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Why is bubble tea so trendy?
The sweet taste of the tea paired with the delicious toppings make up the unique taste that bubble tea provides. Drinks like iced coffee or juice have the same texture but with bubble tea, the pearls offer a sort of “break” from the same boring consistency.
What is bubble tea and why is it popular?
This often technicoloured drink is based on a Taiwanese recipe of blending a hot or cold tea base with the choice of milk, fruit and fruit juices, then adding the signature “bubbles” – soft and chewy tapioca pearls that sit at the bottom.
Why is boba so addictive?
Sugar leads your brain to be addicted to sugar, it will be dissolved speedily in your body as you take bubble tea. Hence, your sugar level will soar high and cause your brain to produce dopamine which boosts excitement and make you feel satisfied.
Are bubble teas healthy?
Unfortunately, boba itself provides very few health benefits, though its calories and carbohydrates can provide you with a boost in energy. In most cases, boba tea contains high levels of sugar, which is linked to long-term health conditions like diabetes and obesity.
Why did tea become so popular?
The most important of them was the cheaper and easier access to sugar. Although tea was gaining popularity since introduction, the first major inflection point in its sales arrived when the prices of sugar fell. This is now the subject of many anthropological and historical studies.
When did bubble tea become popular?
1990sPopularity. In the 1990s, bubble tea spread all over East and Southeast Asia with its ever-growing popularity. In regions like Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore, the bubble tea trend expanded rapidly among young people.
What does bubble tea taste like?
Bubble tea tastes like a well balanced and sweet milky beverage with a slight twist, boba pearls. Though sweet, it's not overpoweringly sweet since teas counteract sweetness and creaminess of boba flavors. Generally boba cafes will make a concentrate of tea and use this as the base of their milk teas.
Which age group drinks the most bubble tea?
What can we say about bubble tea drinkers overall? They tend to live in more densely populated areas. They are much more likely to be 20-34 years old than any other age.
Description
Bubble teas fall under two categories: teas without milk and milk teas. Both varieties come with a choice of black, green, or oolong tea as the base. Milk teas usually include condensed milk, powdered milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, 2% milk, skim milk, or fresh milk.
History
Milk and sugar have been added to tea in Taiwan since the Dutch colonization of Taiwan in 1624–1662.
Popularity
In the 1990s, bubble tea spread all over East and Southeast Asia with its ever-growing popularity. Internationally like Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, etc., the bubble tea trend expanded rapidly among young people. In some popular shops, people would line up for more than thirty minutes to get a cup of the drink.
Potential health concerns
In July 2019, Singapore's Mount Alvernia Hospital warned against the sugar content of bubble tea since the drink had become extremely popular in Singapore.
Why Is It Called Bubble Tea?
Most people assume quite understandably, that the name bubble tea refers to the round bubble shaped tapioca pearls at the bottom of the cup. In actual fact, the term refers to the bubbles – or foam at the top. These are actually small pockets of oxygen, produced after the contents have been shaken in a cocktail shaker.
Who Invented Bubble Tea?
There are a number of stories and myths about how bubble tea was invented. It’s widely agreed that it was invented in the 1986 and is a Taiwanese Tea Based Drink.
Tapioca Pearls, or Balls
In the bottom of the cup are tapioca balls, which is a starch extracted from the cassava roots. The roots are used to thicken the agent in various ways. Cassava is actually a butty flavored root vegetable which is native to South America, which is surprising considering this drink originated in Taiwan.
Flavors of Bubble Tea
Bubble tea has evolved in many ways since it’s popularity. Traditional bubble tea, which is still common today, particularly in Taiwan and surrounding regions contains oolong, black or green tea. Now, base flavors include Thai or Chai Tea and other flavorings are routinely added in the form of pulp, powder, or even syrup.
Most Bubble Teas Can Be Customized
bubble tea comes in many flavors and customizable varieties. Now the combinations are seemingly limitless. Even in terms of temperature, the tea flavor or type of milk available. It’s even available as a smoothie.
Is Bubble Tea Healthy?
Not really! Although it contains basic ingredients of Tea and milk, other ingredients make it heavy in Carbohydrates with no nutritional value, plus it’s loaded with added sugars from toppings. Depending on what type of milk you choose it could also be
Where Should You Drink Bubble Tea?
There are dedicated Bubble Tea Cafe’s appearing all over the place. The craze has now moved over to the UK too. There are two types of Milk used in Bubble Tea, there is at the powder version or the real milk version. Try to avoid the powder version if possible. Even ask before you order it to make sure they’re using real milk.
What Is Bubble Tea?
Bubble tea is a tea drink that originated from Taiwan. Debates continue about when it was created and who created this type of tea. However, it is generally believed that Ms. Liu Han-Chieh of Chun Shui Tang tea shop in Taichung, Taiwan first came up with the drink. 1 Regardless, this drink has increased in popularity around the world.
What Are The Bubbles In Bubble Tea?
The bubbles are made with tapioca flour (starch), water, and brown sugar. Unlike wheat flour, tapioca only contains starch. They are refined starch of the cassava plant, which is a starchy root like taro. 2 That’s what makes it so tricky to make. Starch particles are created when a large number of glucose (forms of sugar) join together.
Types of Bubble Tea
Though there are a variety of bubble teas, we wanted to break it down for you to make it easier. Here is a list of the classic types:
High Sugar Content In Bubble Tea
Although many of us love bubble tea, it does contain high amounts of sugar. In some studies, researchers attribute Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in Asians to the sugar content in Boba milk teas. 5 The tapioca pearls are often just starch covered in cups of sugar. The drink itself contains high-fructose corn syrup and other sugary fruit concentrates.
