Bubble tea: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Tea-based drink with chewy bubbles}} |
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[[Image:Pearl_Milktea.jpg|thumb|Bubble tea from [[Quickly]]]] |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} |
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{{Infobox food |
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| name = Bubble tea |
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| image = [[File:Bubble Tea.png|frameless|upright]] |
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| caption = A cup of bubble tea |
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| alternate_name = Boba<br />Pearl milk tea<br />Boba milk tea<br />Boba tea<br/>Boba nai cha<br />Tapioca tea |
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| place_of_origin = [[Taiwan]] |
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| region = Worldwide |
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| course = [[Drink]] |
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| served = Hot or Cold |
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| main_ingredient = [[Tapioca]], [[milk]], [[non-dairy creamer|creamer]], brewed [[tea]], [[sugar]], flavorings |
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| variations = |
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| calories = |
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| other = |
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| cookbook = Bubble Tea |
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}} |
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'''Bubble tea''' (also known as '''pearl milk tea''', '''bubble milk tea''', '''tapioca milk tea''', '''boba tea''', or '''boba'''; {{zh|t=珍珠奶茶|p=zhēnzhū nǎichá}}, {{zh|t=波霸奶茶|p=bōbà nǎichá|labels=no}}) is a [[tea]]-based drink that originated in [[Taiwan]] in the early 1980s.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Wu |first=Jiayi |date=2020 |title=What Makes Bubble Tea Popular ? Interaction between Chinese and British Tea Culture |url=https://francis-press.com/papers/3231 |journal=The Frontiers of Society, Science and Technology |language=en |volume=2 |issue=16 |pages=97–102 |doi=10.25236/FSST.2020.021614 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024|archive-date=26 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926155214/https://francis-press.com/papers/3231 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Yip |first=Lynnett |date=2020-01-01 |title=How Boba, or Bubble Tea, Went Global |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3044028/how-bubble-tea-or-boba-went-global-and-who-first-thought |access-date=2022-01-24 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502175038/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3044028/how-bubble-tea-or-boba-went-global-and-who-first-thought |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Taiwanese Americans|Taiwanese immigrants]] brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially in [[California]] through regions including [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]],<ref name="AsianAmericanIdentity">{{cite news |last1=Zhang |first1=Jenny G. |title=How Bubble Tea Became a Complicated Symbol of Asian-American Identity |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora |work=Eater |date=5 November 2019 |language=en}}</ref> but the drink has also spread to other countries where there is a large [[East Asian people|East Asian]] [[diaspora]] population. |
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'''Bubble tea''' is a [[tea]] [[drink|beverage]] mixture with [[milk]] and balls of [[tapioca]]. Originating in Taiwan, bubble tea is especially popular in Asian countries such as the [[People's Republic of China]], [[Hong Kong]], [[South Korea]], [[Malaysia]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Singapore]]. The drink is also popular in [[Europe]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]]. |
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Bubble tea 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 [[grass jelly]], [[aloe vera]], [[Adzuki bean|red bean]], and [[popping boba]]. It has many varieties and flavors, but the two most popular varieties are pearl [[Black tea|black]] [[milk tea]] and pearl [[Green tea|green]] milk tea ("pearl" for the tapioca balls at the bottom). |
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==Definition== |
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Bubble tea consists of a mixture of iced or hot sweetened tea, milk, and possibly other flavorings. The beverage is shaken, producing the small bubbles characteristic of the name. Black gummy balls made of tapioca, called "pearls," sit at the bottom of the cup. The pearls, much larger than those found in [[tapioca pudding]], have a diameter of at least 6 millimeters, but smaller balls are occasionally used. The pearls are sucked through a wide straw along with the drink, providing something to chew on between sips. |
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==Description== |
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When ordering, customers are often asked whether they want "boba" or "pearls" in their beverages, and both terms refer to the tapioca balls. An hour is required to prepare the tapioca, and in the preparation and cooking of the tapioca, the pearls expand considerably. After this period, the tapioca is drained from the water, poured into a sugar and water solution, and are ready to use. |
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[[File:A paper straw for bubble tea and the popular straw.jpg|thumb|A paper straw for bubble tea compared with a more typical plastic straw]] |
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Bubble teas fall under two categories: teas without milk and milk teas. Both varieties come with a choice of [[Black tea|black]], [[Green tea|green]], or [[oolong]] tea as the base.<ref name=":2" /> Milk teas usually include [[Powdered milk|powdered]] or fresh milk, but may also use [[condensed milk]], [[almond milk]], [[soy milk]], or [[coconut milk]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Yongzhong |last2=Lu |first2=Yikuan |last3=Xie |first3=Guie |date=2022-02-15 |title=Bubble tea consumption and its association with mental health symptoms: An observational cross-sectional study on Chinese young adults |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016503272101380X |journal=Journal of Affective Disorders |language=en |volume=299 |pages=620–627 |doi=10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.061 |pmid=34942229 |s2cid=245416664 |issn=0165-0327}}</ref> |
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The oldest known bubble tea drink consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, tapioca pearls ({{zh|c=粉圓|p=fěn yuán|poj=hún-îⁿ}}), condensed milk, and syrup ({{Zh|t=糖漿|p=táng jiāng}}) or honey.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Zhang |first=Jenny G. |date=2019-11-05 |title=How Bubble Tea Became a Complicated Symbol of Asian-American Identity |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Eater |language=en |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213202724/https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora |url-status=live }}</ref> Nowadays, bubble tea is most commonly served cold.<ref name=":4" /> 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<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBOY6TrE3AwC&q=cassava&pg=PA67 |title=Cassava: Biology, Production and Utilization |date=2002 |publisher=CABI |isbn=0-85199-883-6 |editor-last=Hillocks |editor-first=R. J. |location=Wallingford |editor-last2=Thresh |editor-first2=J. M. |editor-last3=Bellotti |editor-first3=A. C.}}</ref> which was introduced to Taiwan from [[South America]] during Japanese colonial rule.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Encisco |first1=V. Elizabeth |last2=Zhu |first2=Feilin A. |date=7 October 2004 |title=Whose Boba Is Best? |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/10/7/whose-boba-is-best-the-new/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611201115/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/10/7/whose-boba-is-best-the-new/ |archive-date=11 June 2017 |access-date=30 April 2018 |website=The Harvard Crimson}}</ref> Larger pearls ({{Zh|t=波霸/黑珍珠|p=bō bà / hēi zhēn zhū}}) quickly replaced these.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Maggie Hiufu |date=30 April 2020 |title=The Rise of Bubble Tea, One of Taiwan's Most Beloved Beverages |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-bubble-tea-origins/index.html |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331215526/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-bubble-tea-origins/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Another alternative to the traditional tapioca balls is [[nata de coco|coconut jelly]], a lighter option. Coconut jelly is served in small [[Lego]]-like pieces and has a sweet, crunchy consistency. They add a new dimension to bubble tea and are often ordered "half and half," meaning half pearls and half coconut jelly. |
