Why is bubble tea called boba

Some will attempt to argue, however, history books will reflect that southern states did not place an importance upon education. So in turn many words are mispronounced and misinterpreted. Boba being one of those words. Boba which specifically means little pearls as it was intended, can not mean Bubble. There are no bubbles in Boba Tea. This reference to bubbles has arisen by misinterpretation or a misunderstanding as to what the actual drink is, and its origin.

Boba tea is just that, large pearls of tapioca as the original creation intended. Educate rather than pacify. So hop off the box ok? And to complain about how words change depending on regional use is to blindly misunderstand how dialects naturally form over time and by extension new languages.

Mike here even so graciously suggested the Taiwanese refer to it as bubble tea when using English and they invented it so maybe the correct way to go about it is to call it bubble tea or bo ba nai cha but not a butchering of both. Hi Jason, thanks for your comment. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Taiwan is the undisputed boba capital of the world: Here, the midday caffeine hit is a boba break, not a coffee run, and a shoulder-slung boba cupholder is the must-have accessory. In the U. Whatever you call it, in its most basic form, the drink consists of black tea, milk, ice, and chewy tapioca pearls, all shaken together like a martini and served with that famously fat straw to accommodate the marbles of tapioca that cluster at the bottom of the cup.

The pearls are made from tapioca starch, an extract of the South American cassava plant, which came to Taiwan from Brazil via Southeast Asia during the period of Japanese rule between and Known locally as Q or QQ as in, very Q , the untranslatable bouncy, rubbery, chewy consistency is treasured in Taiwan. Indeed, the quality of boba drinks is measured by how much Q power lurks within the tapioca pearls. Prior to the s, Q-rich tapioca balls were a common topping for desserts like the ubiquitous heaps of snow-like shaved ice found throughout Taiwan, while milk tea was already a favorite local drink.

Since its beginnings, the basic tapioca iced tea recipe has evolved into an entire genre of drinks. The pearls can be fat as marbles, small as peas, square-shaped, red, or even crystal clear. The boba arms race escalated dramatically over the last decade — especially since Instagram started seeping into Taiwanese culture — and a new breed of shop has begun offering more elaborate drinks with outrageous flavors and virality-primed color combinations.

Boba diplomacy, in all its permutations, is helping the world better understand Taiwanese culture and cuisine.

But first, you have to understand boba — in all of its cheese-topped, charcoal-stained, fruit-filled glory. Here, then, is a detailed boba breakdown, as well as all the best places in Taipei and nearby Taoyuan to get your fix.

The one that started it all. Black tea is shaken with frothy milk, crushed ice, and a few generous handfuls of marble-sized, caramelized tapioca pearls. There are versions with different milks and various teas, but the classic still satisfies.

Too hard and they'll be impossible to chew. Boba lives and dies by the texture of the tapioca balls. There's even a word for that perfect consistency in Chinese—"QQ"—which means chewy. Every cup of boba starts with a scoop of tapioca balls, followed by the tea or juice, and then a whole lot of ice. There are now special ribbed plastic cups, wide straws for fitting tapioca balls , and seals so all you have to do is stab the seal with the straw that are specifically made for bubble tea—and sealing machines that will get the job done automatically.

Many modern-day boba chains also have syrup and tea dispensers, allowing customers to specify sweetness or milk levels. Bin Chen, founder of the popular boba chain, Boba Guys, says that bubble tea has ballooned in popularity because it's lighter, sweeter, and more fun than your average tea, thanks to the tapioca balls.

The sheer number of choices, too, he adds, has also always been appealing to people. In Taiwan, boba is a staple of the night markets, which encompass hundreds of food stalls where everyone congregates after work for groceries and snacks.

Food trends come and go in these stalls, but according to Chen, boba has become a mainstay. Starting in the '90s boba also became a huge craze in the U.

The popularity of boba tea grew even more when places like Boba Guys opened up, offering high-quality teas, real milk, and a comfortable, casual atmosphere. Chen also theorizes that as drinks like aloe juice and coconut water, both of which can have jellied remnants in them, have risen to prominence, "people are becoming more used to having chewy bits in their drinks.