The Ultimate Bubble Tea Handbook
An Asian girl’s guide to the sweet, creamy, chewy drink Taiwan has brought to the West Coast.
Taiwan may be the bubble tea capital of the world, but we have our own boba scene in Vancouver too. That’s right: instead of doing a coffee run mid-afternoon, I sometimes prefer a cup of sweet rose milk tea with half sugar and regular ice, topped with tapioca, basil seeds, and coconut lychee.
Did you know? There are now moisturizers, blotting issues and even face masks in Taiwan, made with tapioca pearls.
What is bubble tea?
Bubble tea, also known as boba tea or pearl milk tea, consists of black tea, milk, ice, and tapioca pearls, in its most basic form. It is served with that famously chunky straw to accommodate the clusters of chewy, marble-like bits sitting at the bottom of your cup.
What are tapioca balls?
The pearls are made from tapioca starch, an extract of the South American cassava plant. It came to Taiwan from Brazil via Southeast Asia between 1895 and 1945.
In Taiwan, the drink is more commonly known as pearl milk tea because smaller pearls were originally used. “It was…
