As always, soon as I see your video it’s an automatic watch and like even before you’ve reached it to the newsletter pitch. Really dig the variety and appreciate the research and top notch presentation. I tried bubble tea at a packed place in Shoreditch about ten years ago. It was fruit flavoured and bright green/yellow and didn’t do anything for me. Id probably be better off with the milk tea flavour. Being predominantly a coffee fan I’m wondering if anyone does a boba coffee with chocolate flavour balls perhaps?
10:10 yes probably true. The custom is to add the tea to the milk, not the other way round. Prevents thermal shock to the cup (and curdling of the milk). Great vid!
This is a great source of debate In English Society, generally the posher people prefer milk in second and they refer to their lower class subordinates as “miffies”😂.
Hey, just a suggestion can you please add Pinyin texts to your videos henceforth? I'm trying to learn Hiragana & Katakana, but fn Pinyin is the best way I can read Chinese with correct pronunciation. Great video though, thanks! 🙏
Dude... I'm a South-East Asian my whole life. I never knew Tapioca Balls are made from Casava Root Starch? Hmm...🤔 Oh.... it's Sweet Potato Starch is now the ingredient of modern Tapioca Balls. Hmm... 🤔 Plus Milk Tea is British? Wut?😳
I love how you mix the history with industrial processes and import logistics, to educate and entertain as a story. Never knew they came from Yuca plant, maybe my parents would try boba tea again if they knew
Yeah on this one hoping I get something like that "produced in argentina processed in thailand sold in us" thing, how tapioca starch is abundant but we import the pearls from SEA
I love how my appreciation of the book why nations fail coupled with a major in history made me appreciate the link between both to a point that is difficult to explain in a short amount of time. Basically innovation coupled with democratic institutions enabled social progress and redistributive systems. To the contrary authoritiarian government would probably fight innovations that would threathen existing monopolies and would not be adopted.
Several points, from my memory, could be totally wrong due to my own bias, confusion and/or misunderstanding: 1. The word "boba" was of Hong Kong origin. Too crude to come out from the main stream Chinese culture in Taiwan back then. 2. The "boba" as we know today, are actually the large version of the pearl balls, which were traditionally less than 1/2 in size. This wording is pretty easy to understand as it is what the word "boba" literally means. 3. The name of the drink in Taiwan, gradually transformed from "pearl milk tea", to "boba milk tea" as the traditional small size peal balls become less and less popular. 4. Several years before the pearl milk tea came to be, for what I know, it was initially the hand-shake beverage that became popular, especially the iced tea drinks. Due to the hand-shaking, those drink would always have a layer of bubbles floating on top. The most iconic and famous type of them, was the "bubble black tea". that's where the word "bubble tea" from. ironically, the "pearl milk tea" doesn't produce much bubble after shaking, and kind of deprived the meaning of the "bubble" in the "bubble tea" today. 5. Back then, nobody mixed solid stuff into the tea drink. Even milk tea weren't quire a thing. In my memory, the milk and pearl combo kind of came together. Also, they never really used 'milk' as milk is relatively expensive and hard to store, while doesn't taste creamy enough. They'd use coffee mate in specific. 5. the traditional pearl balls in Taiwan, were normally eaten with syrup, or soft tofu curd. 6. the mini sago became popular by the end of 80s or beginning or 90s, I have never seem them added into pearl milk tea back then. They pretty much just go with coconut milk, nothing else. 7. Given that the "pearl milk tea" was certainly evolved from the "bubble black tea", it's not impossible that the two teahouses, or even some other bubble black teahouse, developed this idea concurrently
Adding some more points to your points, also from my memory. 1. As mentioned above, 泡沫紅/緑茶 (lit. translation 'bubble black/green tea') was the earlier fad that predated the 珍珠奶茶 (lit. translation 'pearl milk tea') by a couple years. 'Bubble black/green tea' became popular in the early 1980s while 'pearl milk tea' came into prominence in the late 1980s. 2. There is a 'drink' call 粉圓冰 (lit. translation 'powder ball ice') that is came about even earlier. 'Powder ball ice' is shaved ice in a bowl with cooked powder ball and black sugar syrup. Some vendors packaged it instead in a plastic bag with straw for ease of carry and consumption. I have wondered if the inspiration for 'pearl milk tea' came from here. 3. 'Powder ball' were originally made from sweet potato flour, but mostly switched to tapioca flour for cost, making it pretty much the same thing as 'pearl'. I think that 'pearl milk tea' is a name upgrade for 'powder ball milk tea'.
