This is the story of how one drink became a beloved icon of Taiwan and an integral part of life for young Asian Americans. From its fairly recent invention in the 1980s to its status today as a delicious drink known around the world, let us dive into the history and impact of bubble tea across cultures!
Early Beginnings
Bubble (boba) tea has taken the world by storm over the past few decades, especially in the thousands of stores all across the United States today. But how did it became such an international sensation? Boba culture started around the 1980s in Taiwan, however, its roots can be traced much farther back to the 19th century. Europeans often drank their tea with milk and sugar, so this idea of drinking tea with milk was introduced to the Chinese by the colonial British. Tapoica starch, which comes from the South American cassava plant, came to Asia even earlier around the 17th century, when the Spanish brought it from Mexico to plant in the Philippines. Later on, tapioca starch was used to make the famous boba balls as toppings for desserts like shaved ice throughout Taiwan.
The fusion of these two fundamental ingredients, milk tea and boba, led to the creation of the first bubble tea drink. There are many origin stories of how this drink came to be. One says that Chang Fan Shu opened a tea shop which sold a unique hand-shaken tea made with cocktail shakers in the 1940s, post-WW2. This hand-shaken tea was a rich iced drink with a fine layer of foam on top, hence the origin of the name "bubble" tea. Another story says that the idea of milk tea chilled with ice and shaken for the foam layer was first introduced by Liu Han Chieh, the owner of a Taichung tea shop in the early 1980s. A few years later, his company’s product manager, Lin Hsiu Hui, dropped some tapioca balls into her tea at a staff meeting, and the rest is history. Other stories credit different tea shops in Taiwan, and there has even been a 10-year litigation over who invented bubble tea!
Fun Facts:
Bubble tea is one of the new official emojis of 2020
US National Bubble Tea Day is April 30th
Germany added bubble tea to its McDonald's menu in 2012
Taiwan Culture & Identity
Boba became a widespread success in the late 80s and 90s in Taiwan by allowing society to bond over its culture and history. Bubble tea was a remake of traditional foods into a modern drink which reflected the social era of transitioning from old to new at the time. Now, boba is a everywhere in restaurants and tea shops, but especially in the night markets with hundreds of food stalls. It has developed into an essential part of Taiwanese culture and identity.
American Culture
Boba soon became a huge craze in the U.S. due to the changing immigration patterns and the growing popularity of cafés with popular chains like Starbucks. After Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, abolishing an old policy that restricted the entry of Asians and other ethnic groups, an influx of Taiwanese immigrants came to the U.S. from 1960 - 1990. Many of these immigrants settled large Asian communities in states like California. Boba culture took root in these districts, as young Taiwanese Americans introduced the drink to other Asian Americans in their schools, neighborhoods, and social groups.
In the beginning, it was only served as a side drink to accompany meals in restaurants, sometimes for only $1! In the late ’90s, the first boba shop dedicated to bubble tea opened inside a food court in Arcadia. In the following decades, hundreds of these boba shops popped up across the country, becoming the Asian-American equivalent of a coffee shop. Boba culture was more than just the drink itself - it was more about the experiences and emotions associated with it, such as friendship, familiarity, and the feeling of belonging.
As newer generations focus on using healthier and more locally sourced ingredients, a new wave of interest in the drink has occurred in the past decade. With the goal of raising the standard of bubble tea, stores like Boba Guys have lead to a new wave of boba since 2012.
Modern Twists
From the classic drink of black milk tea, ice, and black tapioca pearls, a whole variety of different toppings, flavors, and even boba products have developed. For example, in more recent months, shops selling brown sugar bubble tea have been popping up across Asia. These drinks use natural brown sugar and fresh milk rather than the plain sugar and creamer of most milk teas. (You can find my recipe for this delicious brown sugar boba concoction right here).
The topping choices expanded beyond tapioca balls to include jellies (like grass jelly, lychee jelly, and aloe jelly), egg pudding, and red beans, among many others. Milks now range from whole and skim to nondairy substitutes like almond and coconut. Some drinks have no milk at all, such as fruit-flavored teas, juice-based drinks, or slushes. The pearl toppings themselves can vary, from the original marble-sized balls that needed special wide straws, to small mini-boba, square-shaped, red, or even crystal clear boba. There are now more than 21,000 boba shops in Taiwan and thousands more around the world, many part of international chains like Gong Cha and Sharetea.
While some shops still only sell boba tea drinks, the boba trend is now incorporated into desserts, sandwiches, pizza, cocktails, and even skincare. With social media like Instagram, more drinks are designed to look good as well as taste good. Scroll through someone's feed and you might find bright, spicy drinks with red-hot pearls, tie-dye colors of blues and yellows made with blue butterfly pea, and jet-black drinks with charcoal. Boba has developed so much in the few decades of its existence, so I'm excited to see how it continues to evolve in the future! Next time you ask your friends if they "wanna get boba" with you, try and think about how it has shaped your life, culture, or identity.
Link to my brown sugar boba recipe.
Link to my post on the chemistry & science behind boba.
Want to Learn More? (always cite your sources, kids)
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-bubble-tea-origins/index.html
https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18240387/boba-milk-bubble-tea-explained-how-to-order
https://www.foodandwine.com/tea/bubble-tea-taiwanese-street-drink-turned-american-addiction
https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora
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