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Today, there are some cafés that specialize in bubble tea production.<ref name="credo1">{{Cite book |last=Goldstein |first=Darra |url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ouposas/bubble_tea |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199313402 |location=Oxford |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125013/https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ouposas/bubble_tea/0 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Tsai |first1=Yueh-Ju |last2=Carvajal |first2=Carolina Forero |last3=Flores |first3=Nicolas Moltedo |last4=Lin |first4=Tsan-Shiun |last5=Yang |first5=Johnson Chia-Shen |last6=Chiang |first6=Yuan-Cheng |last7=Lin |first7=Pao-Yuan |date=2019 |title=Reconstruction of Pediatric Hand Injuries Caused by Automatic Cup-Sealing Machines in Taiwan |journal=Journal of International Medical Research |language=en |volume=47 |issue=11 |pages=5855–5866 |doi=10.1177/0300060519874540 |pmc=6862881 |pmid=31558087}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Nguyen-Okwu |first=Leslie |date=2019-03-16 |title=Boba Explained: A Sipper's Guide to Taiwan's Signature Drink |url=https://www.eater.com/21551108/boba-milk-bubble-tea-explained-how-to-order |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Eater |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416144212/https://www.eater.com/21551108/boba-milk-bubble-tea-explained-how-to-order |url-status=live }}</ref> The cellophane is then pierced with an oversized straw, now referred to as a boba straw, which is larger than a typical drinking straw to allow the toppings to pass through.<ref name="howboba">{{Cite news |author-link=Clarissa Wei|last=Wei |first=Clarissa |date=16 January 2017 |title=How Boba Became an Integral Part of Asian-American Culture in Los Angeles |work=[[LA Weekly]] |url=https://www.laweekly.com/how-boba-became-an-integral-part-of-asian-american-culture-in-los-angeles/ |access-date=14 May 2020 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518131558/https://www.laweekly.com/how-boba-became-an-integral-part-of-asian-american-culture-in-los-angeles/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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The recipes for bubble tea vary, but flavoring is usually added to hot black or green tea, which is shaken in a [[cocktail shaker]] or mixed in [[blender (device)|blender]] with ice until chilled. The mixture is usually combined with milk and softened tapioca pearls. Most cafes that serve bubble tea also use a machine to seal to the top of the cup with a plastic cellophane, which a drinker pierces with a straw. |
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Due to its popularity, bubble tea has inspired a variety of bubble tea flavored snacks, such as bubble tea [[ice cream]] and bubble tea candy.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Pyne |first=Irene |date=2019-07-29 |title=Delicious or Disgusting? Boba Craze Spills Over from Bubble Tea to Pizza, Ramen, Hotpot and Sushi |language=en |work=South China Morning Post |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/3020437/delicious-or-disgusting-boba-craze-spills-over-bubble |access-date=2022-01-24 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414145701/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/3020437/delicious-or-disgusting-boba-craze-spills-over-bubble |url-status=live }}</ref> The market size of bubble tea was valued at {{Currency|2.4 billion|USD|passthrough=yes|linked=no}} in 2022 and is projected to reach {{Currency|4.3 billion|USD|passthrough=yes|linked=no}} by the end of 2027.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Bhandalkar |first=Shankar |title=Bubble Tea Market Expected to Reach $4.3 Billion by 2027 |url=https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/bubble-tea-market.html |access-date=2020-11-15 |website=Allied Market Research |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125010/https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/bubble-tea-market.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bubble Tea Market Share, Size, Growth, Analysis Report 2022-2027 |url=https://www.imarcgroup.com/bubble-tea-market |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.imarcgroup.com |language=en}}</ref> Some of the largest global bubble tea chains include [[Chatime]], [[CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice]] and [[Gong Cha]]. |
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Some cafes use a nondairy milk substitute to replace milk; the substitute adds a distinct flavor and consistency to the final product. The possible reason for a nondairy milk substitute is the [[lactose intolerance]] of many Asian people. |
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===Variants=== |
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The flavorings added to bubble tea are usually fruity and can be powders, fruit juice, pulp, or syrups. Sellers sometimes differentiate between bubble tea made with fruit pulp, juice, and pearls; and green, black, or brown milk teas. |
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==== Drink ==== |
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Bubble tea can also refer to hot [[Hong Kong-style milk tea]] with tapioca balls. |
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Bubble tea comes in many variations which usually consist of [[black tea]], [[green tea]], [[oolong tea]], and sometimes [[white tea]].<ref name=":1" /> Another variation, [[yuenyeung]], ({{Zh|t=鴛鴦}}, named after the [[Mandarin duck]]) originated in [[Hong Kong]] and consists of black tea, coffee, and milk.<ref name=":2" /> |
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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.<ref name=":6" /> [[Boba ice cream bar]]s have also been produced. |
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==Origin== |
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[[Image:Annarbor bubble island.JPG|thumb|A bubble tea shop]] |
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Bubble tea supposedly originated in [[Taichung]], Taiwan during the early 1980s. A Taiwanese tea shop named Chun Shui Tang (春水堂) experimented with cold milk tea by adding [[fruit]], syrup, [[sweet potato|candied yams]] and, finally, tapioca balls. Although the drink was not popular at first, publicity from a Japanese television show caused businessmen to take notice, and the drink became well known throughout Asia in the 1990s. |
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There are many popular flavours of bubble tea, such as [[taro]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Taro Bubble Tea: What is it & How Does it Taste? — Sharetea - Best Bubble Tea Brand |url=https://www.1992sharetea.com/news/what-is-taro-bubble-tea |website=Sharetea |access-date=22 July 2023}}</ref> [[mango]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Mango Bubble Tea |url=https://www.mango.org/recipes/mango-bubble-tea/ |website=Mango.org |access-date=22 July 2023}}</ref> [[coffee]], and [[coconut]].<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Coconut Milk Tea And How To Make It? – Tea Backyard |url=https://teabackyard.com/coconut-milk-tea/ |website=Tea Backyard |access-date=22 July 2023}}</ref> Flavouring ingredients such as a syrup or powder determines the flavour and usually the colour of the bubble tea, while other ingredients such as tea, milk and boba are the basis.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Bubble Tea? Learn About the Different Flavors |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/different-flavors-of-bubble-tea-766444 |website=The Spruce Eats |access-date=22 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> |
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In the late 1990s, bubble tea began to gain popularity in the United States and Canada. This unique beverage also received some attention in the American mainstream media, including [[Morning Edition]] on [[National Public Radio]] and the [[Los Angeles Times]]. Bubble tea can also be found in major European cities, such as [[London]] and [[Paris]]. Bubble tea has spread internationally, mainly through [[Chinatown|overseas Chinese communities]]. |
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==== Toppings ==== |
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[[File:Tapioca, aka boba.jpg|thumb|upright|Tapioca (boba)]] |
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Bubble tea is known under a variety of other names, including: |
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[[Tapioca]] pearls (boba) are the most common ingredient, although there are other ways to make the chewy spheres found in bubble tea.<ref name=":2" /> The pearls vary in color according to the ingredients mixed in with the tapioca. Most pearls are black from brown sugar.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-21 |title=How to Make Tapioca Pearls (Boba Balls) with Perfect Texture For Milk Tea |url=https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/how-to-make-tapioca-pearls/ |access-date=2022-01-24 |website=Honest Food Talks |language=en |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425122026/https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/how-to-make-tapioca-pearls/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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* black pearl tea |
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* black pearl ice tea |
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* boba drink |
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* 波霸奶茶 ''bōbà nǎichá'' — literally "large breast" milk tea. |
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* boba milk tea ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 波霸奶茶; [[pinyin]]: bōbà nǎichá) |
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* bubble milk tea |
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* milk pearl tea |
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* 奶茶 ''naicha'' — literally, "milk tea" |
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* pearl ice tea |
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* pearl milk tea (珍珠奶茶; zhēnzhū nǎichá) |
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* pearl sago [milk] tea — in English only; usually used for canned varieties where pearl sago (西米; xīmǐ; Cantonese: sai<sup>1</sup> mai<sup>5</sup>) is used instead of tapioca. |
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* pearl tea |
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* ชาไข่มุก, ชามุก literally, pearl tea |
