Bubble Tea, the Asian Sensation
Bubble tea, pearl milk tea, or boba milk tea is a tea beverage mixture with milk. Originating in Taiwan, it is especially popular in Taiwan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and among overseas Asians, especially overseas Chinese. It is also known as black pearl tea or tapioca tea.
It is said to have originated in Taichung, Taiwan in 1983, by a Taiwanese teashop owner named Liu Han-Chieh, who experimented with cold milk tea by adding fruit, syrup, candied yams and, finally, tapioca balls. Although the drink was not so popular at first, publicity from a Japanese television show made businessmen take notice and it quickly became well known throughout Asia in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, bubble tea began to become popular in the United States and Canada, spreading to ethnic Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese speaking immigrant communities and even outside the overseas Asian community. This unique beverage has also received some attention in the mainstream media, including Morning Edition on National Public Radio and the Los Angeles Times. Bubble tea can also refer to hot Hong Kong style milk tea with tapioca balls.