What Is Bubble Tea?

Bubble tea is a tea-based drink, usually served cold, made from a tea or fruit-flavoured base combined with milk or water, a sweetener, and small chewy or juice-filled spheres called boba, sipped through a wide straw. It began in Taiwan and is also known as boba tea or pearl milk tea.

Where bubble tea comes from

Bubble tea emerged in Taiwan in the 1980s. Several tea shops in Taiwan claim to have invented it, and no single origin has been settled beyond dispute, so this page states only what is agreed: the drink is Taiwanese, and it dates from that decade. From Taiwan it spread across East and Southeast Asia, then to bubble tea shops worldwide, including a wide network of UK cafes and independent shops.

The name itself has two common explanations. Some trace "bubble" to the foam that forms on top of the tea when it is shaken, a step used to mix and aerate the drink before serving. Others use "bubble" to mean the boba itself, the round pieces at the bottom of the cup. Both explanations are common, and the drink is known by several names as a result: bubble tea, boba tea, and pearl milk tea are all used for the same category of drink.

What is actually in it

A bubble tea has four basic parts, and every variation on the category is a variation on these.

• A tea base. Black tea, green tea, oolong tea, or a flavoured tea such as matcha. Some versions replace the tea base with a fruit syrup, so the drink is closer to a fruit drink with tea character than a strong tea.
• Milk or water. Milk teas use dairy milk or a milk alternative for a creamy, rounded drink. Fruit-style bubble teas are usually mixed with water, keeping the drink clearer and letting the fruit flavour lead.
• A sweetener. Sugar, syrup, or condensed milk, added to taste or as a fixed measure depending on how the drink is prepared.
• Toppings. Most commonly a form of boba, spooned or poured into the bottom of the cup before the tea is added.

The toppings explained

Two toppings dominate the category, and they behave differently in the glass.

Popping boba are small spheres with a thin gel skin and liquid inside. Bite down and the skin gives way, releasing a burst of flavoured juice. They are made using a technique called spherification and are common in fruit-based bubble teas, where a burst of concentrated flavour suits a lighter, fruitier drink.

Tapioca pearls are dense, chewy balls made from tapioca starch, the same starch that comes from the cassava root. Made the traditional way, raw pearls need boiling before they are ready to eat, which is why bubble tea shops keep a pot going through service. Their texture stays consistent from the first mouthful to the last, which suits a creamy, milk-based tea where the drink itself carries most of the flavour.

Other toppings exist beyond these two. Grass jelly, aloe vera, pudding, and red bean are all used in bubble tea shops, though popping boba and tapioca pearls remain the two most common toppings by far, and the two covered on this site. A fuller side-by-side comparison, including preparation and which suits which base, is covered in popping boba versus tapioca pearls.

How it is served

Bubble tea is almost always served cold, over ice, in a clear cup so the toppings are visible at the bottom. It is drunk through a wide straw, wider than a standard drinking straw, because the boba is too large to pass through an ordinary one. The wide straw is part of how the drink is eaten as much as drunk: each sip pulls up tea and a mouthful of boba together.

Hot bubble tea exists in some shops, usually for milk teas without popping boba, but the drink as a whole is understood and sold as a cold drink.

Making it at home versus buying it from a shop

In a shop, bubble tea is made to order: tea is brewed, boba is cooked fresh or kept warm through service, and the two are combined and sealed with a lid at the counter.

At home, bubble tea is most often made from a kit: sachets of tea powder or fruit syrup, sachets of boba, and a set of instructions, mixed with water or milk and topped with ice. Some kits use instant boba or instant tapioca, which skips the boiling stage that traditional pearls need. Others still call for a short boil. Checking the pack for words like "no boiling" or "no cooking" tells you which kind you have before you buy. A fuller comparison of what is in a typical kit and how to choose between them is covered in the guide to choosing a bubble tea kit.

Common questions

Is bubble tea served hot or cold?

Almost always cold, over ice. A small number of milk teas are served hot, but the category as a whole is a cold drink.

Do you chew bubble tea?

Yes, in part. The tea itself is drunk, but the boba at the bottom is chewed or bitten through, which is why bubble tea is often described as having something to eat as well as drink.

Why does bubble tea come with a wide straw?

Because the boba is too large to pass through a standard straw. A wide straw lets you pull up tea and boba together in the same sip.

Is bubble tea a tea or a dessert?

It sits between the two. The base is genuinely tea, or in some versions a fruit drink with tea in it, but the added sweetener and toppings push the finished drink closer to a treat than a plain cup of tea.

Bubble tea from TeaJoy

TeaJoy makes bubble tea in two formats: ready-to-drink cans, and kits you make up at home with water or milk. Both use popping boba or tapioca pearls, depending on the product, and the full range is set out on our bubble teas, including tea base, boba type and ingredients for each one. TeaJoy's canned bubble tea is 8.8 kcal and 2.0g sugars per 100ml, and is available in the cans collection. The make-at-home kits are in the home kits collection, and for readers deciding between the two, what bubble tea actually tastes like sets out how the different bases and toppings compare.

If you are choosing between a can from the fridge and a drink made to order at a counter rather than between a can and a kit, canned bubble tea vs bubble tea shops sets the two side by side.