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* QQ drinks — ''kiú'' is Taiwanese slang for "chewy" |
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* tapioca drink |
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* tapioca tea |
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* ''trà trân châu'' (equivalent to 茶珍珠, literally "pearl tea") (Vietnamese) |
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* 珍珠奶茶 ''zhēnzhū nǎichá'' ([[Standard Mandarin|Putonghua]], [[Taiwan]]ese and overseas Chinese usage) — literally, "pearl milk tea" |
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Jelly comes in different shapes: small cubes, stars, or rectangular strips, and flavors such as [[Nata de coco|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 flavor as well as texture. [[Aloe]], egg pudding ([[custard]]), and [[sago]] also can be found in many bubble tea shops.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodwin |first=Lindsey |date=26 June 2019 |title=Bubble Tea 101: Types, Ingredients, and More |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/types-of-bubble-tea-766451 |access-date=2022-01-24 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418044307/https://www.thespruceeats.com/types-of-bubble-tea-766451 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Popping boba]], or spheres that have fruit juices or syrups inside them, are another popular bubble tea topping.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Dickey |first=Rachel |date=2017-06-25 |title=6 Worth The Drive Coffee Shops Outside of Ottawa |url=https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/6-worth-thedrive-coffee-shops-outside-of-ottawa |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Spoon University |language=en |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511015241/https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/6-worth-thedrive-coffee-shops-outside-of-ottawa |url-status=live }}</ref> Flavors include mango, strawberry, coconut, kiwi and honey melon.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-25 |title=Bubble Tea Flavors and Toppings You Never Knew Existed! |url=https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/bubble-tea-flavors-boba-toppings/ |access-date=2021-04-25 |website=Honest Food Talks |language=en |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425122025/https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/bubble-tea-flavors-boba-toppings/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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In southern Taiwan, pearl milk tea with large pearls are usually called "boba milk tea", while those with small pearls are called "pearl milk tea". |
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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 flavor profile.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reiter |first=Amy |title=Will We All Soon Be Drinking Cheese Tea? |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/news/2017/06/will-we-all-soon-be-drinking-cheese-tea |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Food Network |language=en |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417163249/https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/news/2017/06/will-we-all-soon-be-drinking-cheese-tea |url-status=live }}</ref> One shop described the effect of the cheese foam as "neutraliz[ing] the bitterness of the tea...and as you drink it you taste the returning sweetness of the tea".<ref name=Fullerton>{{cite magazine |last=Fullerton |first=Jamie |url=https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/7xk5gb/people-in-beijing-are-lining-up-for-hours-to-try-cheese-tea |title=People in Beijing Are Lining Up for Hours to Try 'Cheese Tea' |magazine=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice Magazine]] |date=2017-10-18 |accessdate=2019-02-08}}</ref> |
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==Availability== |
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Bubble tea is available at small dedicated boba cafes and some restaurants. Most bubble tea stores serve a variety of drinks, including [[coffee]], juices, and fruit freezes, which are sometimes also called bubble tea, even though they do not contain any tea ingredients. These drinks can include flavors which are less familiar to non-Asians, such as [[taro]], [[honeydew]], or [[lychee]]—as well as the familiar [[chocolate]], [[Ovaltine]], or [[strawberry]]—and may be available with or without tapioca pearls. Hot versions with tapioca pearls can also be found. |
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==== Ice and sugar level ==== |
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==Trivia== |
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[[File:Bubble tea served in light bulb glass.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Bubble tea packaged in a promotional shape (lightbulb) instead of a takeaway cup<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thick PP Bubble Tea Cup |url=https://www.packandsend.com.sg/thick-pp-bubble-tea-cup |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710071656/https://www.packandsend.com.sg/thick-pp-bubble-tea-cup |archive-date=10 July 2020 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=Pack and Send |language=en}}</ref>]] |
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In [[September 2004]], while defending a US$18 billion weapon purchase plan, the [[Republic of China|ROC]] Ministry of National Defense used bubble tea as an example of the overall cost of the proposed purchase. The Ministry stated that the total cost of the weapons systems would be equivalent to the money saved if all Taiwanese drank one fewer pearl milk tea per week for a period of twenty years. |
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Bubble tea shops often give customers the option of choosing the amount of ice or sugar in their drink.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Bursting the 'Bubble': Tips to Ordering Bubble Tea |url=https://living.cityofadelaide.com.au/bubble-tea/ |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=City of Adelaide |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125024/https://living.cityofadelaide.com.au/bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sugar and ice levels are usually specified ordinally (e.g. no ice, less ice, normal ice, more ice), corresponding to quarterly intervals (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).<ref name=":8" /> |
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==== Packaging ==== |
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In Southeast Asia, bubble tea is usually packaged in a plastic takeaway cup, sealed with plastic or a rounded cap. New entrants into the market have attempted to distinguish their products by packaging it in bottles<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ang |first=Daniel |date=24 September 2019 |title=Teabrary 小茶識 – Bubble Tea Shop Opened By MediaCorp Host Vivian Lai, Offering Trendy Dessert Teas |url=https://danielfooddiary.com/,%20https://danielfooddiary.com/2019/09/24/teabrary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920192622/https://danielfooddiary.com/2019/09/24/teabrary/ |archive-date=20 September 2020 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=DanielFoodDiary.com |language=en}}</ref> and other shapes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ang |first=Daniel |date=9 July 2016 |title=Bubbs – Bubble Tea In Light Bulbs Bottles Brightened Up Our Day |url=https://danielfooddiary.com/,%20https://danielfooddiary.com/2016/07/09/bubbs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920192622/https://danielfooddiary.com/2016/07/09/bubbs/ |archive-date=20 September 2020 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=DanielFoodDiary.com |language=en}}</ref> Some have used sealed plastic bags.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Another Example of Bubble Tea in Unique Packaging, This Is Bubble Tea in Plastic Bags for Drinking. {{!}} Bubble Tea Recipe, Food and Drink, Cafe Food |url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/807903620632610416/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920192621/https://www.pinterest.com/pin/807903620632610416/ |archive-date=20 September 2020 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=Pinterest |language=en}}</ref> Nevertheless, the plastic takeaway cup with a sealed cap is still the most common packaging method. |
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==== Preparation method ==== |
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The tea can be made in batches during the day or the night before. [[Brewing]] different types of teas take different amounts of time and temperature. For instance, [[green tea]] requires brewing at a lower temperature, typically between {{convert|176|–|185|F}} with a brewing time of 8–10 minutes to extract its optimal flavor. In contrast, [[black tea]] needs to be made with hotter water, usually around {{convert|203|–|212|F}} with a brewing of around 15–20 minutes to bring out its sweetness. A tea warmer dispenser allows the tea to remain heated for up to eight hours. |
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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 chewyness. |
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The traditional preparation method is to mix the ingredients (sugar, powders and other [[flavoring]]s) 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]]. |
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==History== |
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Milk and sugar have been added to tea in Taiwan since the [[Dutch Formosa|Dutch colonization of Taiwan]] in 1624–1662.<ref name=":2" /> |
