Bubble tea

Bubble tea

Bubble tea
Alternative names	Pearl milk tea Boba milk tea Boba tea Tapioca tea
Course	Drink
Place of origin	Taiwan
Main ingredients	Tapioca, milk/creamer, brewed tea, sugar, water

Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, boba milk tea, boba juice or simply boba) (Chinese: 波霸奶茶; pinyin: bōbà nǎichá, with tapioca balls it is 珍珠奶茶; zhēnzhū nǎichá) is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Taichung in the 1980s. Most bubble tea recipes contain a tea base mixed/shaken with fruit or milk, to which chewy tapioca balls and fruit jelly are often added. Ice-blended versions are usually mixed with fruit or syrup, resulting in a slushy consistency. There are many varieties of the drink with a wide range of ingredients. The two most popular varieties are bubble milk tea with tapioca and bubble milk green tea with tapioca.

Bubble teas are typically of two distinct types: fruit-flavored teas and milk teas. Some shops offer hybrid fruit milk teas. Most milk teas include powdered dairy or non-dairy creamers, but some shops offer fresh milk as an alternative. Other varieties are 100% crushed-fruit smoothies with tapioca pearls and signature ice cream shakes made from local sources. Many American bubble tea vendors sell milk smoothies, which are similar to bubble tea but do not contain any tea ingredients. Some small cafés offer sweetener substitutes such as honey, agave, stevia, and aspartame upon request.

The oldest known bubble tea consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, small tapioca pearls (粉圓), condensed milk, and syrup (糖漿) or honey. Many variations followed; the most common are served cold rather than hot. The most prevalent varieties of tea have changed frequently.

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Wikipedia