Bubble tea
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Bubble tea, also called boba tea, is a tea beverage containing gelatinous tapioca pearls. It originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, spread to nearby East Asian countries, and migrated to Canada before spreading to Chinatown in New York City, then to various spots throughout the West Coast of the United States[1]. The literal translation from Chinese is pearl milk tea (traditional Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; Tongyong Pinyin: jhenjhu nǎichá; Hanyu Pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá). The word "bubble" refers to "bubbling", the process by which certain types of bubble tea are made, and not the actual tapioca balls. The balls are often called "pearls." Drinks with large pearls are consumed along with the beverage through wide straws; while drinks with small pearls are consumed through normal straws. Bubble tea is especially popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian regions such as Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and more recently popularized in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Perú and even Belgium.
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[edit] Description
The distinctive characteristic of bubble tea is the presence of chewy translucent balls of pearl gelatin (that sit at the bottom of the glass). Usually the pearls are "large pearl," larger than the "small pearl" that is customary in tapioca pudding. Cooked, large pearls have a diameter of at least 6 millimeters. Occasionally, "small pearl" tapioca is used. Both sizes of pearls are available in a variety of colors. The pearls boiled in water for 25 minutes, until they are cooked thoroughly but have not lost pliancy, then cooled for 25 minutes. After cooking they last about 7 hours. The pearls have little taste, and are usually soaked in sugar or honey solutions.
Bubble teas are generally of two distinct types: fruit-flavored teas, and milk teas. However, some shops offer a hybrid "fruit milk tea." Milk teas may use dairy or non-dairy creamers.
The original bubble tea consisted of a hot mixture Taiwanese black tea, brown large pearl tapioca, condensed milk, and honey. As this drink became more popular, variations were created. Iced versions appeared soon, and came along green bubble tea which uses jasmine green tea instead of black tea. Peach or plum flavoring began to appear, then more fruit flavors were added until, in some variations, the tea was removed entirely in favor of real fruits. These fruit versions usually contain colored pearls (and/or "jelly cubes" as in the related drink taho), the color chosen to match whatever fruit juice is used. Flavors may be added in the form of powder, fruit juice, pulp, or syrup to hot black or green tea, which is shaken in a cocktail shaker or mixed in a blender with ice until chilled. Cooked tapioca pearls and other mix-ins are added at the end.
Today one can find shops entirely devoted to bubble tea, similar to juice bars of the early 1990s. Bubble tea bars often serve bubble tea using a machine to seal the top of the cup with plastic cellophane. This allows the tea to be shaken in the serving cup. The cellophane is then pierced with a straw. The straw may be brightly colored, and is oversize, large enough for sucking up the pearls. Other cafés use plastic dome-shaped lids.
[edit] Variants
Each of the ingredients of bubble tea can have many variations depending on the tea house. Typically, different types of black tea, green tea, or even coffee can form the basis of this beverage. The most common black tea varieties are Oolong and Earl Grey while jasmine green tea is a mainstay at almost all tea houses. Another variation called 鸳鸯 (yuanyang, literally translated to "mandarin duck") originated in HongKong and consists of half black tea and half coffee. Decaffeinated versions of teas are sometimes available when the tea house fresh brew the tea base.
The milk in bubble tea is optional and many tea houses uses powdered milk rather than fresh. Some cafes use a non-dairy creamer milk substitute instead of milk because many East Asians are lactose intolerant. [2] Soy milk options are widely available for those who avoid dairy products for various reasons. This adds a distinct flavor and consistency to the drink.
Different flavoring can be added to bubble tea. Some widely available fruit flavors include strawberry, green apple, passion fruit, mango, lemon, grape, lychee, peach, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, banana, and kiwi. Other popular non-fruit flavors include taro, coconut, chocolate, coffee, mocha, barley, sesame, almond, ginger, lavender, rose, violet. Some of the sour fruit flavors are usually only available in bubble tea without milk as the acidity will curdle the milk.