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There are two competing stories for the discovery of bubble tea.<ref name=":9" /> One is associated with the [[Chun Shui Tang]] tea room ({{ill|春水堂人文茶館|zh|春水堂人文茶館|vertical-align=sup}}) in [[Taichung]].<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /> The new style of serving tea propelled his business, and multiple chains serving this tea were established.<ref name=":9" /> 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.<ref name=":9" /> The beverage was well received by everyone at the meeting, leading to its inclusion on the menu. It ultimately became the franchise's top-selling product.<ref name=":9" /> |
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Another claim for the invention of bubble tea comes from the {{ill|Hanlin Tea Room|zh|翰林茶館|vertical-align=sup}} 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 Ah-bó-liâu ({{ill|鴨母寮|zh|鴨母寮市場|vertical-align=sup}}, or ''Yāmǔliáo'' in Mandarin).<ref name=":9" /> He later made tea using these traditional Taiwanese snacks.<ref name=":9" /> This resulted in what is known as "pearl tea".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Edward |date=13 November 2018 |title=Who Invented Bubble Tea? |work=Taipei Times |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/11/13/2003704115 |url-status=live |access-date=4 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604182727/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/11/13/2003704115 |archive-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> |
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== Popularity == |
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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]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tomiyama |first=Atsushi |date=3 May 2018 |title=Vietnam Embraces Taiwan-Style Bubble Tea |work=Nikkei Asia |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Vietnam-embraces-Taiwan-style-bubble-tea |url-status=live |access-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401115622/https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Vietnam-embraces-Taiwan-style-bubble-tea |archive-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /> In recent years, the popularity of bubble tea has gone beyond the beverage itself, with boba lovers inventing various bubble tea flavored-foods, including [[ice cream]], [[pizza]], [[Toast (food)|toast]], [[sushi]], and [[ramen]].<ref name=":10" /> |
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===Taiwan=== |
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In Taiwan, bubble tea has become not just a beverage, but an enduring icon of the culture and food history for the nation.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wu |first=Valerie |date=2021-03-22 |title=Boba Diplomacy: Bubble Tea's Influence on Taiwan's Soft Power |url=https://www.glimpsefromtheglobe.com/regions/asia-and-the-pacific/boba-diplomacy-bubble-teas-influence-on-taiwans-soft-power/ |access-date=2021-04-24 |website=Glimpse from the Globe |language=en |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425123529/https://www.glimpsefromtheglobe.com/regions/asia-and-the-pacific/boba-diplomacy-bubble-teas-influence-on-taiwans-soft-power/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, the date April 30 was officially declared as National Bubble Tea Day in Taiwan.<ref name=":1" /> That same year, the image of bubble tea was proposed as an alternative cover design for Taiwan's passport.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Tzu-ti |date=20 April 2020 |title=Legislator Proposes Erasing 'China' from Taiwan's Passport Cover |work=Taiwan News |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3919576 |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=23 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423130009/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3919576 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]], bubble tea has become synonymous with Taiwan and is an important symbol of Taiwanese identity both domestically and internationally.<ref name="Al Jazeera 2020">{{Cite news |last=Hale |first=Erin |date=26 June 2020 |title=Taiwan Finds Diplomatic Sweet Spot in Bubble Tea |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/taiwan-finds-diplomatic-sweet-spot-bubble-tea-200623065750371.html |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626093010/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/taiwan-finds-diplomatic-sweet-spot-bubble-tea-200623065750371.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bubble tea is used to represent Taiwan in the context of the [[Milk Tea Alliance]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Nicola |date=3 May 2020 |title=#MilkTeaAlliance: New Asian Youth Movement Battles Chinese Trolls |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/03/milkteaalliance-new-asian-youth-movement-battles-chinese-trolls/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/03/milkteaalliance-new-asian-youth-movement-battles-chinese-trolls/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera 2020" /> [[50 Lan]] is a bubble tea chain founded in [[Tainan]].<ref name="Wan2008-07-31">{{cite magazine |last=Wan |first=Bei-lin 萬蓓琳 |date=2008-07-31 |title=台南小攤變身全國最大冷飲加盟店 |trans-title=Tainan Stall Transforms into the Largest Cold Beverage Franchise in the Country |language=zh |url=https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/80393/post/200807310032/ |magazine={{ill|Business Today (Taiwan)|lt=Business Today|zh|今周刊}} |accessdate=2024-10-07 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007100258/https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/80393/post/200807310032/ |archivedate=2024-10-07 }}</ref> |
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=== Hong Kong === |
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Hong Kong is famous for its traditional Hong Kong-style milk tea, which is made with brewed black tea and evaporated milk.<ref name=":2" /> While milk tea has long become integrated into people's daily life, the expansion of Taiwanese bubble tea chains, including [[Tiger Sugar]], Youiccha, and [[Xing Fu Tang]], into Hong Kong created a new wave for "boba tea".<ref name=":4" /> |
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=== Mainland China === |
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Since the idea of adding tapioca pearls into milk tea was introduced into China in the 1990s, bubble tea has increased in popularity.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |last=Chen |first=Yawen |date=2020-12-23 |title=Tea Bubble Is Set to Inflate in China |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bubble-tea-china-breakingviews-idUSKBN28X040 |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=28 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228082351/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bubble-tea-china-breakingviews-idUSKBN28X040 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020 it was estimated that the consumption of bubble tea was 5 times that of coffee in recent years.<ref name=":11" /> According to data from QianZhen Industry Research Institute, the value of the tea-related beverage market in China reached {{Currency|53.7 billion|RMB|passthrough=yes|first=yes}} (about {{Currency|7.63 billion|USD|passthrough=yes|linked=no}}) in 2018.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |date=7 August 2019 |title=Milk Tea Becomes Increasingly Popular in China |work=People's Daily Online |url=http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0807/c90000-9604164.html |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=10 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910050551/http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0807/c90000-9604164.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, annual sales from bubble tea shops reached as high as {{Currency|140.5 billion|RMB|passthrough=yes|linked=no}} (roughly {{Currency|20 billion|USD|passthrough=yes|linked=no}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Noël |first=Steffi |date=2020-09-09 |title=The success of bubble tea in China explained |url=https://daxueconsulting.com/success-bubble-tea-china/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Daxue Consulting - Market Research China |language=en-US}}</ref> While bubble tea chains from Taiwan (e.g., Gong Cha and Coco) are still popular, more local brands, like Yi Dian Dian, Nayuki, Hey Tea, etc., are now dominating the market.<ref name=":12" /> |
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In China, young people's growing obsession with bubble tea 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 favored topic among friends and on [[social media]].<ref name=":12" /> |
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=== Japan === |
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Bubble tea first entered Japan by the late 1990s, but it failed to leave a lasting impression on the public markets.<ref name=":13b">{{Cite web |last=Shih |first=Yi-yun |date=2019-06-06 |title=How Taiwanese Bubble Tea Conquered the Taste Buds of The Japanese |url=https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2429 |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=CommonWealth Magazine |archive-date=21 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921060827/https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=2429 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was not until the 2010s when the bubble tea trend finally swept Japan.<ref name=":13b" /> Shops from Taiwan, Korea, and China, as well as local brands, began to pop up in cities, and bubble tea has remained one of the hottest trends since then.<ref name=":13b" /> Bubble tea has become so commonplace among teenagers that teenage girls in Japan invented slang for it: ''tapiru'' (タピる). The word is short for drinking tapioca tea in Japanese, and it won first place in a survey of "Japanese slang for middle school girls" in 2018.<ref name=":13b" /> A bubble tea theme park was open for a limited time in 2019 in [[Harajuku]], [[Tokyo]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roll |first=Dale |date=30 July 2019 |title=Bubble Tea Amusement Park to Open in Harajuku |language=en |work=Japan Today |url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/bubble-tea-amusement-park-to-open-in-harajuku |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=31 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031095059/https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/bubble-tea-amusement-park-to-open-in-harajuku |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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=== Singapore === |
