Is bubble teaJapanese? Keep reading as we dive into the origins of bubble tea.
Contrary to popular belief, bubble tea is not Japanese. While the drink is exceptionally popular in Japan and is strongly associated with Japanese food in the Western World, it didn’t originate there. Bubble tea began in Taiwan and quickly spread around the world.
Table Of Contents
The History Of Bubble Tea
Is Bubble Tea Japanese?
Is Japanese Bubble Tea Different?
Resources
The History Of Bubble Tea
Bubble tea is also known as baba tea or pearl milk tea.
It originated in Taiwan in the early 80s, and by the 90s, it became popular in Japan and Hong Kong before spreading to the rest of the world.
It was initially made from hot Taiwanese black tea, tapioca pearls, condensed milk, and syrup or honey.
How bubble tea was discovered is not fully known. Two different stories are floating around, so it’s almost impossible to discern the “true” origin story of bubble tea. According to one story, in 1986, Hanlin Tea Room of Tainan owner Tu Tsong-he came up with the idea when he saw tapioca balls in a local market and made tea with the snacks.
Another story claims that Chun Shiu Tang tea room owner Liu Han-Chieh started serving cold Chinese tea after noticing people serving cold coffee in Japan in the 80s. The Chun Shui Tang tea room product development manager Lin Hsiu Hui claimed to have created bubble tea in 1988 when she experimented by adding tapioca balls in her tea.
The drink was then added to the menu and became the most popular product. This may contribute to why some people assume bubble tea is Chinese.
Regardless of the different claimants, we know for sure that bubble tea did not originate in Japan.
Is Bubble Tea Japanese?
Bubble tea is trendy in Japan, which is one reason why people think it’s Japanese.
Some people also tend to hom*ogenize Asian cultures. So, they assume bubble tea is Japanese because it was first created in Asia.
Bubble tea is usually referred to as tapioca drink or just tapioca in Japan. Whereas fans in the Western world typically call it boba tea or bubble tea.
As Japanese people often travel to Taiwan, they were exposed to and fell in love with the drink. So, by extension, bubble tea made its way to Japan, and there are now hundreds of bubble tea chains.
Another reason why people may think bubble tea is Japanese is because the Chun Shui Tang teahouse opened a shop in Japan in 2013. So while bubble tea originally isn’t from Japan, fanatics can try the ‘original’ bubble tea there.
Is Japanese Bubble Tea Different?
While Japanese bubble tea was originally made with white tapioca balls and coconut milk, it has expanded well beyond this.
Some of the flavors are unique to what’s popular in Japan. Take Rock Salt Cheese Tea, for example. This tea, topped with salted cheese foam, is a hit due to cheese flavor being popular in Japan.
Bubble tea has also been incorporated into the kawaii culture in Japan, with lots of establishments making their drinks as cute as possible or basing drinks off of anime characters. There’s evenofficial Pokemon bubble teain Japan!
Japanese bubble tea isn’t much different from the rest of the world as bubble tea finds a way to adapt to local flavors. However, if you’re in Japan, you’re likely to spot some kinds of bubble tea you won’t find anywhere else.
Aisling is an Irish food and drinks writer and journalist fueled by coffee and herbal tea. She followed up her journalism degree with nutrition studies. Find Aisling on LinkedIn.
Despite the huge popularity of boba tea in Japan, this tasty treat actually originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. The drink is known locally in Taiwan as zhenzhu naicha
naicha
The recipes for milk tea mainly consist of a tea base, milk, added sugar, and other added ingredients such as fruits, and creamer. The drink is popular for its rich tea flavor, affordability, pretty aesthetics, sweetness, and diversity that appeals to many people, which is similar to coffee in the drink market.
Popularity. In the 1990s, bubble tea spread all over East and Southeast Asia with its ever-growing popularity. In regions like Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore, the bubble tea trend expanded rapidly among young people.