Boba was hk origined? I remember growing up in Hong Kong and Pearl Milk tea always means the big Pearl variant, until around 2015 I saw a store name it Boba and I thought it's so funny. I also couldn't believe it and people tell me it's just how they always call it in Taiwan, Pearl is the small one, and boba is the big one
"boba" is originally cantonese anyways that people just took the mandarin pinyin writing from. in the philippines, nobody calls it boba still. the popular term to call it is still milk tea or bubble tea or bubble milk tea. the drink utilizing chewy pearls is unsurprising to people since theres always been cold drinks with hard chewy toppings inside for centuries, like grass jelly, sago pearls, and such. the spanish record always utilized romanized hokkien terms to call them and the street vendors were often roving chinese peddlers, such as the likes that sold hot tofu curd in cups, people now call taho itself also from hokkien.
Bubble tea craze spread shortly across Asia in late 1990s. They are marketed as "tea", yet the taste is more like sugary milk drinks. Then I tried actual bubble tea in Taiwan, it is a whole entirely different level for people who actually cared a bit more about "tea". A dimension that often lacks in typical Australian, Indonesian, or let alone, Singaporean and Malaysian bubble tea seller is simply freshness and thus the aroma, smell, and scent of the tea itself. Usually, the tea is heavily subdued by the sheer strength of the artificial creamer or low quality milk to the point that it is just "flavoured milk" rather than "milk tea". Plus, it is super cheap ubiquituous drink in Taiwan streets, one decent cup costing USD 1.50 - which is like 20-30% cheaper than the ones found in Indonesia, but with far better quality. It almost never died in Taiwan, I think because of how they maintain the quality standards especially with the tea, but it is kind of "on and off" trend elsewhere, especially in Southeast Asia, due to how they stick with viral trends, fads, and FOMO social media marketing to promote something they never really care to preserve or quality to maintain.
What saddens me is that sometimes I see Taiwanese chains open up in Europe and at first they have nice tea paired with bubbles. But then they realize that Europeans like to order it with so much sugar that by this time you can no longer feel the taste of tea and so soon they drop fancy teas from menu and replace it with cheapest tea they can get and infinite number of strong artificial flavours of coursed paired with tons of sugar and this way it makes much better business in Europe. In Taiwan on other hand such tea houses don't survive as people like to order low or no sugar and are seeking decent flavour from tea.
As an Australian it's crazy how it went from 1 store in my neighbourhood, then to 2, then to 4, and now in my area alone there's probably 12 different Boba Tea stores Apparently some have been closing down cause the competition is just so tight - it's amazing to see this all happen in real time
The origin story for milk in British tea I've heard is that early tea imports had a very harsh flavor - they were valued for their stimulant effect but milk had to be added to make the drink more palatable.
I have to tell you that for me it was a total surprise to know that cassava can be that toxic ! As a Brazilian, I ate tons of cassava my whole life and never knew it could be that toxic. I have to tell you that you are on your witts today: comparing the toxicity of cassava with youtube, throwing pieces of wisdom that everybody likes.... I really enjoy your videos !
Cyanide compounds in vegetation can easily be hydrolyzed and neutralized by boiling in water. Many bamboo shoots, one of my favorites, can have some cyanide which again can be neutralized by boiling.
To add some points to this video: First, brown sugar milk with pearl has been around for a long time. I suspect it came out earlier than pearl tea itself, but without proof. If that's the case, then the pearl tea could easily be invented by many guys independently. Second, in my memory, the normal size pearl today was boba in early 2000. It's only when everyone was providing this pearl size that a bigger boba size came out . I think if you go to 50 Lan today, they still call minimize pearl "pearl" instead of mini.
Even in America, tapioca pearls of the smaller size long predate the boba tea craze: I recall them specifically being used for puddings, in which use they date back to at least the 50s in the US. I suspect that the same approximate size was "standard" for tapioca starch worldwide, until boba tea created a purpose for a different size.
Sorry the guy's story as "inventor of bubble tea" doesn't add up as much as hers. Now that little lady claimed she was adding things to her tea in 84' prior to being manager. Well guess what? Co-workers, relatives and other people around her would have noticed this. They may have partaken in this novelty as well. Her story seems more credible especially if you could get other coworkers to vouch for her. Regards and as always thoroughly enjoy your content and always learn something from it!
