Bubble Tea
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Wikipedia-Article "Bubble Tea"
Bubble tea, pearl milk tea (Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá), or boba milk tea (波霸奶茶; bōbà nǎichá) is a tea beverage mixture with milk which includes balls of tapioca. Originating in Taiwan, it is especially popular in Asia (Taiwan, PRC, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines) as well as Europe, Canada, and the United States. It is also known as black pearl tea or tapioca tea.
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Definition
Bubble tea consists of a mixture of sweetened tea, iced or hot, and milk and possibly other flavorings. Black gummy balls made of tapioca, called "pearls" or "bubbles" or Boba, sit at the bottom of the cup. The pearls are much larger than those found in tapioca pudding, with a diameter of at least 6 millimeters (smaller balls are occasionally used). They are sucked through a wide straw along with the drink, providing something to chew on between sips.
When ordering, customers are often asked whether they want "boba" or "pearls" in their beverages. Both terms refer to the tapioca balls.
The recipes for bubble tea vary, but usually flavoring is added to hot black or green tea which is then shaken in a cocktail shaker or blender with ice until chilled. The mixture is then usually combined with milk and softened tapioca pearls. Most cafes that serve bubble tea also add a plastic seal by a machine to the top of the cup to be pierced by a straw by the drinker.
Some cafes use a non-dairy milk substitute instead of milk, which adds a distinct flavor and consistency to the final product. This may be because many Asians are lactose-intolerant.
The flavorings added to bubble tea are usually fruity, and can be either powders, fruit juice/pulp, or syrups. Drinks made with fruit pulp and juice only with boba added are sometimes refered to as bubble tea, and are therefore distinguished by the seller as separate from green, black, or brown (milk) tea.
Tapioca pearls are primarily made from tapioca starch from the cassava plant. The pearls are then heated with caramel into a thick paste. The paste is then passed through a wet sieve to create different pearl sizes.
Another alternative to traditional bubble tea is to substitute tapioca pearls with coconut jelly, a lighter option. Coconut jelly is served in small Lego-like pieces and has a sweet, crunchy consistency. They add a new dimension to bubble tea and are often ordered "half and half," meaning half pearls and half coconut jelly.
Origin
Bubble tea is said to have originated in Taichung, Taiwan in the early 1980's by a Taiwanese tea shop named Chun Shui Tang 春水堂, which experimented with cold milk tea by adding fruit, syrup, candied yams and, finally, tapioca balls. Although the drink was not popular at first, publicity from a Japanese television show made businessmen take notice, and it quickly became well known throughout Asia in the 1990s.
In the late 1990s, bubble tea began to become popular in the United States and Canada. This unique beverage has also received some attention in the American mainstream media, including Morning Edition on National Public Radio and the Los Angeles Times. Bubble tea can also be found in major European cities, such as: London and Paris.
Bubble tea can also refer to hot Hong Kong-style milk tea (港式奶茶; pinyin: gǎngshì nǎichá; Cantonese: gong2 sik1 naai5 caa4) with tapioca balls.
Names
Bubble tea has now spread internationally, mainly through overseas Chinese communities. It is also known under a number of other names, including:
- pearl tea
- Bubble Milk tea
- milk pearl tea or pearl milk tea
- pearl ice tea
- black pearl ice tea
- QQ drinks — kiú is Taiwanese slang for chewy
- 奶茶 naicha — literally, "milk tea"
- 珍珠奶茶 zhēnzhū nǎichá (Putonghua, Taiwanese and overseas Chinese usage) — literally, "pearl milk tea"
- 波霸奶茶 bōbà nǎichá — literally "large breast" milk tea.
- boba drink
- tapioca drink
- trà trân châu (equivalent to 茶珍珠, literally "pearl tea") (Vietnamese)
- pearl sago [milk] tea — in English only; usually used for canned varieties where pearl sago (西米; xīmǐ; Cantonese: sai1 mai5) is used instead of tapioca.
- ชาไข่มุก, ชามุก literally, pearl tea
In southern Taiwan, pearl milk tea with large pearls are usually called "boba milk tea", while those with small pearls are called "pearl milk tea".
Availability
The tea, regardless of name, is available at small dedicated boba cafes, and at some restaurants. Most bubble tea stores serve a variety of drinks, including coffee, juices, and fruit freezes, which are sometimes also called bubble tea, even without any tea ingredients. These can include flavors which are less familiar to non-Asians, such as taro, honeydew, or lychee—as well as the familiar chocolate, Ovaltine, or strawberry—and may be available with or without tapioca pearls. Nowdays, hot versions are also found, with tapioca pearls included as well.
Trivia
In September 2004, defending a US$18 billion weapon purchase plan, the ROC Ministry of National Defense used bubble tea as an example of the overall cost of the proposed purchase. The Ministry stated that the total cost of the weapons systems would be equivalent to the money saved if all Taiwanese drank one fewer pearl milk tea per week for a period of twenty years.
Related topic
Bubble tea stores
External links
- Free Boba & Bubble Tea Recipes
- News article from CNN
- The Tale of "The Bubble Tea Origin"
- Claremont Courier Online - Bubbly drinks help teens have a ball
- Picture of Bubble Tea
- US Bubble tea cafe locator
- MSNBC - Can drinking less tea defend a nation?
- NBC - Taiwanese urged to cut tea to pay for US arms
- Boba Fate - bubble tea fortune-tellers