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Known locally in Chinese as {{Zh|t=泡泡茶|labels=no}} ({{Zh|p=pào pào chá}}), bubble tea is loved by many in Singapore.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quek |first=Eunice |date=3 May 2020 |title=Tightened Covid-19 Circuit Breaker Measures to Stay for Another Week but Your Favourite Bubble Tea Could Still Be Available |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/your-favourite-bubble-tea-could-still-be-available |access-date=9 July 2020 |website=The Straits Times |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709143326/https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/your-favourite-bubble-tea-could-still-be-available |url-status=live }}</ref> The drink was sold in Singapore as early as 1992 and became phenomenally popular among young people in 2001.<ref name="hermesauto">{{Cite web |last=Quek |first=Rachel |date=25 July 2019 |title=Consuming Singapore: The Obsession with Bubble Tea |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/videos/consuming-singapore-the-obsession-with-bubble-tea |access-date=9 July 2020 |website=The Straits Times |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709052759/https://www.straitstimes.com/videos/consuming-singapore-the-obsession-with-bubble-tea |url-status=live }}</ref> This soon ended because of the intense competition and [[price war]]s among shops.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Yap |first=Jan |date=28 January 2014 |title=Bubble Tea |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-01-29_182158.html |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Infopedia |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418055213/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2014-01-29_182158.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, most bubble tea shops closed and bubble tea lost its popularity by 2003.<ref name=":0" /> When Taiwanese chains like Koi and Gong Cha came to Singapore in 2007 and 2009, the beverage experienced only short resurgences in popularity.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2020-01-19 |title=A Drink from South-East Asia? The History of Bubble Tea |url=https://thekopi.co/2020/01/20/history-of-bubble-tea/ |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=Kopi |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125021/https://thekopi.co/2020/01/20/history-of-bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, the interest in bubble tea rose again at an unprecedented speed in Singapore, as new brands like The Alley and Tiger Sugar entered the market; social media also played an important role in driving this renaissance of bubble tea.<ref name=":14" /> |
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===United States=== |
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In the 1990s, Taiwanese immigrants began to introduce bubble tea in Taiwanese restaurants in California. Some of the first stand-alone bubble tea shops can be traced to a food court in [[Arcadia, California|Arcadia]], in Southern California,<ref name="AsianAmericanIdentity"/> and Fantasia Coffee & Tea in [[Cupertino, California|Cupertino]], in Northern California.<ref name=":15">{{Cite thesis |last=Trazo |first=Talitha Angelica |title="Wanna Get Boba?": The Bond Between Boba and Asian American Youth in San Jose, California |date=2020 |degree=M.A. |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7d24w91f |page=3 |language=en |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424115344/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7d24w91f |url-status=live }}</ref> Chains like Tapioca Express, Quickly, Lollicup and [[Happy Lemon]] emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bringing the Taiwanese bubble tea trend to [[United States|the US]].<ref name=":15" /> Within the Asian American community, bubble tea is commonly known under its colloquial term "boba".<ref name=":4" /> |
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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.<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nguyen |first=Heather |date=2020 |title=Boba Binds You and Me: An Exploration of Boba, Asian American Identity, and Community |url=https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone/1049 |journal=Senior Capstone Projects |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416133959/https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone/1049/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also used disparagingly in the term [[boba liberal]]. |
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Other regions with large concentrations of bubble tea restaurants in the United States are the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and [[Southwestern United States|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]].<ref name="The New Mexican 2013">{{Cite news |last=Hyde |first=Justin |date=October 8, 2013 |title=Loan Helps Couple Expand Beyond New Mexico |work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]}}</ref><ref name="Las Vegas Review-Journal 2020">{{Cite news |last=Karel |first=Janna |date=2017-07-28 |title=10 Best Things to Do in Las Vegas This Weekend, July 28–30 |language=en-US |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/10-best-things-to-do-in-las-vegas-this-weekend-july-28-30/ |access-date=2022-01-24 |archive-date=29 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729053018/https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/10-best-things-to-do-in-las-vegas-this-weekend-july-28-30/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="KLAS-TV 2020">{{Cite news |last1=Houston |first1=Kate |last2=Wright |first2=Lucas |date=February 27, 2020 |title='No. 1 Boba Tea' Expands Throughout Las Vegas Valley Despite Pandemic Challenges |work=KLAS-TV |url=https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/no-1-boba-tea-expands-throughout-las-vegas-valley-despite-pandemic-challenges/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030718/https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/no-1-boba-tea-expands-throughout-las-vegas-valley-despite-pandemic-challenges/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Albuquerque and Las Vegas have a large concentrations of boba tea restaurants, as the drink is popular especially among the [[Hispanos of New Mexico|Hispano]], [[Navajo]], [[Pueblo]], and other [[Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest|Native American]], [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic and Latino American]] communities in the Southwest.<ref name="Hoodline">{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2019 |title=Albuquerque's 5 Best Spots for Inexpensive Bubble Tea |url=https://hoodline.com/2019/11/albuquerque-s-5-best-spots-for-inexpensive-bubble-tea/ |access-date=December 20, 2020 |website=Hoodline |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030717/https://hoodline.com/2019/11/albuquerque-s-5-best-spots-for-inexpensive-bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gil">{{Cite web |last=Garduno |first=Gil |date=February 9, 2020 |title=Kawaii Boba Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico |url=https://www.nmgastronome.com/?p=54156 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |website=Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030720/https://www.nmgastronome.com/?p=54156 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TheFancyNavajo 2017">{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2017 |title=Fancy Navajo Boba Almond Milk Tea |url=https://thefancynavajo.com/2017/05/01/fancy-navajo-boba-almond-milk-tea/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |website=TheFancyNavajo |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506030719/https://thefancynavajo.com/2017/05/01/fancy-navajo-boba-almond-milk-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Best Things To Do and Places To Go in New Mexico 2018">{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2018 |title=The 10 Best Places for Bubble Tea in New Mexico! |url=https://bestthingsnm.com/bubble-tea/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |website=Best Things To Do and Places To Go in New Mexico |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125100/https://bestthingsnm.com/bubble-tea/ |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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A massive shipping and supply chain crisis on the U.S. West coast, coupled with the [[2021 Suez Canal obstruction|obstruction of the Suez Canal]] in March 2021, caused a shortage of tapioca pearls for bubble tea shops in the U.S. and Canada.