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Boba, jelly, popping boba…. What’s the difference and what should I choose? Here’s a rundown of the most popular add-ons Boba- the classic add on that started it all. Made from tapioca starch, these gluten-free orbs are chewy and add the perfect texture to your milk tea. They are usually between 5mm and 8.5mm and have led to the development of the classic boba straws.  Popping Bubbles- filled with fruit juice, these bubbles pop in your mouth. If you’re looking for an extra splash of flavor or color to your tea, this would be the add-on for you. They come in flavors such as mango, strawberry, and passion fruit and are perfectly paired with fruit-flavored teas.  Jelly- This topping is...

Boba can refer to the tapioca balls added to bubble tea, or the bubble tea drink itself.  The tapioca balls are made from the tapioca starch that comes from the cassava root. Boiling water is added to this starch and kneaded to form a dough-like consistency. The dough is then cut and rolled into the bubble shapes. These are added into a boiling mixture of brown sugar and water to finish the product.  The tea is then brewed and cooled and the boba or other toppings are added. All of these ingredients are shaken to produce the bubbles that gave the tea its name.  Boba tea is a very customizable process, and that is part of its popularity. You can...

The Origins of Boba Tea There are two main stories of how boba tea came to be. In one narrative, bubble tea is traced back to the 1980s  in Taichung, Taiwan, when Ms. Lin Hsiu Hui took the tapioca off of her Taiwanese dessert and added it to her iced tea. Her boss, tea-room owner Liu Han-Chieh had recently begun serving iced-tea after a visit to Japan where the cold drink was quite popular. Her co-workers noticed Lin Hsi Hui’s addition to the tea and it became an instantaneous hit. After recognizing its possible popularity, Han-Chieh added the drink to his shop’s menu. Soon, it became the tearoom’s most frequently ordered drink. The other story claims that Tu Tsong-he, a...

Most people use boba and bubble tea interchangeably, but is one the right way to refer to delicious fruit or milk tea with chewable pearls? It all comes down to cultural differences and how specific you want to get with terminology. In the United States, “boba” is typically used on the West Coast while you might find the majority of your East Coast friends asking you to get “bubble tea” instead.  Keep in mind that while all bubble tea is boba, not all boba is bubble tea. The tapioca pearls themselves are called “boba” and gave the drink one of its names. Contrary to popular belief, the word “bubble” in “bubble tea” does not refer to the boba. Instead, it...