What is bubble tea?

Bubble tea originated from Taiwan around the 1980s. Two shops claim they're the creator of this drink--Liu Han Chie who worked in Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂) in Taichung, Taiwan, and experimented with cold milk tea by adding fruit, syrup, candied yams, and tapioca balls. The other was Hanlin (翰林) Teahouse in Tainan, Taiwan, owned by Tu Tsong He Hanlin. But as the story goes, a street vendor sold milk tea with tapioca pearls and it became increasingly popular through word of mouth.

Bubble tea is made by adding traditional white fenyuan which have an appearance of pearls, supposedly resulting in the so-called "pearl tea." However, today black pearls have become the standard and most recognizeable in this drink. Other things can be added such as fruit or flavored jellies made from nata de coco (baby coconut). Sometimes people wonder if this is a food or a drink!

The popularity of this interesting drink has soared over the past few years, with shops opening in many countries and in areas with a high Asian population. However, it is obviously becoming very popular through word of mouth and with people of various backgrounds.

For more information, visit the wiki on Bubble Tea!