Product Code Database
Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; p=zhēnzhū nǎichá, labels=no) is a tea-based drink most often containing chewy tapioca balls, milk, and flavouring. It originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s and spread to other countries where there is a large East Asian diaspora population.
Bubble tea is most commonly made with tapioca pearls (also known as "boba" or "balls"), but it can be made with other toppings as well, such as grass jelly, aloe vera, Adzuki bean, and popping boba. It has many varieties and flavours, but the two most popular varieties are pearl Black tea milk tea and pearl Green tea milk tea ("pearl" for the tapioca balls at the bottom).
The oldest known bubble tea drink consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, tapioca pearls (poj=hún-îⁿ), condensed milk, and syrup (p=táng jiāng) or honey. Bubble tea is most commonly served cold. The tapioca pearls that give bubble tea its name were originally made from the starch of the cassava, a tropical shrub known for its starchy roots which was introduced to Taiwan from South America during Japanese colonial rule. Larger pearls (p=bō bà / hēi zhēn zhū) quickly replaced these.
Some cafés specialize in bubble tea production. While some cafés may serve bubble tea in a glass, most Taiwanese bubble tea shops serve the drink in a plastic cup and use a machine to seal the top of the cup with heated plastic cellophane. The method allows the tea to be shaken in the serving cup and makes it spill-free until a person is ready to drink it. The cellophane is then pierced with an oversized straw, referred to as a boba straw, which is larger than a typical drinking straw to allow the toppings to pass through.
Due to its popularity, bubble tea has inspired a variety of bubble tea flavoured snacks, such as bubble tea ice cream and bubble tea candy. The market size of bubble tea was valued at in 2022 and is projected to reach by the end of 2027. Some of the largest global bubble tea chains include Chatime, CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice and Gong Cha.
Other varieties of the drink include blended tea drinks. These variations are often either blended using ice cream, or are smoothies that contain both tea and fruit. Boba ice cream bars have also been produced.
There are many popular flavours of bubble tea, such as taro, mango, coffee, and coconut. Flavouring ingredients such as a syrup or powder determine the flavour and usually the colour of the bubble tea, while other ingredients such as tea, milk, and boba are the basis.
Jelly comes in different shapes: small cubes, stars, or rectangular strips, and flavours such as coconut jelly, konjac, lychee, grass jelly, mango, coffee, and green tea. Azuki bean or mung bean paste, typical toppings for Taiwanese shaved ice desserts, give bubble tea an added subtle flavour as well as texture. Aloe, egg pudding (custard), and sago also can be found in many bubble tea shops. Popping boba, or spheres that have fruit juices or syrups inside them, are another popular bubble tea topping. Flavours include mango, strawberry, coconut, kiwi, and honey melon.
Some shops offer milk or cheese foam on top of the drink, giving the drink a consistency similar to that of whipped cream, and a saltier flavour profile. One shop described the effect of the cheese foam as "neutralizing the bitterness of the tea...and as you drink it you taste the returning sweetness of the tea."
Pearls (boba) are made from tapioca starch. Most bubble tea stores buy packaged tapioca pearls in an uncooked stage. When the boba is uncooked and in the package, it is uncolored and hard. The boba does not turn chewy and dark until they are cooked and sugar is added to bring out its taste. Uncooked tapioca pearls in their package can be stored for around 9 to 12 months. Once cooked, they can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Despite this, most bubble tea stores will not sell their boba after 24 hours because it will start to harden and lose its chewiness.
The traditional preparation method is to mix the ingredients (sugar, powders, and other flavoring) together using a bubble tea shaker cup, by hand. However, many present-day bubble tea shops use a bubble tea shaker machine. This eliminates the need for humans to shake the bubble tea by hand. It also reduces staffing needs as multiple cups of bubble tea may be prepared by a single barista.
Before the invention of bubble tea, a similar tea beverage was created in Taiwan called bubble foam tea (p=Pàomò hóngchá). This drink was made by mixing tea with fructose syrup and then shaking it with ice cubes in a shaker. The vigorous shaking created a fine foam, giving the drink its signature texture. Unlike modern pearl milk tea, bubble foam tea did not initially contain tapioca balls.
There are two competing stories for the discovery of bubble tea. One is associated with the Chun Shui Tang tea room in Taichung. Its founder, Liu Han-Chieh, began serving Chinese tea cold after he observed coffee was served cold in Japan while on a visit in the 1980s. The new style of serving tea propelled his business and multiple chains serving this tea were established. The company's product development manager, Lin Hsiu Hui, said she created the first bubble tea in 1988 when she poured tapioca balls into her tea during a staff meeting and encouraged others to drink it. The beverage was well received at the meeting, leading to its inclusion on the menu. It ultimately became the franchise's top-selling product.
