What is Boba Milk Tea?A Brief Knowledge & History of Boba Tea
After a hot summer afternoon, many people would order a refreshing hand-shaken drink after meal. Boba milk tea is definitely the best choice.But what is boba milk tea? What do you know about this internationally popular beverage?
According to statistics, the total population of Taiwanese people drink about 100 million cups of boba milk tea per year, which can be called the “national drink” of Taiwan.
Boba milk tea has gradually become an indispensable part of Taiwanese daily lives. Boba milk tea is not only a well-known product in Taiwan, it also outshines in foreign markets. So back to our first question: What is boba milk tea? How did this famous drink come into being?
The Origin of Boba Tea
The origin of boba tea can be traced back to the 1940s. A Taiwanese named Chang Fan Shu, worked as a bartender in an izakaya. In 1949, he opened a tea house. He used the “Shaker” for bartending to make iced tea.
The taste is rich and smooth, and the surface is full of foam. It becomes the essence and the selling point of hand-shaken drinks. In response to the hot summer climate in Taiwan, the trend of tea has changed from hot to cold. It has become one of the favorite drinks for the younger generation and an important milestone for the boba tea production process.
Raw Materials & Production Methods
To get a further understanding about what is boba milk tea, let’s take a look at boba milk tea’s raw materials first.
Bubble Tea (also known as pearl milk tea, tapioca (ball) tea, boba milk tea) is made with Tapioca ball and fragrant milk tea. It can also be made as black (green) boba tea or green boba milk tea and other changes as well.
Due to the special taste of boba, it is often used in various beverages. For example, the mango pomelo sago drink, which is famous in recent years. Also, boba can be used for boba brown sugar fresh milk tea. These drinks are widely loved by customers.
The main ingredient of tapioca balls is starch, which is usually made with corn starch, tapioca from cassava. These are 5-10mm starch balls made with sweet potato powder, potato powder, or jelly, etc. Water, sugar, and spices are added.
The color and texture vary according to the ingredients. In fact, boba is usually soaked in sugar water or syrup before adding to milk tea. The purpose is to ensure that it can still maintain its sweetness in milk tea.
The color of the tapioca balls was white in the early days. However, black boba is more common nowadays. Caramel is added to the boba and increases the sweetness of brown sugar and is loved by everyone. As far as the trend goes, a variety of colored boba also appear everywhere.
Click to see our product catalog of tapioca balls & popping boba series.
The Common Toppings for Boba Milk Tea & Matching Different Types of Tea
In addition to the common use for making boba milk tea, there are jasmine green tea, oolong tea, and specialties such as roasted tea, toffee black tea, Tie-guan-yin, and roasted oolong tea, etc.
Besides boba, there are many toppings on the market that customers can choose for their tea. For instance, pudding, grass jelly, agar jelly ball, coconut jelly, popping boba, panna cotta jelly, red beans, taro, soy tofu pudding,and mochi.
A cup of tasty boba milk tea must be cold, smooth, rich in tea, full of milk flavor, and sweet aftertaste. Taiwanese people love bubble tea not only due to its texture and taste, but also reflects the spirit of tradition and innovation in the 1980s.
The combination of traditional tea and boba has set a new beverage trend. Although it is an innovation, it evokes nostalgic cultural experience and connects the society because of the common culture and history.
Over the years, boba milk tea has been popular from Taiwan to Southeast Asia, Europe, the United States, and Middle Eastern countries, etc.
No one expected a cup of ordinary bubble tea can be sold in major cities around the world. Bubble tea shops can be seen from New York City, Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Johannesburg in South Africa.
Boba milk tea has shined all over the world and has gradually become synonymous with Taiwan. Looking at the world’s major cities and tourist attractions, almost all of them have been flagged by Taiwanese tea-to-go chain brands.
What is boba milk tea? For foreigners, traditional tea is nothing more than black tea or milk tea. It’s difficult to imagine that Taiwan’s fresh hand-shaken tea can be fashionable like magic, which is attractive and memorable for many individuals.
Click here to learn more about Tea History in East and West.