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paglinawan |first=Denise |date=April 16, 2021 |title=No Bubble Tea This Spring? Canada Faces Boba Shortage Amid Shipping Delays |work=CP24 |agency=The Canadian Press |url=https://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/no-bubble-tea-this-spring-canada-faces-boba-shortage-amid-shipping-delays-1.5390967?cache=wpwecmoua%3FclipId%3D1921747 |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511051359/https://www.cp24.com/lifestyle/no-bubble-tea-this-spring-canada-faces-boba-shortage-amid-shipping-delays-1.5390967?cache=wpwecmoua%3FclipId%3D1921747 |url-status=live }}"</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yetikyel |first=Gia |date=April 20, 2021 |title=West Coast Bubble Tea Shops Brace for Boba Shortage as Cargo Ships Jam Los Angeles Ports |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/boba-shortage-us-creates-limited-supply-bubble-tea-180977545/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125021/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/boba-shortage-us-creates-limited-supply-bubble-tea-180977545/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of the tapioca consumed in the U.S. is imported from Asia, since the critical ingredient, tapioca starch, is mostly grown in Asia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Everington |first=Keoni |date=16 April 2021 |title=Bobapocalypse: US Milk Tea Shops Face Taiwan Boba Shortage |work=[[Taiwan News]] |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4178788 |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916024237/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4178788 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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[[TikTok]] trends and the [[Korean Wave]] also fueled the popularity of bubble tea in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Spe |last2=Hong |first2=Jinshan |date=2023-03-31 |title=How Taiwanese Bubble Tea Has Taken Over the US |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-bubble-tea-us-taiwan/ |work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref> |
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===Vietnam=== |
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Taiwanese milk tea was introduced to [[Vietnam]] in the early [[2000s]], but it took a few years for this drink to become popular with young people. Roadside stalls and carts did not have that many students holding cups of milk tea and chatting happily. But after a while, the milk tea trend gradually cooled down. Many shops had to liquidate or close, while others struggled to survive. All because of information about tea of unknown origin and tapioca pearls made from [[polymer]] plastic that became popular around the end of 2009. |
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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.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040558/http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/nguoi-nguoi-uong-tra-sua-nha-nha-ban-tra-sua-trao-luu-nay-se-di-ve-dau-52017141085434855.htm</ref> |
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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, and Tien Huong.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142923/http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/chuoi-tra-sua-thuan-viet-lon-nhat-nhi-ha-noi-vua-tuyen-bo-2-thang-nua-se-co-mat-tai-my-52017231085016458.htm</ref> 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.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040558/http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/nguoi-nguoi-uong-tra-sua-nha-nha-ban-tra-sua-trao-luu-nay-se-di-ve-dau-52017141085434855.htm</ref> |
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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.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142923/http://ttvn.vn/kinh-doanh/chuoi-tra-sua-thuan-viet-lon-nhat-nhi-ha-noi-vua-tuyen-bo-2-thang-nua-se-co-mat-tai-my-52017231085016458.htm</ref> |
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===Korea=== |
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Milk tea is not only a daily drink, but it has also become a "fever drink" loved in many countries, including [[South Korea]]. In the capital [[Seoul]] alone, there are 4 famous milk tea shops, which are popular places for entertainment, dating, and meeting of Korean youth every weekend, which are [[Gong Cha]], Cofioca, Amasvin, and Happy Lemon.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190503191308/https://duhocsunny.edu.vn/blogs/cam-nang-du-hoc/4-tiem-tra-sua-khuay-dao-gioi-tre-han-quoc</ref> |
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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 favorite flavor to their milk tea.<ref>http://www.gohanquoc.com/thuong-thuc-tra-sua-gongcha-han-quoc/</ref> |
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===Australia=== |
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Individual bubble tea shops began to appear in Australia in the 1990s, along with other regional drinks like Eis [[Cendol]]. Chains of stores were established as early as 2002, when the Bubble Cup franchise opened its first store in [[Melbourne]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=[About BubbleCup] |url=https://www.bubblecupgroup.com.au/ |website=BubbleCup |language=en |access-date=28 November 2021 |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128104100/https://www.bubblecupgroup.com.au/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although originally associated with the rapid growth of immigration from Asia and the vast tertiary student cohort from Asia, in Melbourne and Sydney bubble tea has become popular across many communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=For Chatime, Gotcha, and Milksha, the Bubble Tea Craze Shows No Signs of Bursting Anytime Soon |url=https://qsrmedia.com.au/menu-innovations/in-focus/chatime-gotcha-and-milksha-bubble-tea-craze-shows-no-signs-bursting-anytim |website=QSR Media Australia |date=25 February 2020 |language=en |access-date=28 November 2021 |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128101037/https://qsrmedia.com.au/menu-innovations/in-focus/chatime-gotcha-and-milksha-bubble-tea-craze-shows-no-signs-bursting-anytim |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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=== Mauritius === |
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The first bubble tea shop in [[Mauritius]] opened in late 2012, and since then there have been bubble tea shops in most [[shopping mall]]s on the island. Bubble tea shops have become a popular place for teenagers to hang out.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Naidu |first=Darina |date=2020-01-13 |title=Bubble Tea: Is It Healthy? |url=https://www.lexpress.mu/node/368099 |access-date=2021-07-18 |website=Lexpress.mu |language=fr |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718120353/https://www.lexpress.mu/node/368099 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Cultural influence== |
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In 2020, the [[Unicode Consortium]] released the bubble tea [[emoji]] as part of its version 13.0 update.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Jenn |title=A boba emoji is coming. Meet the woman who designed it |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-03-06/boba-emoji-yiying-lu |newspaper=LA Times |date=6 March 2020 |publisher=Los Angeles Times |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mercer |first1=David |title=Kumar and Colleagues Win a Place for Bubble Tea at the Emoji Table |url=https://cs.illinois.edu/news/kumar-and-colleagues-win-place-bubble-tea-emoji-table |website=The Grainger College of Engineering |publisher=University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> |
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On 29 January 2023, Google celebrated Bubble Tea with a doodle.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pereira |first1=Ana |title=Here's why today's Google Doodle is celebrating the beloved bubble tea |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/here-s-why-today-s-google-doodle-is-celebrating-the-beloved-bubble-tea/article_88eeb67f-4e65-5647-b438-02ee69eb9314.html |website=Toronto Star |date=30 January 2023 |publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers Limited |access-date=2 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrating Bubble Tea |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/celebrating-bubble-tea/ |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=www.google.com |language=en}}</ref> |
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==Potential health concerns== |
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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 increase the risk of [[chronic disease]]s. Non-dairy creamer is a milk substitute that contains [[trans fat]] in the form of hydrogenated [[palm oil]]. The hospital warned that this oil has been strongly correlated with an increased risk of [[heart disease]] and [[stroke]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's in My Bubble Tea? |url=https://mtalvernia.sg/education/whats-in-my-bubble-tea |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724073331/https://mtalvernia.sg/education/whats-in-my-bubble-tea/ |archive-date=24 July 2019 |access-date=24 July 2019 |website=Mount Alvernia Hospital}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chia |first=Rachel Genevieve |date=15 July 2019 |title=Brown Sugar Milk Tea Is the Unhealthiest Bubble Tea – and Milk Foam Is the Worst Topping, Singapore Hospital Warns |url=https://www.businessinsider.my/brown-sugar-milk-tea-is-the-unhealthiest-bubble-tea-and-milk-foam-is-the-worst-topping-singapore-hospital-warns/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724073240/https://www.businessinsider.my/brown-sugar-milk-tea-is-the-unhealthiest-bubble-tea-and-milk-foam-is-the-worst-topping-singapore-hospital-warns/ |archive-date=24 July 2019 |access-date=24 July 2019 |website=Business Insider Malaysia}}</ref> |