I personally not so much interested who was the first to put bubbles into tea - as I believe many might done that considering the wide availability of milk teas and bubbles - what I really want to find is who was the first to invent straw that is perfectly shaped (the size to fit bubble and the 45° cut at the bottom) to sip on bubbles creating this out the world experience of bubbles going blub blub blub up the straw into your mouth. While I personally love good tea and I prefer bubble teas with quality tea to me it's still the combination of the straw and the bubbles what really makes this thing work turning it into global viral phenomena.
Tapioca pearls have been quite popular in India for a long time. There are many dishes made from it. One of them is a hot dessert made from tapioca pearls and milk. The story I have heard is that Tapioca pearls became popular when the import of sago pearls from SE Asia became difficult during WW2. Cassava is cultivated in South India and there are many different foods made from Cassava roots. Most of India's Tapioca pearl makers are also from the Southern part of India. Chips made from Cassava roots are also quite popular in some parts of South India.
I had sago and tapioca milk puddings here in the UK when I was a kid in the 1960's - at school we called it frog spawn. I suspect the real inventor was someone who accidently added one of those to tea instead of plain milk :)
1:24 section of the video is not accurate. The Taiwanese Hokkien word for the chewy texture in question is khiū (tone 7, mid flat tone), whereas the "wavy, curvy" word is khiû (tone 5, rising tone). The two words are unrelated, only that they sound extremely similar (same sound, but different tone). FYI, the proper pronunciation of "khiū" is actually almost identical to how you would say the letter Q, except say it as if you're a robot with a mid-flat voice.
My intuition says that it is supposed to be analogous to 嚼 (literally just means to chew) but I don't know enough Hokkien to confirm it. Closest I speak is Cantonese.
@@Moonstone-Redux No, not 嚼. I used Hokkien 白話字 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī) "khiū" on purpose because scholars have not agreed which Han character may serve as the “historical root” of this vernacular word (this word is not unique in this situation). That said, multiple early vernacular Hokkien dictionaries already have entries for "khiū" to mean some food that is soft yet bouncy. If one must find a Han character for "khiū", look up "軟靭 - 臺灣話的語源與理據（劉建仁著）" for a nice writeup.
I went to the allegedly first bubble tea place in Taiwan. The one thing that it has above other bubbles teas is that the balls are so small so that you don't have to chew them a lot to not get stuck in your throat.
In Japan bubble tea was again a gigantic craze before Covid, with hundreds of places and dozens of brands popping up everywhere. It went as far as Japanese teenagers coming up with a new verb to express drinking bubble tea (tapiru, tapi from tapioca as it’s mostly called tapioka tea). During Covid sadly most places closed and only the bigger hubs retain stores of mostly the big chains. Front runner seems to be Gong Cha. I do miss some of the quirkier brands and the ready availability of stores everywhere, but then again I did notice a certain weight gain from having a few too many… lol
The term Boba actually originated from Hong Kong. At the time a famous porn star had the Nick name “boba”, literal meaning “ball dominance”, which ended up being a slang for big breasts. The slang very soon made its way to Taiwan as HK entertainment was very influential in Asia at the time.
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There are a number of varieties of mandioca in Brasil that are not toxic. Btw, nice video, as always.
For me in northeastern Brazil tapioca was a very regional food, it's really funny to know that those bubbles are made of it, I would never guess! In Pernambuco specially we take a lot of pride in our native cuisine.
In the Philippines, a soy drink with dark sugar syrup called Taho is sold with sago. Taho's etymology is said to have come from tau hu, the hokkien for tofu and at first was commonly sold by chinese vendors.
In thatiland we also call tofu as tau hu, which is weird because most chinese that come to thailand speak teochew, may be because teochew and hokkien dialect/language are similar
The inventor of instant noodles is the Japanese Taiwanese Wu Baifu (Nissin Momofuku Ando). Since ancient times, pasta in southern Taiwan has been fried into noodles, which is the origin of the invention of instant noodles. This can be considered another one of the contributions of Taiwanese people to the world.
