Bubble Tea Arrives at 5-Spice Asian Street Market
Bubble Tea has arrived at 5-Spice Asian Street Market.
Tasty and refreshing Bubble Tea. It was not long ago that a Taiwanese teashop owner, Liu Han Chieh, began to experiment with a new product that was soon to be one of the most trendy and tasty drinks of all times. Bubble Tea, as they soon began to call it, was first introduced in the early 1980's. It is said that Liu first began to experiment with fruit, syrup, candied yams, and then eventually with the tapioca pearls.
So where did Bubble Tea get its name? Well, first let's see what the drink is made up of. Bubble tea is a mixture of sweetened tea, iced or hot, and milk, to which you can add other flavorings. Sometimes the drink is made with fresh fruit, milk, and crushed ice to create a healthy milk shake (almost like a smoothie!). The beverage can later be shaken and that produces the small bubbles - characteristic of the name. The black gummy balls made of tapioca, when added to the drink, also gives it the characteristic of the 'bubble.' After being added, the pearls sit at the bottom of the clear cup. They are sucked through a wide straw along with the drink, providing something to chew on between sips. This is one of the things that make kids and adults love this tea mix.
Bubble Tea with it's many names (boba drink, pearl tea drink, pearl iced tea, and boba) has become an international icon of freshness. What started out as a tea stand in Taiwan has expanded to Hong Kong, North America, Hawaii,and many other parts of the world. Some believed that Bubble Tea was just a fad that would come and go, but it's been very popular for almost two decades now, and it's becoming even more popular now that more people are beginning to try the great taste of Bubble Tea.
