What’s the deal with that funny-looking, Taiwanese tea with the big straws and the tapioca bubbles? This tea is also called pearl tea or boba tea. Bubble tea first hit the streets in the 1980s, making its way swiftly to the US, becoming a cult classic in big cities like New York, and soon trickled down to areas like DC and Richmond!
What’s the deal with that funny-looking, Taiwanese tea with the big straws and the tapioca bubbles? This tea is also called pearl tea or boba tea. Bubble tea first hit the streets in the 1980s, making its way swiftly to the US, becoming a cult classic in big cities like New York, and soon trickled down to areas like DC and Richmond!
The tea is usually iced, and comes in fruity flavors with added milk that make for a somewhat smoothie-like beverage experience, and plain green tea with no milk that tastes more like traditional Asian green teas. The tapioca bubbles can be found in both, and while their consistency and size can be a bit off-putting at first, their flavor actually compliments the milky, fruity teas really well, and contrasts interestingly with the green tea. The tea is also offered in black occasionally, and recently bubble coffee has been introduced, which is basically just a milky latte drink including boba.
Usually, this tea is sold in hip-looking,, coffee shop-style juice bar cafes. In Richmond, you can find bubble tea at the delicious TT Lounge, which is located at 705 W. Cary St. They offer all the varieties of bubble tea, plus coffee. It can also be found at most Vietnamese restaurants in the area.
If you want to make delicious bubble tea at home, this is all you need:
1/4 cup dried boba tapioca pearls per serving (NOT quick-cooking boba)
1-2 tea bags per serving, any kind
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Milk, almond milk, or sweetened condensed milk
Fruit juice or nectar (optional)
For the whole recipe, click here and check it out at thekitchn.com. Get out there and try some local bubble tea, and suck carefully!
By Addison Herron-Wheeler/Originally appeared at ilovestickyrice.com
