Bubble Tea

Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; Chinese: 珍珠奶茶; pinyin: zhēnzhū nǎichá, 波霸奶茶; bōbà nǎichá) is a tea-based drink most often containing chewy tapioca balls, milk, and flavouring.

It originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s[1][2] and spread to other countries where there is a large East Asian diaspora population.

Bubble tea is most commonly made with tapioca pearls (also known as "boba" or "balls"), but it can be made with other toppings as well, such as grass jelly, aloe vera, red bean, and popping boba.

It has many varieties and flavours, but the two most popular varieties are pearl black milk tea and pearl green milk tea ("pearl" for the tapioca balls at the bottom).?

Bubble teas fall under two categories: teas without milk and milk teas. Both varieties come with a choice of black, green, or oolong tea as the base.[1] Milk teas usually include powderedor fresh milk, but may also use condensed milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.[3]

The oldest known bubble tea drink consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, tapioca pearls (Chinese: 粉圓; pinyin: fěn yuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hún-îⁿ), condensed milk, and syrup (Chinese: 糖漿; pinyin: táng jiāng) or honey.[4] 

Bubble tea is most commonly served cold.[4] The tapioca pearls that give bubble tea its name were originally made from the starch of the cassava, a tropical shrub known for its starchy roots[5] which was introduced to Taiwan from South America during Japanese colonial rule.[6] Larger pearls (Chinese: 波霸/黑珍珠; pinyin: bō bà / hēi zhēn zhū) quickly replaced these.[7]