Have you ever wondered where your favourite boba comes from or how it was created? I have researched and managed to find some information about your favourite boba drink in general. Sit back and enjoy the tale.
Bubble tea is known as boba, pearl tea drink, “Nai Cha” a direct translation to milk tea or pearl milk tea. Along with many other different names people like to call it, they are usually served chilled and sweet with tapioca pearl toppings.
It is believed boba milk tea originated in Taiwan in the early 1980’s from a small tea stand. Students would look forward to purchasing a cup of tea after a long day’s work. Tea stands were set up in front of the school and would compete for business to see which stand offered the best tea.
One tea stand owner however, stood out when she started adding fruit flavours to her tea. When adding the fruit flavour, the drink needs to be shaken well in order for the tea and the flavouring to be combined and mixed well. Bubbles formed at the top of the cup after shaking it vigorously hence the name ‘bubble tea’.
In 1983, Liu Han-Chieh (picture aboved) introduced tapioca pearls to Taiwan, which eventually led to people adding tapioca into their local favourite drinks. Most of the time tapioca pearls were served in cold infused tea, as a topping. The tapioca would be left sitting on the bottom of a clear cup. The name ‘bubble tea’ then evolved to where the ‘bubble’ is now referring to the aforementioned tapioca pearls.
Now, the name ‘bubble tea’ has evolved even further and ‘bubble’ can be referred as one of the many toppings that is available in the market. Toppings such as Ai-yu Jelly, Mango Sago, Rainbow jelly, etc have their fair share of popularity. Some even took the original ‘bubble’ into many variations such as mini boba, popping boba, flavoured boba and many more. Check out our article on the different types of boba here!
Having such a history and the ever-evolving name of ‘bubble tea’, it has come really far to achieve such popularity around the world. With the numerous shops available in Singapore offering this simple drink, it is the go to drink for many. As bubble tea continues to remain popular, the name ‘bubble tea’ may yet change again but that’s up to the next generation to innovate and re-define the meaning of the name ‘bubble’.
This article was brought to you by Williek.
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