Bubble tea

Boba/bubble tea
Boba
Alternative names Pearl milk tea
Boba milk tea
Boba tea
Tapioca tea
Course Drink
Place of origin Taiwan
Main ingredients Tapioca, milk/creamer, brewed tea, sugar, flavorings

Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, boba tea, or simply boba) (Chinese: 波霸奶茶; pinyin: bōbà nǎichá, with tapioca balls it is 珍珠奶茶; zhēnzhū nǎichá) is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Tainan and Taichung in the 1980s.[1] Recipes contain tea of some kind, flavors or milk, as well as sugar (optional). Toppings, such as chewy tapioca balls (also known as pearls, or boba), popping boba, fruit jelly, grass jelly, agar jelly, and puddings are often added. Ice-blended versions are frozen and put into a blender, resulting in a slushy consistency.[2] There are many varieties of the drink with a wide range of flavors. The two most popular varieties are black pearl milk tea and green pearl milk tea. [2]

Description

Boba teas fall under two categories: teas (without milk) and milk teas. Both varieties come with a choice of black, green, or oolong tea, and come in many flavors (both fruit and non-fruit). Milk teas include either condensed milk, powdered milk, or fresh milk. Some shops offer non-dairy creamer options as well. In addition, many boba shops sell Asian style smoothies, which include a dairy base and either fresh fruit or fruit-flavored powder (but no tea). Now, there are hot versions available at most shops as well.

The oldest known bubble tea consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, small tapioca pearls (粉圓), condensed milk, and syrup (糖漿) or honey. Many variations followed; the most common are served cold rather than hot. The most prevalent varieties of tea have changed frequently.

Bubble tea first became popular in Taiwan in the 1980s, although no one knows for sure who actually invented it first. Larger tapioca pearls (波霸/黑珍珠) were adapted and quickly replaced the small pearls.[3] Soon after, different flavors, especially fruit flavors, became popular. Flavors may be added in the form of powder, pulp, or syrup to oolong, black or green tea, which is then shaken with ice in a cocktail shaker. The tea mixture is then poured into a cup with the toppings in it.

Today, one can find shops entirely devoted to bubble tea.[4] Some cafés use plastic lids, but more authentic bubble tea shops serve drinks using a machine to seal the top of the cup with plastic cellophane. The latter method allows the tea to be shaken in the serving cup and makes it spill-free until one is ready to drink it. The cellophane is then pierced with an oversize straw large enough to allow the toppings to pass through. Today, in Taiwan, it is most common for people to refer to the drink as pearl milk tea (zhēn zhū nǎi chá, or zhēn nǎi for short). Pearl milk tea may be used by English speakers and overseas Chinese and Taiwanese speakers, but it is usually called "bubble tea" or "boba tea" by English speakers, with the former seemingly more common in locations with less Chinese influence. In parts of California and other areas with a relatively large Asian population, the drink is often referred to simply as "boba" for short.

Variants

Each of the ingredients of bubble tea can have many variations depending on the tea store. Typically, different types of black tea, green tea, and sometimes white tea are used. Another variation called yuenyeung (鴛鴦, named after the Mandarin duck) originated in Hong Kong and consists of black tea, coffee, and milk. Decaffeinated versions of teas are sometimes available when the tea house freshly brews the tea base.

Other varieties of the drink can include blended tea drinks. Some may be blended with ice cream. There are also smoothies that contain both tea and fruit.

Although bubble tea originated in Taiwan, bubble tea 'mash ups' are becoming popular, where inspiration for flavours comes from other cuisines. For example, some places uses hibiscus flowers, saffron, cardamom, or rosewater.[5]

Tapioca balls (boba) are the prevailing chewy tidbits in bubble tea, but a wide range of other options can be used to add similar texture to the drink. These are usually black due to the brown sugar mixed in with the tapioca. Green pearls have a small hint of green tea flavor and are chewier than the traditional tapioca balls. Jelly comes different shapes: small cubes, stars, or rectangular strips, and flavors such as coconut jelly, konjac, lychee, grass jelly, mango, coffee and green tea available at some shops. Azuki bean or mung bean paste, typical toppings for Taiwanese shaved ice desserts, give the drinks an added subtle flavor as well as texture. Aloe, egg pudding (custard), and sago can be found in most tea houses.

