Tea beverages are known to be a healthy option especially in South Asian countries. This form of beverage is usually brewed like coffee and is usually drunk by adults. But one kind of tea that originated from Taiwan is interesting and healthy enough for all ages. We are talking about Bubble tea.
Known also as foam tea, bubble tea is a sweet flavored tea beverage that first came out in Taiwan in 1980’s. The original concoction of bubble tea consists of hot Taiwanese black tea mixture, small tapioca pearls, syrup or honey and condensed milk. It became popular when it was first featured in a Japanese TV show, later on, drink vendors began selling the new interesting drink and sooner, beverage shops and cafes began making it and it made waves in the beverage industry. Bubble teas usually contain a tea base which is mixed with fruit or fruit syrup and or added with milk. It contains small tapioca pearls called “boba”; this kind of beverage is shaken in order to mix the ingredients that generate the foam on the surface, hence the name. The most common kinds of Bubble teas are; bubble black tea, bubble green tea and pearl milk tea, though many recipes are also available in unique concoctions.
There are generally two types of bubble teas; milk teas and fruit- flavored teas. Milk teas may either use dairy and non- dairy creamers, some are pure crushed fruit smoothies with pearls and ice cream shakes are made locally. Bubble tea has reached America and bubble tea vendors in there sell milk smoothies, which is alike with bubble tea but has little tea ingredients in it. Today, shops have its own unique concoction adding a little twist to the usual bubble tea mix.
The tea type acting as tea base may also vary. The bubble green tea uses jasmine- infused tea instead of black tea, now small tapioca pearls are being replaced with big tapioca pearls, then more flavors are added and until the tea base is removed and the drink now entirely consist of real crushed fruit or in powder form. The fruit versions contain colored pearls or jelly cubes with color depending on whatever fruit is placed to match up. But some still like their bubble tea to remain with the traditional black tea and green tea base. In cafes, bubble tea mixture is usually shaken in a cocktail shaker or added with crushed ice in a blender for a chilling bubble tea experience, then cooked tapioca pearls and other add ins are added up to make the beverage more richer in taste and appearance, then it was poured in plastic dome- shaped lid containers and some bubble tea bars serve it using a machine to seal the top of the cup with cellophane that allows the beverage mixture to be shaken creating the foamy effect on top, it is then pierced with a big straw for the tapioca balls to pass through.
