Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the early 80’s and was originally a tea-based drink with fruit flavours added. When shaken it created bubbles hence the name bubble tea. The drink is known by many names such as Pearl Tea drink, Boba Iced tea, Boba, Boba Nai Char, Pearl Milk tea, Pearl Ice tea, Black Pearl tea, Tapioca Ball dink, BBT, PT, Pearl Shake and QQ (Chewie in Taiwanese).
Bubble tea is usually made cold and sweet, with tapioca pearls sitting at the bottom of a cup. Fruit syrups and powdered flavourings can be added to create personal favourites.
There are two versions – an iced fruit tea made with water, and a milk tea version that requires a creamer. The creamer is a powdered premix, it can be non-dairy based and have added ingredients in it to enhance the overall flavour. All bubble tea drinks have fructose or added sugar and when drinking bubble tea, you need an extra-large straw to suck all the ingredients into your mouth.
Popping pearls are balls filled with juice that bursts in your mouth when bitten into the outer layer. These can be used as topping in desserts, bubble tea, ice cream, pastries, soft serve, cocktails and mocktails, smoothie, shaved ice and slushie.
These tiny coconut jelly squares are used as topping in desserts, bubble tea, ice cream, pastries, soft serve, cocktails and mocktails, smoothie, shaved ice and slushie, and come in many flavours.
Tapioca is a starch extracted from the tubular roots of the cassava plant; a species native to Brazil. This is the newest ingredient to bubble tea which is boiled and coated with brown sugar before being added with jellies, fruit, syrups, water, and milk to produce what we know as bubble tea. The texture of a tapioca pearl once cooked is much like a gummy bear or somewhere between jelly and chewing gum.
Alternatives to tapioca often used in bubble tea include agar pearls. Agar is an extract from red algae. Other soft fruits such as coconut meat and red beans can also be used.
A Boba latte is when the pearls are added to a hot drink. Some examples are a chai latte, coffee latte, hot chocolate, and any other hot drinks.
Tips
Some of the things to consider for your set up are:
Pantry List:
Highlighted …. are the most popular, I would suggest starting with those. There are many other products that can be added, but I think the above is a great starting point.
These products are an amazing range of fruit purees and syrups suitable across a broad spectrum of beverages, from frappes, smoothies, bubble teas, and incorporated as toppings for desserts and ice creams, etc. They are a concentrated syrup that taste refreshing when made up into a beverage, with high natural fruit pulp and real juice, you can offer an amazing taste sensation for your customer, making your beverage experience worth coming back for more.
Made in Taiwan
There is a vast flavour range available…
Just ask if you need more option clarification (for example, milk cheese foam (cheesecake flavour), egg pudding (custard flavour), grass jelly (jelly flavour) and many more tea options are available too.
We can assist in recipe building and training too! Contact Zeroz to arrange and discuss your options.
