Bubble tea (珍珠奶茶, literally, “pearl milk tea”; also known in English as pearl tea, boba tea, etc.) is perhaps Taiwan’s greatest original contribution to civilization. At any rate, it’s my favorite Taiwanese beverage.

For those who are tired of reading my blog, I channeled my inner Anthony Bourdain and filmed a short video in which I discuss my love of bubble tea. It’s on my YouTube channel. (Be forewarned: Anthony Bourdain has WAY better sound and camera people than I do.)

For those who haven’t experienced it firsthand (bubble tea is now widely available in the United States, particularly in areas with large Chinese communities), I’ll elaborate. Bubble tea is not carbonated, as you might guess from the name. The “bubbles” or “pearls” are actually balls of tapioca about the size of small marbles. Unlike gooey tapioca pudding, the tapioca balls in bubble tea have more of a gummy texture and are only slightly sweet. But they add a fun, interesting tactile dimension to the drink.

Bubble tea is one of those rare imbibables that you simultaneously eat and drink. When you buy bubble tea, it comes with a wide plastic straw that’s pointy at one end. There’s always plastic over the top of the cup, and you use the pointy end to pop a hole in the plastic. The straw has just the right diameter to accomodate one “pearl” at a time. So as you drink, you also suck the tapioca balls one by one up the straw until they pop into your mouth with a satisfying “plunk.” The tapioca balls also prolong the time it takes to consume the drink, as they’re gummy and take a bit of chewing to get down.

The “milk tea” portion of the name is just the term that the Chinese use to describe tea prepared in the British style with added cream and sugar. Traditionally, of course, the Chinese drink their tea straight up with no dairy products or sweetener. Most bubble tea you’ll find in Taiwan uses powdered milk, but increasingly a lot of shops are using fresh milk. Your standard bubble tea costs NT$50 ($1.70), but I’ve found discounted ones for as low as $40 and pricey ones for as much as $65 (one of the photos above; it was made with fresh milk and, in an unusual twist, had whipped cream on top). In any Taiwanese city, there two shops selling tea drinks every block, so I didn’t have to travel too far to conduct my fieldwork.

• When I lived in Taiwan as a student back in 2001-2002, dairy products other than powdered milk were practically nonexistent. I remember about once a month I’d get an ice cream at McDonald’s to get my dairy fix because I couldn’t get ice cream anywhere else, except from very dubious “ice cream” products in convenience store freezers. Now there’s an artisanal ice cream shop on every block and every other bubble tea place offers a fresh milk option.
  

  The best ice cream in Taiwan is in Taichung at Miyahara’s, right near the train station (13 April 2018).

  

  This banana sundae gets bonus points for presentation and freshness. Unfortunately, the ice cream is heavy on the “ice” and light on the “cream.” Taiwan needs you, Ben & Jerry (20 April 2018).

When you order bubble tea, you have to specify (1) the amount of sugar you want added and (2) the level of ice cubes. Myself, I like bubble tea with sugar at 3 out of 10 (微糖; “slightly sugary”) and no ice (去冰).

And if you want the best bubble tea in Taiwan, and therefore the best bubble tea in the world, you’ll find it at 文學茶館 in Tainan. Address: 台南市中西區南門路17號. I don’t think they have any English signage, but just cut and paste the address into Google Maps and you’ll find it. Order the brown sugar pearl fresh milk tea (黑糖珍珠鮮奶茶) for NT$50, with the sweetness and ice at the level of your choosing. You won’t regret it.