Another claim for the invention of bubble tea comes from the Hanlin Tea Room (p=Hànlín cháguǎn) in Tainan. It claims that bubble tea was invented in 1986 when teahouse owner Tu Tsong-he was inspired by white tapioca balls he saw in the local market of Yā-mǔ-liáo (links=no). He later made tea using these traditional Taiwanese snacks. This resulted in what is known as "pearl tea."
In China, young people's growing obsession with bubble tea has shaped their way of social interaction. Buying someone a cup of bubble tea has become a new way of informally thanking someone. It is also a favoured topic among friends and on social media.
In 2017, a high-profile legal dispute between Chatime's franchisor and its Malaysian licensee, Loob Holding, led to the rebranding of over 160 outlets as Tealive. Tealive has since become the leading homegrown bubble tea brand in Malaysia, with hundreds of outlets nationwide and regional expansion across Southeast Asia. Other international and local brands, such as Gong Cha, The Alley, and Chizu, also maintain a strong presence.
The Malaysian bubble tea market has experienced significant growth and popularity in recent years, becoming a prominent segment of the country's beverage industry. Bubble tea has evolved into a mainstream beverage preference among the populace, propelled by the influx of international franchises and the emergence of indigenous brands.
As the beverage gained popularity in the US, it gradually became more than a drink, but a cultural identity for Asian Americans. This phenomenon was referred to as "boba life" by Chinese-American brothers Andrew and David Fung in their music video, "Bobalife," released in 2013. Boba symbolizes a subculture that Asian Americans as social minorities could define themselves as, and "boba life" is a reflection of their desire for both cultural and political recognition. It is also used disparagingly in the term boba liberal, a term that derides mainstream Asian-American liberalism. Other regions with large concentrations of bubble tea restaurants in the United States are the Northeast and Southwest. This is reflected in the coffeehouse-style teahouse chains that originate from the regions, such as Boba Tea Company from Albuquerque, New Mexico, No. 1 Boba Tea in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Kung Fu Tea from New York City. Albuquerque and Las Vegas have a large concentrations of boba tea restaurants, as the drink is popular especially among the Hispano, Navajo, Pueblo, and other Native American, Hispanic and Latino American communities in the Southwest.
A massive shipping and supply chain crisis on the U.S. West coast, coupled with the obstruction of the Suez Canal in March 2021, caused a shortage of tapioca pearls for bubble tea shops in the U.S. and Canada." Most of the tapioca consumed in the U.S. is imported from Asia, since the critical ingredient, tapioca starch, is mostly grown in Asia.
TikTok trends and the Korean Wave also fueled the popularity of bubble tea in the United States.
By 2012, Taiwanese brands arrived in Vietnam, still the same old milk tea but served in a completely new style: milk tea with toppings, developing a chain model, and a space designed as well as any famous coffee shop. Also, the halo of Taiwanese milk tea gradually returned, especially around the end of 2016, to the beginning of 2017. According to a survey by Lozi, in 2017, the Vietnamese milk tea market witnessed an explosion with 100 large and small brands coexisting and over 1,500 points of sale, including major brands from Taiwan such as Ding Tea, Gong Cha, BoBaPop. This survey also shows that milk tea is becoming a popular drink in Vietnam when 53% of people are confirmed to drink milk tea at least once a week.
From the consumer perspective, milk tea is characterized by its sweet, creamy taste, suitable for many customers, not only students, but also children and office workers. In addition, milk tea is constantly "transforming" to meet all customer needs, from cheese cream tea, fruit tea to low-fat tea. Another important point that makes milk tea popular is the service style. Instead of small shops and school gate carts like in the past, the milk tea is designed into a spacious space, with fixed seats, and cool air conditioning.
In Korea, there are many different large and small milk tea shops, famous brands or just small shops with a drink counter and a table. Although pearl milk tea originated in Taiwan, it took certain changes in Korea. Koreans are very concerned about keeping in shape, every meal they have to check exactly how many calories they take in, so that they can do appropriate exercises to burn off excess fat. Therefore, when entering restaurants or bakeries in Korea, we will see the calorie index recorded very carefully as a way to protect the health of consumers. For example, at Gong Cha milk tea shops there, customers can choose the sweetness of their milk tea by choosing the sugar level (0%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 100%) and similarly choose ice to add personal favourite flavour to their milk tea.
On 29 January 2023, Google celebrated Bubble Tea with a doodle.
The other concern about bubble tea is its high calorie content, partially attributed to the high-carbohydrate tapioca pearls (p=zhēn zhū), which can make up to half the calorie-count in a serving of bubble tea.
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