Making Bubble Tea More Sustainable
Like any drinks you buy outside you can always opt for more sustainable options. Some places may not let you use your own cups but you sure can purchase a reusable straw. Keep in mind that you may need a wider straw to enjoy the pearls. There are now amazing varieties like bamboo straws or even the simple metal straws.
So why the name bubble tea?
The drink has a number of monikers, including pearl milk tea and tapioca tea, but it's most commonly referred to as bubble tea or milk tea. The term "bubble tea" is actually a reference to the milk froth that forms when the drink is shaken, not the chewy pearls in the drink that resemble bubbles, Quartz noted.
What exactly are the pearls made out of?
Not old tires and shoes, that's for sure. These bubble-like pearls, the defining feature of the drink, are actually marble-sized balls of tapioca, the Daily Meal noted. (Tapioca is a starch that is extracted from cassava root that is naturally gluten-free and typically made into flour and edible pearls, the Huffington Post reported.)
What does it taste like?
The cooked pearls on their own are chewy but relatively flavorless. They become much sweeter after being soaked in simple syrup. But the real flavor comes from the drink itself — the pearls are more there for texture.
Are the tapioca pearls healthy?
The chewy balls aren't wildly high in calories: A 1.1-ounce serving of uncooked pearls contains 68 calories (drinks typically contain anywhere from 1 to 2 ounces of the tapioca pearls). But because the pearls are typically soaked in a sugar mixture, their calorie count increases.
So who first put tapioca pearls in sweet liquid and called it a drink?
The delightfully chewy drink originates in Taiwan. In the 1980s a beverage visionary decided to put the pearls into a cup of sweetened iced tea, NPR reported. A number of tea companies claim they invented the beverage, but credit is frequently given to Liu Han Chie, the owner of Chun Shui Tang teahouse in Taichung, according to the Daily Meal.
Why Is It called Boba?
History of Bubble Tea
- Without a doubt, the history of boba tea goes back to Taiwan. It was invented in Taiwan during the 1980s and their rich culture in both tea and food make it the perfect birthplace for it. The only question is, where did bubble tea originate? Rumor has it that a project manager invented it at a tea house during a spell of boredom. Two tea houses, Ch...
Making Tropical Pearls For Bubble Tea
- Good bubble tea all comes down to good tapioca pearls or boba balls. But how can you make sure that your bobahas that perfect blend of chewiness and sweetness without being mushy and too sweet? Here´s how: Boba Ingredients:1 Bag of Tapioca Pearls and brown sugar, fructose, or honey. What is a bubble tea recipe? 1. Start boiling water in a 10 to 1 ratio. So for example, if yo…
Make It with Fresh Milk Or Powder
- Now that your boba is ready, it’s time to make your milk tea. Most bubble milk tea can be classified into two categories. One that uses fresh milk and one that uses a non-dairy creamer or a flavoring powder. People usually make fresh milkbobaby mixing chilled black Ceylon tea with milk in a 50/50 ratio. You can also substitute black tea for green or oolong tea but black Ceylon t…
Variants
- Drink: It comes in many variations which usually consist of black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and sometimes white tea. Another variation, yuenyueng originated in Hong Kong and consists of black tea, coffee, and milk. Other varieties of the drink include blended tea drinks. People often blend these variations using ice cream or are smoothies that contain both tea and fruit. Toppings: Pea…
Its Popularity
- Due to its popularity, it has inspired a variety of bubble tea flavored snacks such as bubble tea ice cream and bubble tea candy. People used to sell boba in Chinese restaurants for one dollar as a side drink upon request. Now it is valued as a $1.9 billion dollar industry with $3.2 billion projected sales by 2023. New trends are constantly emerging like cheese foam tea and tiger tea. Bubble te…
Overview
Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá, 波霸奶茶; bōbà nǎichá; 泡泡茶; pàopào chá) is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. It most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls ("boba" or "pearls"), but it can be made with other toppings as well, such as gra…
Description
Bubble teas fall under two categories: teas without milk and milk teas. Both varieties come with a choice of black, green, or oolong tea as the base. Milk teas usually include powdered milk or fresh milk, but may also use condensed milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.
The oldest known bubble tea drink consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese bl…
History
Milk and sugar have been added to tea in Taiwan since the Dutch colonization of Taiwan in 1624–1662.
There are two competing stories for the discovery of bubble tea. One is associated with the Chun Shui Tang tea room (Chinese: 春水堂人文茶館) in Taichung. Its founder, Liu Han-Chieh, began serving Chinese tea cold after she observed coffee was served cold in Japan while on a visit in t…
Popularity
In the 1990s, bubble tea spread all over East and Southeast Asia with its ever-growing popularity. In regions like Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore, the bubble tea trend expanded rapidly among young people. In some popular shops, people would line up for more than thirty minutes to get a cup of the drink. In recent years, the mania for bubble tea has gone beyond the beverage itself, with boba lovers inventing various bubble tea food such as bubble te…
Potential health concerns
In July 2019, Singapore's Mount Alvernia Hospital warned against the high sugar content of bubble tea since the drink had become extremely popular in Singapore. While it acknowledged the benefits of drinking green tea and black tea in reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer, respectively, the hospital cautions that the addition of other ingredients like non-dairy creamer and toppings in the tea could raise the fat and sugar content of the tea and in…
See also
• Cuisine of Taiwan
• Chinese tea culture
• Hong Kong tea culture
• List of Taiwanese inventions and discoveries
External links
• Asian Boss interview with bubble tea pioneer Lin Hsiu Hui