You may be wondering, "What the heck is Bubble Tea and how did this crazy talk all begin"?

If you visit Taiwan or Hong Kong, you can't help but notice the unique bubble teashops on every corner. Bubble Tea to Taiwan is what coffee or soda is to the U.S. One would think Bubble Tea is the national drink by its popularity. Just like in Taiwan, Bubble Tea shops are popping up all over the world. One Taiwan based company has over 450 locations, while in the Philippines another person owns over 100 stores that he opened over a period of 1.5 years! That’s called success my friends. The U.S. is also feeling the growth of this amazing beverage. Infact, Yipi Bubble Tea is one of hundreds (one of the best we like to think!) of locations that serve Bubble Tea on the west coast alone.

Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the early 1980's at a small tea stand. Elementary school children would look forward to buying a cup of refreshing tea after a long, hard day of work and play. Tea stands were set up in front of the schools and would compete for business with the best selling teas. One concession owner became very popular with her tea when she started adding different fruit flavors to her teas. Because of the sweet and cool taste, children immediately fell in love the taste. Soon, other concessions heard about this "unique" and popular tea, so they also started to add flavors to their teas. When adding flavor, the tea and flavoring needed to be shaken well for a good, all-around taste. When the drink was “shaken”, it formed bubbles on the top of the drink which came to be known as the “Bubbles” in "Bubble Tea."

In 1983, Liu Han-Chieh introduced Taiwan to tapioca pearls. The new fad at the time was to add tapioca pearls into your favorite drink. After the tea and flavor were shaken well, it topped tapioca pearls that were sitting on the bottom of a clear cup. The tapioca pearls also looked like bubbles, thus also they became known as the “Bubbles” in "Bubble Tea." However, a true Bubble Tea affectionado will always refer to them as “Pearls” or “Boba”.

Bubble tea drinks are usually cool, refreshing, and sweet with tapioca pearls sitting on the bottom of a clear cup. Sometimes the drink is made with fresh fruits, milk, and crushed ice to create a healthy milk shake. You may also find drinks that are made of powdered flavoring, creamer, water, crushed ice, and healthy tea infused by a flavoring. At Yipi Bubble Tea, we serve multiple types of Bubble Tea. Our ‘Milk Teas’ are made from the highest quality ingredients. Infact, our flavors have won numerous national tasting competitions and are in a class all their own in the Bubble Tea world.


Additional Information:

Bubble tea has many names. It is also known as boba drink, pearl tea drink, boba ice tea, boba, boba nai cha, zhen zhou nai cha, pearl milk tea, pearl ice tea, black pearl tea, tapioca ball drink, BBT, PT, pearl shake, QQ (which means chewy in Chinese) and possible many others.

Tapioca pearls are black but can sometimes be found to be white or transparent. The color varies depending on the ingredients of the pearl. The white and translucent tapioca pearls are made of caramel, starch and chamomile root extract, while the black pearl is made from cassava root.

If you have ever visited a Bubble Tea shop and had a pearl that was stale and or disolved in your mouth, you need to run! The consistency of tapioca pearls should always be somewhere between jell-o and chewing gum and no bigger than a small marble. A clear cup with black balls on the bottom can easily identify bubble Tea drinks.
Another obvious trait of Bubble Tea is the unique fat straw. The fat straw is needed so that the tapioca pearls can be drawn up with the drink and eaten.

One thing is for certain. Bubble Tea is not a fad. This drink is addictive. If you've had a good Bubble Tea before then you know what we're talking about.

Hope to see you soon!