, but after trying such a variety of boba shops, Nyah and Nicole knew they needed to research the best vendors themselves to supply their ingredients.

Running MooMooCha means they don't get a lot of free time, but the sisters said fulfilling their dream is well worth it, and their work family has become their best friends. They just got back from a beach trip with their staff.

"There was a lot of sacrifice in the beginning, but we became very close friends with the people who work here. It feels like we are hanging out with our friends all the time," they described.

Boba tea is traditionally an iced tea beverage with chewy tapioca balls. Matcha (a special finely-ground green tea), strawberry and brown sugar milk tea are some popular flavors, but MooMooCha's menu is more creative.

There's usually a special, themed menu in rotation -- most recently one inspired with Pokémon characters. For a limited time, customers could order a Jigglypuff (grapefruit cider with pomegranate poppers), the Pokédex (a red velvet frappe with cherry poppers) and the Pikachu (mango milk with mango star jelly).

Last year, the My Little Pony menu offered colorful drinks like the Rainbow Dash.

Popular menu items include coffee-tea concoctions and the salty and sweet strawberry cheesecake, a refreshing strawberry tea with pieces of jelly in the bottom and a salted cream cheese cap.

The selection for bubble tea fans is huge. Customers can choose from traditional boba or fruity "poppers" in flavors like strawberry, mango and kiwi. Some teas are prepared with jellies, with flavors like lychee, mango star and coffee.

Drinks can be made vegan or customized upon request.