Popping Boba are sphere-shaped and have fruit juices or syrups inside of them. They are also popular toppings. The many flavors include mango, lychee, strawberry, green apple, passion fruit, pomegranate, orange, cantaloupe, blueberry, coffee, chocolate, yogurt, kiwi, peach, banana, lime, cherry, pineapple, red guava, etc.

Some shops offer milk or cheese foam top off the drink too, which has a thicker consistency similar to that of whipped cream.

Bubble tea cafés will frequently offer drinks without coffee or tea in them. The dairy base for these drinks is flavoring blended with ice, often called snow bubble. All mix-ins that can be added to the bubble tea can be added to these slushie-like drinks. One drawback is that the coldness of the iced drink may cause the tapioca balls to harden, making them difficult to suck up through a straw and chew. To prevent this from happening, these slushies must be consumed more quickly than bubble tea.

Bubble tea stores often give customers the option of choosing the amount of ice or sugar. Bubble tea is also offered in some restaurants.

History

Milk Tea

The most widely accepted story for the origin of bubble tea comes from the Hanlin teahouse in Tainan, Taiwan. In 1986, in the Ya Mu Liao market, teahouse owner Tu Tsong-he got the inspiration when he saw white tapioca balls. He then made tea using the traditional white tapioca balls, which have the appearance of pearls, supposedly resulting in the so-called "pearl tea". Shortly after, Hanlin changed the white tapioca balls to the black version, mixed with brown sugar or honey, that is seen today. At many locations, one can purchase both black tapioca balls and white tapioca balls. An alternative origin is the Chun Shui Tang Teahouse in Taichung, Taiwan. Its founder, Liu Han-Chieh,[1] observed how the Japanese served cold coffee (while on a visit in the 1980s) and applied this method to tea.[2] The new style of serving tea propelled his business, and multiple chains were established. This expansion would be the stepping stone for the rapid expansion of bubble tea.[2] The creator of bubble tea is Lin Hsiu Hui, the teahouse's product development manager, who randomly poured her fen yuan into the iced tea drink during a boring meeting in 1988.[2] The beverage was well received at the meeting, leading to its inclusion on the menu. It ultimately became the franchise's top-selling product.[2]

The drink became popular in most parts of East and Southeast Asia during the 1990s.[3] The drink is well received by global consumers from Canada and USA, specifically around areas with high Asian demographics. In contemporary times, bubble tea has achieved cultural significance outside of Taiwan in some areas for Asian-Americans, Asian-Canadians and major overseas populations of Asians. [6]

Types

  • 泡沫紅茶 (pinyin: pàomò hóngchá): "Foam red tea", by direct translation, is the drink that is more appropriate for the more literal name of "bubble tea"; the English name, foam tea, is not used much in Asia. Consequently, in non-Chinese-speaking Asian countries, "bubble tea" is commonly used to refer to this drink.[7] There is no tapioca in this drink. To create it, vendors mix hot or warm tea (in this case, black tea) with syrup or sugar and ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Then they shake the mix either by hand or by machine before it is served. The resulting tea is be covered by a layer of foam or froth and the tea has a light foamy feel.
  • 泡沫奶茶 (pinyin: pàomò nǎichá): "Foam milk tea:" One of the many variants that is prepared the same way as the "foam red tea", well-shaken before serving.
  • 珍珠奶茶 or 珍奶 for short) (pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá): "Pearl milk tea" or more commonly referred to as bubble tea by most English speakers and overseas Chinese speakers. The "pearl" name originally referred to the small tapioca pearls added to the drink. Though most modern vendors serve only the bigger 7mm pearls, they still use "pearl tea" as the name.[3]
  • 波霸奶茶 (pinyin: bōbà nǎichá): "Bubble milk tea" is commonly referred to as boba tea by English speakers and Asian Americans. The name refers to the variant with the bigger, 7mm tapioca pearls.[3]
  • 黑珍珠奶茶 (pinyin: hēi zhēnzhū nǎichá): "Black pearl milk tea:" Since the bigger 7mm tapioca pearls are separately sold as "black pearls" (黑珍珠) in markets, this name was the logical first choice and is more popular with consumers. "Boba" (波霸) is an alternative name that is less commonly used these days.
  • (奶)茶珍珠 (pinyin: (nǎi) chá zhēnzhū): "(milk) tea pearl" (less common).
  • 泡泡茶 (pinyin: pào pào chá): used interchangeably with 珍珠奶茶 to refer to "bubble tea" in Singapore.
  • 奶蓋茶 (pinyin: nǎi gài chá): "milk cap tea": A layered tea drink with a frothy top layer of cream (hence the name milk cap) made from milk, salt or cheese, giving it a slightly salty taste. The base tea is usually served without milk. It is often recommended one takes a sip of the tea and milk cap layers first before mixing them together. It is sometimes called "milk foam tea" but should not be confused with 泡沫奶茶.