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The other concern about bubble tea is its high [[calorie]] content, partially attributed to the high-carbohydrate tapioca pearls ({{Zh|t=珍珠|p=zhēn zhū}}), which can make up to half the calorie-count in a {{Convert|500|ml|abbr=on}} serving of bubble tea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arulnathan John |date=10 January 2021 |title=Is There Bubble Tea Even Diabetics Can Love? Low-Sugar, Low-Calorie Tweaks Are Being Made |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cnainsider/healthier-bubble-tea-even-diabetics-can-love-low-sugar-calorie-398741 |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=CNA |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219233724/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cnainsider/healthier-bubble-tea-even-diabetics-can-love-low-sugar-calorie-398741 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{Portal|Food}} |
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* [[Taiwanese cuisine]] |
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* [[Bober Tea and Mochi Dough]] |
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* {{Annotated link |Chinese tea culture}} |
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* {{Annotated link |Hong Kong tea culture}} |
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* {{Annotated link |List of Taiwanese inventions and discoveries}} |
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* {{Annotated link |Q texture}} |
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* [[Sharetea]] |
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* {{Annotated link |Taiwanese tea culture}} |
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* {{Annotated link |Taiwanese cuisine}} |
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* [[Teaspoon (restaurant)]] |
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* [[Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea]] |
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==References== |
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==Bubble tea vendors== |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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* [[Lollicup]] |
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* [[Q-Cup]] |
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* [[Quickly]] |
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* [[Tapioca Express]] |
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* [[Easy Way]] |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* {{Commons category-inline}} |
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{{cookbook}} |
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* [http://www.bubbletearecipe.com/ Free bubble tea / boba tea recipes] |
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* [http://www.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/11/27/bubble.tea.ap/ CNN - Tapioca milk tea creating waves as fun coffee alternative] |
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* [http://www.jorbins.com/food-drink-magazine/articles/bubble-tea-origin.php The Tale of "The Bubble Tea Origin"] |
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* [http://www.bobafind.com/ US Bubble tea cafe locator] |
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* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6063203/ MSNBC - Can drinking less tea defend a nation?] |
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* [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1204428.htm NBC - Taiwanese urged to cut tea to pay for US arms] |
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{{Teas}} |
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[[Category:Taiwanese cuisine]] |
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{{Taiwanese cuisine}} |
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[[Category:Tea]] |
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{{Portal bar|Drink|Taiwan}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[ |
[[Category:Blended tea]] |
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[[Category:Food and drink introduced in the 1980s]] |
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[[ja:タピオカティー]] |
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[[Category:Milk tea]] |
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[[zh:珍珠奶茶]] |
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[[Category:Taiwanese drinks]] |
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[[Category:Taiwanese inventions]] |
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[[Category:Taiwanese tea]] |
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[[Category:Tea culture]] |
Latest revision as of 23:31, 29 November 2024
Alternative names | Boba Pearl milk tea Boba milk tea Boba tea Boba nai cha Tapioca tea |
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Course | Drink |
Place of origin | Taiwan |
Region or state | Worldwide |
Serving temperature | Hot or Cold |
Main ingredients | Tapioca, milk, creamer, brewed tea, sugar, flavorings |
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) is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s.[1][2] Taiwanese immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially in California through regions including Los Angeles County,[3] but the drink has also spread to other countries where there is a large East Asian diaspora population.
Bubble tea 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 grass jelly, aloe vera, red bean, and popping boba. It has many varieties and flavors, but the two most popular varieties are pearl black milk tea and pearl green milk tea ("pearl" for the tapioca balls at the bottom).
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.[1] Milk teas usually include powdered or fresh milk, but may also use condensed milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.[4]
The oldest known bubble tea drink consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, tapioca pearls (Chinese: 粉圓; pinyin: fěn yuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hún-îⁿ), condensed milk, and syrup (Chinese: 糖漿; pinyin: táng jiāng) or honey.[5] Nowadays, bubble tea is most commonly served cold.[5] 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[6] which was introduced to Taiwan from South America during Japanese colonial rule.[7] Larger pearls (Chinese: 波霸/黑珍珠; pinyin: bō bà / hēi zhēn zhū) quickly replaced these.[8]
Today, there are some cafés that specialize in bubble tea production.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] The cellophane is then pierced with an oversized straw, now referred to as a boba straw, which is larger than a typical drinking straw to allow the toppings to pass through.[12]
Due to its popularity, bubble tea has inspired a variety of bubble tea flavored snacks, such as bubble tea ice cream and bubble tea candy.[13] The market size of bubble tea was valued at US$2.4 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach US$4.3 billion by the end of 2027.[14][15] Some of the largest global bubble tea chains include Chatime, CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice and Gong Cha.
Variants
Drink
Bubble tea comes in many variations which usually consist of black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and sometimes white tea.[2] Another variation, yuenyeung, (Chinese: 鴛鴦, named after the Mandarin duck) originated in Hong Kong and consists of black tea, coffee, and milk.[1]
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.[11] Boba ice cream bars have also been produced.
There are many popular flavours of bubble tea, such as taro,[16] mango,[17] coffee, and coconut.[18] Flavouring ingredients such as a syrup or powder determines the flavour and usually the colour of the bubble tea, while other ingredients such as tea, milk and boba are the basis.[19]
Toppings
Tapioca pearls (boba) are the most common ingredient, although there are other ways to make the chewy spheres found in bubble tea.[1] The pearls vary in color according to the ingredients mixed in with the tapioca. Most pearls are black from brown sugar.[2][20]
Jelly comes in different shapes: small cubes, stars, or rectangular strips, and flavors 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 flavor as well as texture. Aloe, egg pudding (custard), and sago also can be found in many bubble tea shops.[11][21] Popping boba, or spheres that have fruit juices or syrups inside them, are another popular bubble tea topping.[22] Flavors include mango, strawberry, coconut, kiwi and honey melon.[22][23]
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 flavor profile.[24] One shop described the effect of the cheese foam as "neutraliz[ing] the bitterness of the tea...and as you drink it you taste the returning sweetness of the tea".[25]
Ice and sugar level
Bubble tea shops often give customers the option of choosing the amount of ice or sugar in their drink.[27] Sugar and ice levels are usually specified ordinally (e.g. no ice, less ice, normal ice, more ice), corresponding to quarterly intervals (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).[27]
Packaging
In Southeast Asia, bubble tea is usually packaged in a plastic takeaway cup, sealed with plastic or a rounded cap. New entrants into the market have attempted to distinguish their products by packaging it in bottles[28] and other shapes.[29] Some have used sealed plastic bags.[30] Nevertheless, the plastic takeaway cup with a sealed cap is still the most common packaging method.
Preparation method
The tea can be made in batches during the day or the night before. Brewing different types of teas take different amounts of time and temperature. For instance, green tea requires brewing at a lower temperature, typically between 176–185 °F (80–85 °C) with a brewing time of 8–10 minutes to extract its optimal flavor. In contrast, black tea needs to be made with hotter water, usually around 203–212 °F (95–100 °C) with a brewing of around 15–20 minutes to bring out its sweetness. A tea warmer dispenser allows the tea to remain heated for up to eight hours.
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 chewyness.
The traditional preparation method is to mix the ingredients (sugar, powders and other flavorings) 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.
