Recently, due to the issue of military purchase in Taiwan, pearl milk tea has become a popular item in the world. According to the latest data from Euromonitor and CITIC Securities Research Department: in 2016, the sales of coffee and other beverage stores totaled 92.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%; among them, other beverage stores (such as dessert shops, various water bars, traditional milk tea shops, Traditional teahouses, new Chinese tea drinks, etc.) sales were 41.3 billion yuan, +14.5% year-on-year. It can be said that the most popular thing in the tea industry in recent years is the new Chinese tea drinks that cater to the young market. It can be said that what single product is the most popular in the catering industry in 2017? Of course milk tea.
In the current milk tea market, although every place has its own brand of milk tea. But when we hear the word milk tea, we think of Taiwan. And there are two shops in Taiwan claiming to be the inventors of pearl milk tea, one is Chun Shui Tang in Taichung City , and the other is Hanlin Tea House in Tainan City .
It is said that Lin Xiuhui, a female employee of Chun Shui Tang, created the first cup of pearl milk tea by merging and blending powdered balls with ice milk tea and lemon black tea in 1987. The ingredients added at that time were fruits, syrup, candied sweet potatoes, and rice balls. Bubble milk tea was not popular when it was first launched, but by chance, it finally attracted attention after being interviewed by a Japanese TV program. In addition, Chun Shui Tang also claims to have invented bubble tea in 1983.
Another theory is that Mr. Tu Zonghe of Hanlin Tea House was inspired by seeing white powder balls in the market in 1986, and mixed them with milk tea. It was named because the white powder balls were crystal clear like pearls. Later, the powder balls were added Brown sugar changed its appearance to black. Now you can still buy black and white pearl tea in stores.
In order to argue over who invented pearl milk tea, Chun Shui Tang and Hanlin Teahouse sued each other to the Taiwanese court. But it is also because neither of these two stores has applied for patent or trademark rights that pearl milk tea later became a national drink!
But an interesting thing is that the earliest history of milk tea is in the mainland. However, the milk tea in the mainland was not popular, but the milk tea in Taiwan became popular. It was first recorded in Wu Zimu's " Meng Liang Lu ": Southern Song Dynasty Hangzhou teahouses sold strange teas and different soups at four o'clock. In the winter months, they sold Qibao Leicha , glutinous rice, green onion tea, or salted soybean soup, and in summer they sold it. Plum blossom tea made from snow. Qibao Leicha is made by crushing various ingredients such as sesame and walnuts, and brewing them together with tea powder to make a soup; the formulas of green onion tea and snow-bubbled plum blossom tea are unknown, but they are named after green onions, snow-bubbled plum blossoms, and plum blossoms. , indicating that in addition to tea, there must be other ingredients in the tea soup.
Moreover, the nomadic people in central and northern China have a tradition of drinking milk tea. It has been nowhere to be studied for many years. Since the Yuan Dynasty, it has spread all over the world. Although milk tea appeared very early in history, milk tea in the north is a regional product. Maybe this is a regional difference. The northern climate has caused northern people to adapt to this kind of milk tea. Also, milk tea in inland areas has very poor adaptability. For example, milk tea in the Mongolian Plateau and Central Asia has not changed for thousands of years. This results in the taste being unable to break through regional restrictions. This obstacle in circulation prevents any company from jumping out and saying that our family is actually the birthplace of milk tea!
Even now it is difficult to explain who is the origin or inventor of milk tea. However, Taiwan followed the trend and continued to innovate to popularize milk tea. I still remember that the main reason for having a soft spot for Taiwanese milk tea at that time was because of Taiwanese dramas. , I didn’t have a deep impression of milk tea before, but with the deepening of Taiwanese dramas, I got some concepts.
If we only say that Taiwan milk tea is promoted because of publicity, it will not hold up. In the beverage industry, taste is the eternal strength. Only by catering to the tastes of consumers can it last long. The taste of Chinese milk tea does live up to expectations. Not only is it popular in China, it is now called "Oriental Coffee" and has become a business card showcasing the Chinese tea industry!
