If you’re like me and you’ve never experienced bubble tea flavors before, OR you’ve never even heard of bubble tea, you’ve come to the right place! In case you were unaware, bubble tea is a BIG DEAL! The global bubble tea market is valued at over 2 BILLION dollars! Wondering what all the excitement is about?
Bubble tea, also known as Boba tea or Black Pearl tea, is quite a popular drink! There are probably enough bubble tea flavors out there, to satisfy just about every craving!
Popular Bubble Tea Flavors
Bubble Tea Basics
This fun Taiwanese drink was invented back in the 1980s! So many great things were created in the 80s, am I right? There are two major groupings: teas with milk and teas without milk. After that, there is a huge selection of fixings that can be used to enhance your tea. The basic core ingredients of each drink are usually either green or black tea, milk, and these cute, little bubble-like thingys (called boba) that are made from tapioca or sometimes fruit jelly. As you drink the tea, you also suck the bubbles up through your straw, as an added sweet treat! Bubble tea can be cold or hot, and the combination of the tapioca balls, tea and milk can leave you feeling like you’ve just had a delicious dessert!
Bubble Tea Drinks
3 Types of Boba Tea Bubbles
Boba tea bubbles are made of little balls of tapioca, which are actually created from cassava root. The tapioca starch, sugar and water are cooked together, to form the boba. The formation process turns them into the sweet and chewy bubbles that are added to the teas.
Black boba – Tapioca balls with brown sugar or caramel coloring. These are larger, darker looking bubbles. Because of the size of these bobas, a larger straw size was created, so that people wouldn’t have to use a spoon to finish their drink!
Clear boba – Tapioca balls with no added flavor. They absorb and adopt the flavor of the drink.
Popping boba – These are little balls filled with juice that gush into your mouth as you eat them. Surprisingly, they are not made with tapioca! They literally pop delicious fruit juice into your mouth as you eat them – no wonder this drink is so much fun!
Fun Fact: Apparently, the name “Bubble Tea” was actually coined, because of the small foamy bubbles that form on the top of tea, after it has been shaken up during the process of creating the tea – not because of the little bobas in the drink!
Tips For Toppings
Now that you have the basics for the bubble tea flavors, you need toppings! The boba bubbles can also be placed on top of your tea, for added chewy fun! From jelly toppings, to whipped cream, and coconut flakes, there are so many fun things to add more textures according to your liking! Adding extra sweetness also seems to be the way to go!
Go Forth And Sip On, Brave Bubble Tea Beginners!
There are so many fun variations to try when it comes to bubble tea flavors. So feel free to get out there, explore and see what all the fuss is about! You might find yourself joining the group of bubble tea fans around the world, who can’t seem to go a day without this sweet treat!
What is your favorite bubble tea flavor? Let us know in the comments below!