Pearl milk tea is a drink that we are very familiar with. However, there are still many people who are not so familiar with pearl milk tea. Today, let’s introduce pearl milk tea in detail. Pearl milk tea, or "pearl milk" for short, is made by adding powder balls made of tapioca o

Pearl milk tea is a drink that we are very familiar with. However, there are still many people who are not so familiar with pearl milk tea. Today, let’s introduce pearl milk tea in detail.

Pearl milk tea, or "pearl milk" for short, is made by adding powder balls (pearls) made from tapioca starch or sweet potato starch into the milk tea to create a smoky and tough taste in addition to the tea aroma. It appeared in the late 1980s. "Hanlin Tea House" in Tainan City and "Chun Shui Tang" in Taichung City both claimed to be the founders of "Jane Milk". The two stores even sued each other in court, but so far, The jury is still out. The judge added that bubble milk tea is just a drink that combines powdered rice balls and milk tea, and is not a patented product. It is also because the two stores failed to successfully apply for patent rights that bubble milk tea shops have mushroomed and become a very popular leisure drink.

In Taiwan, in the early 1990s, most of the milk shops were scattered in business districts and school districts as independent stores. Later, the industry introduced "automatic sealing machines" to replace the traditional cup lids, which became the iconic packaging of milk. In the late 1990s, many bubble tea shops had developed into chain businesses and expanded into the world. Hong Kong was one of the stops affected by this trend.

Early "Chen Milk"

In Taiwan's early milk tea shops, most of the milk tea emphasized that the milk tea was fresh and ready to shake. However, since the proliferation of chain milk tea stores, most stores have switched to pre-mixed milk tea. Milk tea is not necessarily made with black tea and creamer on the same day. Instead, milk tea powder supplied by the center is used, and it is ready to use after adding water. There is a big difference in tea aroma and taste between instant milk tea and milk tea powder.

Creamer In the past, high-calorie powdered creamer and synthetic high-fructose syrup were mostly used. In addition, the main component of powder balls is starch. A cup of 700 ml pearl milk tea has more than 400 calories, which is equivalent to two bowls. White rice is easy to gain weight and harmful to the body.

As for the pink balls, the original ones were white and looked like pearls, so they were called "pearl milk tea". Shortly after its launch, it was replaced by powdered balls with brown sugar added, which is what is commonly known as "black pearls" today. The original powdered rice balls were all very fine. In 1988, a hawker got inspiration from Hong Kong actress Yip Mei (also known as Boba) and renamed the large powdered pearl milk tea, which is two to three times larger than ordinary powdered balls, "Boba Milk Tea". ”, emphasizing that this will be chewier. In addition to black, there are also colored pearls. Boba milk tea, also called "BOBA" or "Bubble", is very popular in Europe and the United States.

Today's "precious milk"

The healthiness of traditional preserved milk has been repeatedly questioned. As society's requirements for healthy diet become higher and higher, preserved milk has to take a high-quality and healthy route. In recent years, the industry has begun to pay attention to the hand-cranked milk market, trying to switch to fresh tea, using fresh milk instead of creamer, and using sucrose instead of commonly used synthetic high-fructose syrup.

"Synthetic high fructose syrup is low in cost, 1.7 times sweeter than sucrose, and can easily cause a variety of diseases. Sucrose is a disaccharide that is decomposed into fructose and glucose by digestive juices and is absorbed by the small intestine, making it healthier . ”

To retain customers now, bubble milk tea must be healthy and fresh. Thirty years of keeping pace with the times may be one of the reasons why bubble milk tea has not been eliminated over the years.