It is a perfect choice for both those who like traditional milk tea flavors and for those who have a taste for fruits. There are many popular bubble tea flavors that you must try – so many that even if you drink it regularly, it might take you a month or two to taste all of them.
But if you love drinking bubble tea, you are actually addicted to its sugar. Did you know? Sugar is as addictive as cocaine! However, it is widely used as a 'legal drug' worldwide, as it causes addiction in the brain.
While “bubble tea” and “boba tea” all refer to drink only, “boba” might also mean tapioca pearls. This probably has its roots in the Asian languages, where the same word is used to describe both the beverage and the bubbles. Taiwan, the birthplace of bubble tea: “波霸” (“boba”) Japan: “タピオカ” (“tapioca”)
Boba tea is generally safe to drink, but you'll want to enjoy it in moderation. The beverage is usually high in sugar and calories and contains an additive that might lead to constipation. Drinking too much boba tea may increase your risk of diabetes and obesity.
Bubble tea as we know it today came into existence almost four decades ago. Two tea houses — Chun Shui Tang in the central city of Taichung and Hanlin Tea Room in the southern city of Tainan — both claim to have invented the drink in 1986.
Two cups of milk bubble tea with pearls are about a third of the average recommended intake of 1,800-2,000 calories for healthy individuals. A 500ml cup of brown sugar boba milk is also believed to contain as much as 92g of sugar, about three times more than the amount of sugar in a 320ml can of Coca-Cola.
The main ingredient in bubble is tapioca flour, so the main content in bubble is carbohydrates. Bubbles have very low vitamin and mineral content. Even bubbles contain very little fiber. Constipation can occur from too much consumption of bubbles can increase the risk of constipation.
Results: After adjusting for potential confounding factors, high frequency of bubble tea consumption was observed to be significantly associated with high risk for depression in the regression model (p for trend = 0.045); no significant association was found with anxiety (p for trend = 0.332).
The hospital compared the sugar level in seven types of bubble tea orders, and found that the unhealthiest option by far was brown sugar milk tea with pearls. This drink contained 18.5 teaspoons of sugar. The second most unhealthy option was winter melon tea, at 16 teaspoons of sugar.
Furthermore, the report's analysis showed that costs were highly correlated with supply chain, store, and headcount efficiency. Price movements in any of these factors, which can be impacted by economic and market conditions, are likely to result in higher bubble tea prices for consumers.
Note: The form bōbà is alleged to be Taiwanese colloquial or slang for "large breasts" or a "large-breasted woman." The character combination in this sense can easily be documented in World Wide Web documents, but it is uncertain if the source of the spoken word is Taiwanese Mandarin, Min Chinese, or something else ...
The tea became known as "boba" because the term is Taiwanese slang for breasts (a reference to the spherical shape of the tapioca balls), and is believed to have originated from Chinese characters.
In addition, Starbucks is adding its new raspberry-flavoured boba pearls to three new refresher drinks. The three drinks featuring the new raspberry-flavoured boba this summer are the Summer-Berry Refresher, the Summer-Berry Lemonade Refresher and the Summer Skies Drink.
Think the bubble tea craze is over? Think again. While you have moved on to your next short-lived food trend, Tokyoites are still indulging in some of the world's best tapioca and fruit teas that you have never known - all fresh from our friendly neighbor Taiwan.
Similar to the popular sweet and creamy Thai iced tea, bubble tea is one of the few tea preparations that has become a full-blown sensation not only in its country of origin, Taiwan, but abroad as well.
One of the most famous Japanese bubble tea flavors is matcha milk tea. Matcha, the vibrant and earthy Japanese green tea, offers a unique and refreshing flavor that tea lovers adore.
Address: 787 Elvis Divide, Port Brice, OH 24507-6802
Phone: +9779049645255
Job: Senior Healthcare Specialist
Hobby: Cycling, Model building, Kitesurfing, Origami, Lapidary, Dance, Basketball
Introduction: My name is Sen. Emmett Berge, I am a funny, vast, charming, courageous, enthusiastic, jolly, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