Tapioca balls of big and small sizes are of course the prevailing chewy tidbit in bubble tea, but a wide range of other options can add equally tantalizing texture to the drink. Green pearls have a small hint of green tea flavor, and are chewier than the traditional tapioca balls. Jelly, in small cube or rectangular strips, with flavors like coconut jelly, konjac, lychee, grass, mango, green tea, or rainbow (a fruit mix), has a pliant, almost crispy consistency. Red bean or mung bean mush, also typical toppings for Taiwanese shaved ice, give the drink an added subtle flavor as well as texture. Aloe, egg pudding, sago, taro balls can also be found in most tea houses to complete the perfect cup of tea.
"Instant Boba Milk Tea" mixes in individual serving packets are now widely available in Asian and Thai grocery stores. In keeping with modern marketing practices, while the illustration shows a translucent cup with large purple boba pearls showing through, in very small letters are the words "serving suggestion" and "Just add Boba". There is no mention of the time-consuming process of preparing the tapioca pearls that is noted elsewhere in this article.
Bubble tea cafes will also almost always serve drinks without coffee or tea in them. The 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 also be added to these slushie-like drinks. One drawback to Snow Bubble 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, Snow Bubble tea must be consumed faster than regular bubble tea.
Ocassionally, nata de coco is used in mass-produced bubble tea drinks as a healthier alternative to tapioca. Nata de coco is high in dietary fiber and low in cholesterol and fat. The nata de coco is sliced into thin strips to make it easier to pass through a straw.[3]
[edit] Culture
Bubble tea cafes are often popular hangouts for younger south east Asians. Stores are generally small, so it is often a stop before student gatherings or activities. Such a youth culture in adoption to western countries result in stacks of magazines (both Asian and American versions), Chinese manga, and showing of music videos of Asian pop music.
These cafes generally have a small food menu catering to its clientele, among the most common Deep-Fried Chicken with Salt & Pepper (鹹酥雞) and thick sliced toast in sweet flavors (厚片土司). In the early 2000, some bubble tea cafes emerged in more elaborate versions, providing larger space, better sittings, and exquisite products.
Drinking the pearls through a straw is common, usually a large diameter straw is provided to accommodate the particular size of the pearls. A common error for non experienced drinkers is to empty the container of fluid before all of the pearls are consumed, thus making it difficult or impossible to collect the pearls with sufficient vacuum using a straw.
The biggest population of bubble tea cafes in America rests in California. Some bubble tea cafes in California include Quickly (快可立), Tapioca Express (品客多), Ten Ren Tea (天仁茗茶), Fantasia Tea and Coffee, EMW (East Meets West), Lollicup, Boba World, and Verde Tea Cafe (菁菁茶屋).
[edit] History
There are two shops that claim to be the first creator of bubble tea. One is Liu Han Chie who worked in Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂)Taichung City, Taiwan in the early 1980s, and experimented with cold milk tea by adding fruit, syrup, candied yams, and tapioca balls. Although the drink was not popular at first, a Japanese television show generated interest among businessmen. The drink became well-known in most parts of East and Southeast Asia during the 1990s.
An alternative origin is the Hanlin (翰林)Teahouse in Tainan City, Taiwan, owned by Tu Tsong He Hanlin. Bubble tea is made by adding traditional white fenyuan which have an appearance of pearls, supposedly resulting in the so-called "pearl tea." Shortly after, Hanlin changed the white fenyuan (粉圓) to the black, as it is today.
In the late 1990s, bubble tea began to gain popularity in the major North American cities with large Asian populations, especially those on the West Coast and East Coast and in Texas. The trend in the United States was started by Lollicup in the city of San Gabriel, California and quickly spread throughout Southern California.[citation needed] The beverage has received much attention from mainstream American media, including covers on National Public Radio show Morning Edition and the Los Angeles Times. In the U.S., national and local chains are expanding into suburban areas, particularly those with large Asian populations. Bubble tea shops can now be found in shopping malls and shopping centers in the suburbs. It can also be found in a number of Chinese and Thai restaurants in and around large cities and college towns. Los Angeles and Orange County currently has one of the highest concentration of "boba" bars in the U.S., due to the region's large number of Asian residents.