I lived in the Philippines and they drink the sago pearls in a molasses like syrup drink instead of tea (they also use the same liquid base for soft tofu dessert, very popular there) Sago balls have a crumbly texture unlike tapioca, and I much prefer the mouthfeel texture. I do think there is a difference in taste, with sago having notes of coconut, but most people would likely not notice. But even in the Philippines these days they use the lower price pearls.
it goes way back in the philippines. even during spanish colonial times, there are illustrations of roving chinese street peddlers selling sago and tofu drinks. the spaniards called them chanchaulero, the root itself being from hokkien 田草 (chhân-chháu, “grass jelly”). although tagalog has also called the drink as "gulaman" for centuries, but the tofu pudding drink "taho" also comes from hokkien 豆腐 (tāu-hū, “tofu; bean curd”)
@@xXxSkyViperxXx yes sago is the staple of Papuans and popular with their neighbors like PI, so sago pearls and molasses are basically native items. Taho is obviously Chinese, probably Fijian. Mabuhay
I was dating a Tiawanese lady back in '94 while living in Vancouver BC and she introduced me to bubble tea back then, never really took to it although I love both tea and tapioca pudding. Bubble tea shops were well established in the lower mainland of BC by the mid 1990's.
Funny thing is, here in Portsmouth, England, we have loads of bubble tea places now! So it makes its way all the way settings the world, from England to Taiwan, to America and back to England. One place, run by a Chinese girl who's lovely, is obsessed with perfecting Japanese ramen and Taiwanese bubble tea. She even had a Michelin starred sushi chef reside for a while to serve and teach in the kitchen. And she spent months in Japan researching at different ramen houses trying to learn how to duplicate their je ne sais quoi. Turns out you can't, as it's all down to the stock which is all down to: 1) The local pig population, which depends on 2) The local pig diet, which depends on 3) The local feed stock, which depends on 4) The local soil and 5) The local farming practises and 6) The local chemical usage and everything depends on 7) The local water quality So it's impossible to replicate and far too expensive to import, say, stock concentrates to sell in a poor city like Portsmouth. So the only replication she can do is just do exactly as they do, make the best stock she can with the best ingredients to hand. Which is, of course, exactly what the Japanese do. So in a way she succeeded. It's called -Tokyo Corner- _Kyoto Ramen_ (seems they refurbished and rebranded after COVID) in Portsmouth, England and I highly recommend it.
I wanna know what the proper name for the type of boba which isn't chewy and bursts with sugary/fruity water instead. Everyone just calls both types boba/bubble tea!
You can say the Bubble Tea is a product of exchange of ideas and trade: 1. China had been cultivating and brewing tea leaves since 3000 years ago 2. Cassavas were brought over to Asia from the Americas from the 1500s 3. China export tea to the West since 1500s, then the British smuggled out tea cultivation techniques from China in the 1850s 4. The British introduced the milk tea beverages to SEA and Hong Kong, in Malaysia there's a variant called Teh Tarik 5. The Chinese immigrants on the Formosa Island combine the Tapiocas and milk tea combo to create bubble tea around in the 1980s. 6. The "Boba" word might have came from Hong Kong Also, the exportation of tea became part of the diplomacy for China since the Han Dynasty up until the Qing Dynasty
Ehh.. please websearch for "Falooda". It's a drink of Persian/ Indian origins, dating back a few hundred years - basically a rose-milkshale with chewy additions. Initially, these additions were sweet basil seeds, that become gelatinous and chewy when soaked; later the starchy part was often substituted by a cooked starch of some sort - noodle or ball-shaped, and also tapioca balls. It's not a stretch to substitute the rose milkshake for milky ice-tea or any other beverage of your preference.
HOLD UP! You're telling me you're supposed to try to chew the pearls and not just swallow them with the tea??? I've been drinking it wrong all this time? Damn... I bet bubble tea tastes better if you drink it correctly.
The 007 Skyfall villain: "Do you know what hydrogen cyanide does to the human body?" (removes his artificial jawbone). Me, in the theater, terrified. All those bubbles I have popped.😳
Hi. In Southern Brazilian states, tapioca pearls in red wine syrup is a very traditional dessert. Although it is called sagu, it has always been done with tapioca pearls. As tapioca is typical from Brazilian rainforest, it is worth to check the origins in Brazil. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagu_(dessert)
I have two bubble tea places within walking distance of my house. One is run by Turks. There are also two Kung Fu Tea houses within a few minutes drive. I always figured it was because of the university and the many many Chinese (and, presumably Taiwanese) students. But, no matter, I think I’ll walk over to Hiro Ramen and get a bubble tea.
I love the way the courts of Taiwan took such a practical approach to who owns the concept. I don’t think a lot of counties would have taken this path.
