How Taiwan's Bubble Tea became a Crucial Part of its Culture? There isn't always tea, either. Even so, people are obsessed with the drink that features a base made from tea, fruit, coffee or milk and chewy "pearls" at the bottom of the cup. Bubble tea can be found nationwide, from mall food courts to the drink menus of high-end restaurants But its origins are in Taiwan and while the drink is wildly popular, bubble tea — or boba tea as it is also frequently called Taiwanese bubble tea — still remains a bit of a mystery. What exactly are the Pearls made out of? Tapioca is a starch that is extracted from cassava root that is naturally gluten-free and typically made into flour and edible pearls.
The raw tapioca pearls, which are often black but can also be transparent or white, get cooked in boiling water until they become soft. The pearls are then kept in a simple syrup mixture so that they become sweet and remain chewy until they are ready for use. The cooked pearls are then put in the bottom of a cup and then filled with various chilled drinks like fruity teas, icy smoothies or milk-based tea and coffee beverages as well as ice. The drink is then shaken to mix the ingredients and sealed. So why the name bubble tea? The drink has a number of monikers, including pearl milk tea and tapioca bubble tea, but its most commonly referred to as bubble tea or milk tea. The term "bubble tea" is actually a reference to the milk froth that forms when the drink is shaken, not the chewy pearls in the drink that