Bubble tea has spread internationally through Chinatowns and other overseas Asian communities. It can be found in major European cities such as London and Paris. Bubble tea is also gaining popularity in Canada, particularly in and around the cities of Kamloops, British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Toronto, Ontario; Edmonton, Calgary; Alberta; and Montreal, Quebec where there are large Asian-Canadian communities. It is also gaining popularity in Australia, especially in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne where Asian immigrants and descendants are highly populated.
More recently, bubble tea has quickly spread in the Mexican city of Monterrey, and the "Chinatown" neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Taiwanese communities have introduced it.
[edit] Names
The Chinese term for this drink would be literally translated "pearl milk tea" (traditional Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; Tongyong Pinyin: jhenjhu nǎichá; Hanyu Pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá). "Bubbling tea" in Chinese actually refers to a modern method of beverage preparation: to efficiently and homogeneously mix various ingredients in these drinks (e.g., sugar, powdered milk, tea, and ice), drink makers often shake the tea up just like how bartenders normally do with cocktails. Thus prepared, a layer of foam forms on the surface, and any tea so prepared can be called bubble tea. "Foam black tea" (traditional Chinese: 泡沫紅茶; simplified Chinese: 泡沫红茶; pinyin: pàomò hóngchá; literally "bubble red tea") and "foam green tea" (traditional Chinese: 泡沫綠茶; simplified Chinese: 泡沫绿茶; Tongyong Pinyin: pàomò lyùchá; Hanyu Pinyin: pàomò lǜchá; literally "bubble green tea") are also common drinks made by shaking sweetened tea. After bubble tea was introduced to non-Asian countries, it was given the name "bubble tea." The pearls in "pearl milk tea," however, do refer to the tapioca "pearls."
Bubble tea has many other names, including:
[edit] Chinese
- 泡沫紅茶 (pinyin: pàomò hóngchá): "bubble red tea", used mainly in Taiwan
- 泡沫奶茶 (pinyin: pàomò nǎichá): "bubble milk tea", used mainly in Taiwan
- 珍珠奶茶 or 珍奶) (Hanyu Pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá; Tongyong Pinyin: jhenjhu nǎichá): "pearl milk tea," in Taiwanese Minnan and Mandarin Chinese usage
- 波霸奶茶 (Hanyu Pinyin: bōbà nǎichá; Tongyong Pinyin: bobà nǎichá): "large pearls milk tea," used mainly in southern Taiwan for the large-pearl kind; tea with smaller pearls is called "pearl milk tea"
- 黑珍珠奶茶 (Hanyu Pinyin: hēi zhēnzhū nǎichá; Tongyong Pinyin: hei jhenjhu nǎichá): "black pearl milk tea" (less common)
- (奶)茶珍珠 (Hanyu Pinyin: (nǎi) chá zhēnzhū; Tongyong Pinyin: (nǎi) chá jhenjhu): "(milk) tea pearl" (less common)
[edit] English
- pearl (milk) tea or drink
- tapioca milk tea drink
- milk pearl tea or drink
- black pearl (milk) tea or drink
- (milk) tea pearl
- boba (milk) tea or drink
- tapioca (milk) tea or drink
- bubble tea
- bubble milk
[edit] Others
- 보바 드링크, 보바 티, 버블티 (Korean): transliterated "boba drink," "boba tea," "bubble tea"
- タピオカティー (Japanese): transliterated tapiokatii translated "tapioca tea"
- Trà sữa trân châu (Vietnamese): literally "pearl milk tea"
- ชาไข่มุก, ชานมไข่มุก (Thai): literally "pearl tea"
- Ságo at Guláman (Tagalog): literally "tapioca pearls and agar"
- Teh Mutiara (Indonesian): literally "Pearl Tea"
- Té de burbujas (Spanish): translated "bubbles tea"
- Suco de Pobá (Portuguese): transliterated "Poba juice" - from interpretation of Boba
[edit] References
- ^ Jeffrey Ressner (2001-02-05). "Boba Drinks - TIME". http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,999172,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-17.
- ^ Chao, Julie. "Taiwan tapioca tea on tap." San Francisco Examiner. December 12, 1999.
- ^ "Healthier Bubble Tea" Five by Fifty - Asian Consumer Intelligence 17 March 2009
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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