Health concerns

In May 2011, a food scandal broke out in Taiwan where DEHP (a chemical plasticizer and potential carcinogen used to make plastic) was found as a stabilizer in drinks and juice syrups. Some of these products may have been exported and used in bubble tea shops around the world. DEHP can affect hormone balances.[8][9]

In June 2011, the Health Minister of Malaysia, Liow Tiong Lai, instructed companies selling "Strawberry Syrup", a material used in some bubble teas, to stop selling them after chemical tests showed they were tainted with DEHP.[10]

In August 2012, scientists from the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) in Germany analyzed bubble tea samples in a research project to look for allergenic substances. The result indicated that the products contain styrene, acetophenone, and brominated substances.[11] The report was published by German newspaper Rheinische Post and caused Taiwan's representative office in Germany to issue a statement, saying food items in Taiwan are monitored.[12] Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration confirmed in September that, in a second round of tests conducted by German authorities, Taiwanese bubble tea was found to be free of cancer-causing chemicals. The products were also found to contain no excessive levels of heavy-metal contaminants or other health-threatening agents.[13]

In May 2013, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration issued an alert on the detection of maleic acid, an unapproved food additive, in some food products, including tapioca pearls.[14] The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore conducted its own tests and found additional brands of tapioca pearls and some other starch-based products sold in Singapore were similarly affected.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Martin, Laura C. (2007). Tea: The drink that changed the world. Rutland: Tuttle Publishing. p. 219. ISBN 9780804837248.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chang, Derrick (12 June 2012). "Is this the inventor of bubble tea?". International Edition. CNN. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "珍珠奶茶的製作方法(pearls)". Crystalpalace.poempalace.org. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Whose Boba Is Best?". The Harvard Crimson. October 7, 2004.
  5. ↑ "Everything You Need to Know About Bubble Tea -". 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  6. ↑ Wei, Clarissa (16 January 2017). "How Boba Became an Integral Part of Asian-American Culture in Los Angeles". laweekly.com.
  7. ↑ "Yes411 全球華人首選生活資訊網 - 加拿大黃頁". Yes411.com. 19 November 2010.
  8. ↑ Yi-yu, Juan; Yi-chia, Wei; Su-ching, Hung (29 May 2011). "FOOD SCARE WIDENS:Tainted additives used for two decades: manufacturer". Taipei Times.
  9. ↑ "167 food ingredient suppliers affected by toxic contamination: DOH". Focus Taiwan News Channel. 26 May 2011.
  10. ↑ Lee Yen Mun (17 June 2011). "Taiwanese syrup used in bubble tea found to be DEHP contaminated". The Star. Archived from the original on 19 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "Bubble tea 'contains all sorts of crap'". The Local. 22 August 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Tests rebut claims about carcinogenic German bubble tea". Taipei Times. 11 September 2012.
  13. ↑ "'Reckless' report has hurt Taiwanese bubble tea industry: supplier". Central News Agency. 28 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "Taiwan recalls food products due to unapproved food additive" (PDF). Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-16.
  15. ↑ "Recall of starch-based products from Taiwan due to maleic acid" (PDF). Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
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