It would be interesting to see more details about what the legal battle was actually over because on the face of it, it doesn't seem like there was anything of substance on the table. Bubble tea is arguably an 'obvious' invention (lacks novelty) in that it can simply be made from combining existing readily available ingredients in an obvious way to produce a 'not unexpected' result, although this would be a patent examiner's call, however the drinks had already been openly sold before any patent application had been made (if ever), and was thus the invention already 'in the prior art' (public knowledge), precluding it from being patented. Maybe there was some kind of trademark claim relating to originality, but at least on this patent front, this would be a non-starter is most jurisdictions...
The bubbles in the US is terrible, and expensive. The bubbles were soggy as hell like it's been left out for ages (probably days), and not only that but the drink is over 5 dollars plus tax in the US. So they're not only worse, they're more expensive. And the ingredients for bubble tea is very cheap. You should know in Taiwan "boba" always refer to the big pearls, and "pearl" refers to the small (2mm) pearls. These are assumed, if you say boba tea they WILL give you the big pearls, so if you want the small one make sure you ask for "pearl" tea.
The etymology reminded me of the China History Podcast's recent Taiwan History series. The early parts delve into the origins of the ethnolinguistic mix on Taiwan today. It's really interesting.
Did you work at the Paddy's Market store, at the bottom of the escalators? I remember that being the first "pearl milk tea" chain to open, in the late 90s. They used to be everywhere, probably still have loyalty cards somewhere!!
There are several related sweet drinks all through out South East Asia. I grew up with cendol (or tjendol) , that comes from Indonesia, which often uses cassava. There are several recipes. All good. Global economy, even before US global order, from WWII on. I grew up with a chicken dish with a very particular coconut sauce. A very common dish, from the middle of Java, in Indonesia. But a couple of decades ago I visited a Mexican restaurant, in East LA, that specialized in the cuisine from around Mexico City, and there was this chicken dish, that matched what I grew up with exactly. I suspect this dish, got to Mexico by way of the Spanish, from the Philippines, or the Portuguese, from the Moluccas. Both island chains are neighbors of Indonesia, and trade brought this chicken recipe over, maybe as far back as the 1500s. Another side note: Upon visiting a local Vietnamese market, in So Cal, I came across a Philippine snack called put*. The Philippines were once a Spanish colony, and you can look up what put* means in Spanish. This is clearly NOT a coincident.
I'd never heard of Bubble Tea till now, I just looked it up to see if I could find it being sold in my town, wow, it's all over the place, but it's almost 6pm on a Sunday so I'll have to wait till tomorrow. I look forward to trying it out. Thank-you for your videos, you expand my mind and palate. Your a wise and clever man.
Fun fact: In especially northern Europe bubble tea is not popular at all. You can only get it, at specially cafe's, that make it for you. I've tasted it. Not a fan. It is disgustingly sweat and slimy....
@@gunnarthegumbootguy7909 I'm Danish. Hi neighbor ;). I like chewy... Most northerners do? Toffy is extremely popular in both Sweden and Denmark. So I'm not sure what you are on about? Are you not native?
My chinese language teacher had mentioned bubble tea during a lesson and could not believe I had never heard of it. It took a bit for her to explain exactly what it was.
Inventor: You know how everyone loves tea for its health benefits? What if we add a ton of milk and sugar to it? Fridend: Interesting... but what if I want it to also be a choking hazard? Inventor: I'll add some chewy sticky balls that gets stuck to your throat? Friend: What's the balls made out of? Inventor: Toxic roots. Friend: Shut up and take my money.
It is surprising how new the dish seems to be. Barely twenty years, I initially thought. But I guess it is actually 30 now, and soon enough forty. Really speaks wonders to how quickly things spread nowadays. I doubt a dish would spread that widely between all the global clusters so fast in the early 90's or the prior centuries.
Starbucks kinda paved the way for it with their coffee drinks that no longer remind of coffee convincing whole lot of people that it's a good idea to leave $8 on completely unimpressive cheap sugary drink. Within this $8 there is a lot more you can do and still make good business and this is how bubble was able to take off globally.
Love your recent talk with tech potato. I'm glad you're leaning into your humour and I'm keen on these topics. Can't believe you work two jobs and research this at night. Keep it up, much love and respect for your work
Never heard of it...until, on a trip to Winter Park, Florida, my teenage niece exclaimed, "THEY HAVE BUBBLE TEA HERE!" Huh? Thank you for the explanation. So, what kind of "boba" are you going after? 😁
