On any of Taiwan’s hot and humid summer days, the sound of ice cubes clinking in a stainless steel cocktail shaker is music to our ears . Let’s say you’re the curious type and choose to follow the sound to its source. Instead of ordinary fruit juice or punch, visitors to Taiwan will find something refreshing and new to their taste palates – pearl bubble milk tea, one of Taiwan’s best-known specialty drinks.

The beverage originated in the mid-1980s at Chun Shui Tang, a teahouse in central Taiwan’s Taichung City. The manager Liu Hsiu-hui added her favorite dessert, fenyuan or “tapioca balls”, into some of the tea drinks at her shop. The rich and ice-cold sweetened tea with frothy foam “bubbles” on the top and the little black tapioca “pearls” at the bottom received a surprisingly good response from customers.

Since then, the mixed beverage has exploded in popularity. It is served with its signature extra large straws at cafés, and is a common sight at night market stalls, small restaurants, teahouses and specialized bubble tea shops. These shops primarily sell only to take-out or delivery customers, and have limited or no seating.Read More