History of Bubble Tea: From Taiwan to the World
The popularity of bubble tea is growing year after year around the world. However, do you know what the history of its creation is? When was the drink created, and where and who is behind its tremendous success? Find the answers to these and other questions related to bubble tea history in the article below.
The origin of bubble tea - where do the roots lie?
Bubble tea, also known as boba drink, pearl tea drink, or boba tea, originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. The owner of a tea store called Chun Shui Tang, Liu Han-Chieh, first came up with the idea of serving tea cold in the early 1980s. However, the innovation in the form of tapioca balls, known as "pearls” or “boba” came later.
It was 1988, to be exact, when Lin Hsiu Hui, a product development manager working with Liu Han-Chieh, came up with the idea of combining a typical Taiwanese dessert called fen yuan, or sweetened tapioca pudding, with tea. This was a significant event on the bubble tea timeline. The tapioca balls, over time, became a distinctive part of the drink.
There is also a second version regarding the origin of bubble tea. Some attribute the pioneering making of bubble tea to the Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan, founded by Tu Tsong He, a young entrepreneur, and artist.
Although he ran the restaurant, unfortunately, the business proved unprofitable, and he quickly went into debt. He then began to look for another career idea and to try to make money. In 1986, Tu Tsong decided to start a new business venture, driven by the popularity of the tea shops sprouting up around him. After the failure of his previous business, he was left with only debts, so he frantically searched for something that would distinguish his establishment from others. While at a local market, the man noticed tapioca balls - a traditional Taiwanese snack remembered from his childhood. He decided to add them to the green tea he used to drink in the evenings. And so, according to this version of events, bubble tea was born.
Although the dispute over the history of bubble tea in Taiwan has not been resolved, one thing is sure - the drink's popularity has surprised its creators. Since then, bubble tea has become famous throughout Asia and spread worldwide.
Bubble tea history - what further scenario will life write?
Boba tea became very popular in Asia, especially in China and Taiwan, in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the Bubble tea popularity has spread worldwide thanks to tourism, globalization, and new technologies, including social media development. Certainly, bubble tea's unique taste, as well as its preparation process, contributed to its great success.
Taiwanese people's love of bubble tea is definitely more than a fascination with good taste and pleasant texture. Anyone who has tried Sharetea, a bubble tea brand founded in 1992, can confirm that. The company specializes in bubble tea and pays excellent attention to the quality of its products. Only high-quality tea leaves and ingredients shipped directly from Taiwan are used in the preparation of the drinks instead of artificial flavors, which is why Sharetea's milk tea and boba are so popular worldwide and will indeed continue to grow its well known reputation in the bubble tea industry.