Unless you’re purely a black coffee kind of person, it’s highly improbable not to have noticed the bubble tea craze that’s been sweeping cities in Canada over the past couple of years. The often colourful drinks that come in plastic cups with thick straws are seen consumed on almost every street corner and even more so on sunny days.
What's going on with the bubbles in this tea?
Bubble tea (sometimes called pearl milk tea or boba tea) is a popular tea or tea-based beverage known for the sweet and chewy "bubbles" that sit at the bottom of the cup.
The bubbles in question are actually tapioca pearls – a jelly-like dessert treat common in Asia. The pearls aren't found in nature but are made using gelatinized flour from a cassava root and prepared in such a way that they become spherical. After being cooked, dried and frozen, the pearls are often black but are sometimes also transparent or a creamy white.
Syrup or other sweetener is often added to give the bubbles more flavour as well as texture and consistency. So-called "raw tapioca pearls" which is the flour after it has gone through the shaping and gelatinization process, can also be procured. After heating for 30-45 minutes until chewy and then cooled, these can also be added to drinks within the next few hours and are great for prepping these teas at home.
Where did people get the idea to put bubbles in tea?
Tea has been enjoyed in Asia for thousands of years and has enjoyed both a variety of rich culinary as well as cultural traditions surrounding it.
Milk tea, a simple variety where milk is added to make a creamy beverage, has also been a popular beverage of choice in numerous regions. Curiously, there is some evidence that adding milk and sugar to tea wasn't popular until the arrival of Europeans, making sweetened, creamy tea a product of two worlds.
The concept of adding "bubbles" to milk tea, however, appears to have originated in Taiwanese city of Taichung in the early 1980s by a teahouse owner experimenting with sweeteners. After adding fruits, syrup, sweet potato and candies he finally settled on sweetened tapioca pearls as the best fit.
From there, the popularity of the drink skyrocketed, spreading throughout Taiwan and then East Asia, before seeing a boom in Canada beginning in the mid-2000s onwards. As well as being offered at some restaurants, in cities like Montreal, you can't go a full block without stumbling across one or more chains offering the popular beverage.
Why is bubble tea so popular?
Bubble tea is something of a polarizing drink. People often love it, hate it or have never tried it. Those who enjoy it typically point to the sweet, refreshing flavour (particularly on a hot day) and enjoy chewing the bubbles after. The drinks are also offered with a whole slew of topping choices and additives, such as melon, lychee or taro.
As black tea is typically used, bubble tea also works to give people not only a quick sugar rush but also a small jolt of caffeine they might be craving.
The next time you find yourself needing a refreshing pick-me-up on a hot summer day, consider giving bubble tea a shot!
