Vincent Hsiao

Anna Dalton (12) shakes a milk tea order. After working at Share Sweet for over a year, Dalton has familiarized herself with the menu. “I have most of the recipes and the prices memorized by now because it’s been a while,” Dalton said.

You can find just about everything at the strip mall stretching from 9608 to 9656 Olive Boulevard. The complex hosts a gym, a laundromat, a license bureau, a pizza parlor, a Party City and a handful of salons, but no place quite as sweet-smelling as Share Sweet, the popular bubble tea shop in Olivette.

Before her 16th birthday, Anna Dalton (12) was a frequent patron of Share Sweet. But when she was old enough to work, Dalton went to the bubble tea shop with a new ambition in mind: get hired.

“I came in and asked my boss if he was hiring, and he was like ‘Yeah,’” Dalton said. “They hired me on the spot.”

A year and a half later, Dalton continues to work at Share Sweet, making drinks, preparing desserts and keeping the shop clean and stocked.

Though Dalton fills a variety of roles, working as a barista is her favorite.

“I like making drinks because it’s fun,” Dalton said. “Sometimes, the customer service part of my job can be draining, so being able to make drinks is nice.”

But her enjoyment isn’t limited to drink-making. Dalton is half-Taiwanese, so working at Share Sweet brings her closer to her background.

“When I go to Taiwan every summer, I always get bubble tea with my whole family,” Dalton said. “I get boba a lot when I’m there because it’s really cheap. It’s a nostalgic moment.”

Though milk tea and tapioca pearls have remained key ingredients, the drink has evolved over time since its emergence in teahouses.

“[In Taiwan], they don’t do any of the creative drinks that we have in the U.S.,” Dalton said. “It’s all very standard drinks like jasmine milk tea, classic milk tea and fruit milk teas.”

At Share Sweet, Dalton enjoys some experimentation.

“When it’s slow, my coworkers and [I] can make new drinks and try out new recipes,” Dalton said. “That’s always fun.”

Through making drinks, decorating desserts and collaborating with colleagues, Dalton finds ways to enjoy her long workdays.

“I like making drinks,” Dalton said. “It’s just fun.”