History
Milk and sugar have been added to tea in Taiwan since the Dutch colonization of Taiwan in 1624–1662.[1]
There are two competing stories for the discovery of bubble tea.[8] One is associated with the Chun Shui Tang tea room (春水堂人文茶館 [zh]) in Taichung.[1] 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.[1] The new style of serving tea propelled his business, and multiple chains serving this tea were established.[8] 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.[8] The beverage was well received by everyone at the meeting, leading to its inclusion on the menu. It ultimately became the franchise's top-selling product.[8]
Another claim for the invention of bubble tea comes from the Hanlin Tea Room [zh] 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 Ah-bó-liâu (鴨母寮 [zh], or Yāmǔliáo in Mandarin).[8] He later made tea using these traditional Taiwanese snacks.[8] This resulted in what is known as "pearl tea".[31]
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,[32] 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.[2] In recent years, the popularity of bubble tea has gone beyond the beverage itself, with boba lovers inventing various bubble tea flavored-foods, including ice cream, pizza, toast, sushi, and ramen.[13]
Taiwan
In Taiwan, bubble tea has become not just a beverage, but an enduring icon of the culture and food history for the nation.[8][33] In 2020, the date April 30 was officially declared as National Bubble Tea Day in Taiwan.[2] That same year, the image of bubble tea was proposed as an alternative cover design for Taiwan's passport.[34] According to Al Jazeera, bubble tea has become synonymous with Taiwan and is an important symbol of Taiwanese identity both domestically and internationally.[35] Bubble tea is used to represent Taiwan in the context of the Milk Tea Alliance.[36][35] 50 Lan is a bubble tea chain founded in Tainan.[37]
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is famous for its traditional Hong Kong-style milk tea, which is made with brewed black tea and evaporated milk.[1] While milk tea has long become integrated into people's daily life, the expansion of Taiwanese bubble tea chains, including Tiger Sugar, Youiccha, and Xing Fu Tang, into Hong Kong created a new wave for "boba tea".[5]
Mainland China
Since the idea of adding tapioca pearls into milk tea was introduced into China in the 1990s, bubble tea has increased in popularity.[38] In 2020 it was estimated that the consumption of bubble tea was 5 times that of coffee in recent years.[38] According to data from QianZhen Industry Research Institute, the value of the tea-related beverage market in China reached 53.7 billion Renminbi (about US$7.63 billion) in 2018.[39] In 2019, annual sales from bubble tea shops reached as high as CN¥ 140.5 billion (roughly US$20 billion).[40] While bubble tea chains from Taiwan (e.g., Gong Cha and Coco) are still popular, more local brands, like Yi Dian Dian, Nayuki, Hey Tea, etc., are now dominating the market.[39]
In China, young people's growing obsession with bubble tea 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 favored topic among friends and on social media.[39]
Japan
Bubble tea first entered Japan by the late 1990s, but it failed to leave a lasting impression on the public markets.[41] It was not until the 2010s when the bubble tea trend finally swept Japan.[41] Shops from Taiwan, Korea, and China, as well as local brands, began to pop up in cities, and bubble tea has remained one of the hottest trends since then.[41] Bubble tea has become so commonplace among teenagers that teenage girls in Japan invented slang for it: tapiru (タピる). The word is short for drinking tapioca tea in Japanese, and it won first place in a survey of "Japanese slang for middle school girls" in 2018.[41] A bubble tea theme park was open for a limited time in 2019 in Harajuku, Tokyo.[42]
Singapore
Known locally in Chinese as 泡泡茶 (pinyin: pào pào chá), bubble tea is loved by many in Singapore.[43] The drink was sold in Singapore as early as 1992 and became phenomenally popular among young people in 2001.[44] This soon ended because of the intense competition and price wars among shops.[45] As a result, most bubble tea shops closed and bubble tea lost its popularity by 2003.[45] When Taiwanese chains like Koi and Gong Cha came to Singapore in 2007 and 2009, the beverage experienced only short resurgences in popularity.[46] In 2018, the interest in bubble tea rose again at an unprecedented speed in Singapore, as new brands like The Alley and Tiger Sugar entered the market; social media also played an important role in driving this renaissance of bubble tea.[46]
United States
In the 1990s, Taiwanese immigrants began to introduce bubble tea in Taiwanese restaurants in California. Some of the first stand-alone bubble tea shops can be traced to a food court in Arcadia, in Southern California,[3] and Fantasia Coffee & Tea in Cupertino, in Northern California.[47] Chains like Tapioca Express, Quickly, Lollicup and Happy Lemon emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bringing the Taiwanese bubble tea trend to the US.[47] Within the Asian American community, bubble tea is commonly known under its colloquial term "boba".[5]
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.[5] 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.[48] It is also used disparagingly in the term boba liberal.
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.[49][50][51] 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.[52][53][54][55]
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.[56][57] Most of the tapioca consumed in the U.S. is imported from Asia, since the critical ingredient, tapioca starch, is mostly grown in Asia.[58]
TikTok trends and the Korean Wave also fueled the popularity of bubble tea in the United States.[59]
Vietnam
Taiwanese milk tea was introduced to Vietnam in the early 2000s, but it took a few years for this drink to become popular with young people. Roadside stalls and carts did not have that many students holding cups of milk tea and chatting happily. But after a while, the milk tea trend gradually cooled down. Many shops had to liquidate or close, while others struggled to survive. All because of information about tea of unknown origin and tapioca pearls made from polymer plastic that became popular around the end of 2009.
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.[60]
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, and Tien Huong.[61] 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.[62]
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.[63]
Korea
Milk tea is not only a daily drink, but it has also become a "fever drink" loved in many countries, including South Korea. In the capital Seoul alone, there are 4 famous milk tea shops, which are popular places for entertainment, dating, and meeting of Korean youth every weekend, which are Gong Cha, Cofioca, Amasvin, and Happy Lemon.[64]
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 favorite flavor to their milk tea.[65]
Australia
Individual bubble tea shops began to appear in Australia in the 1990s, along with other regional drinks like Eis Cendol. Chains of stores were established as early as 2002, when the Bubble Cup franchise opened its first store in Melbourne.[66] Although originally associated with the rapid growth of immigration from Asia and the vast tertiary student cohort from Asia, in Melbourne and Sydney bubble tea has become popular across many communities.[67]
Mauritius
The first bubble tea shop in Mauritius opened in late 2012, and since then there have been bubble tea shops in most shopping malls on the island. Bubble tea shops have become a popular place for teenagers to hang out.[68]
Cultural influence
In 2020, the Unicode Consortium released the bubble tea emoji as part of its version 13.0 update.[69][70]
On 29 January 2023, Google celebrated Bubble Tea with a doodle.[71][72]
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 increase the risk of chronic diseases. Non-dairy creamer is a milk substitute that contains trans fat in the form of hydrogenated palm oil. The hospital warned that this oil has been strongly correlated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.[73][74]
The other concern about bubble tea is its high calorie content, partially attributed to the high-carbohydrate tapioca pearls (Chinese: 珍珠; pinyin: zhēn zhū), which can make up to half the calorie-count in a 500 ml (18 imp fl oz; 17 US fl oz) serving of bubble tea.[75]
See also
- Bober Tea and Mochi Dough
- Chinese tea culture – Preparation and occasions of tea consumption in China
- Hong Kong tea culture – Regional tea culture
- List of Taiwanese inventions and discoveries
- Q texture – Hokkien culinary term for the ideal texture of chewy foods
- Sharetea
- Taiwanese tea culture – Tea culture of Taiwan
- Taiwanese cuisine – Culinary traditions of Taiwan
- Teaspoon (restaurant)
- Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea
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External links
- Media related to Bubble tea at Wikimedia Commons