Please tell me about bubble tea!

[JrsyDebs]

A friend knows some people who have been traveling overseas, and she said these people love bubble tea, but she and I do not know what it is! I know it is available at Epcot WS, and it comes in different flavors, but that is the extent of my knowledge...
Has anyone ever tried it?
I told my friend that I would find out what bubble tea is, and I knew this would be the perfect place to find out!!
Debs

 

[sunny04]

I've never heard of this....you may want to post the question in the UK boards as well.

 

[Octoberbeauty]

I googled it. Here's what I found. Sounds good! http://www.bubbleteasupply.com/index.php?page=what.html

 

[trappednabox]

we have this here in Houston, and I don't like it!! Maybe it's just me, but it was weird. Kind of like frozen green tea with globs of goo in it.

 

[heather360]

I tried bubble tea once and I'll never try it again. You can usually get it in the Chinatown sections of major cities. I think it is offered in the China pavillion in EPCOT. I had it in San Francisco. There were many different flavors and the one I had was a green tea with milk and the whole thing was chilled. They call it bubble tea because there are large balls of tapioca (sp?) added to it. They give you an extra wide staw so that you can slurp up the tapioca balls as you drink the tea. The tapioca has a chewy jelly like consistency.

I think it's an acquired taste. I couldn't finish the cup that I had. Maybe I would have liked it more if it was sweetened a bit more although the texture to the tapioca was a bit too different for my taste.

 

[ducklite]

I think they sell it in Japan as well.

My son had it once, he says it was "alright".

Anne

 

[ncbyrne]

Lots of the Chinese restaurants in our area have it on the menu. Some places make it with the large tapioca, other small. I prefer the small as it's easy to dring thru a straw. With the large you need to eat the tapioca with a spoon when all the liquid is gone. I really like it - epecially the fruity flavors. DH can't stand the texture - but this is the same guy who gags on Jello!

 

[SoonerKate]

I really like bubble tea, but I'm not a fan of the kind they serve in Epcot. However, there's an asian grocery store around home that makes every flavor under the sun, so I've gotten extraordinarily picky.

 

[JrsyDebs]

Thanks for the great responses, everyone!
So, if I got this right, bubble tea is flavored iced tea with tapioca pearls in it. The pearls are usually black, and kind of have the consistency of gummy bears. You suck the pearls up through the straw.
IMHO, it does not sound very good, but it is apparently a hugely popular trend in some places...
Well, now I know what it is, and I can tell my friend about it.
Debs

 

[F1Julie]

I am addicted to Bubble Milk Tea. We have a shop that sells it around here and I drink it at least 3 times a week. You can get green or black milk tea. You can also choose a flavor syrup to be added to it. My favorite is mango. The tapioca is kind of like a little gummy ball that you suck up with your tea through a larger than average straw. I thought it was weird at first, but it really grew on me. I looked for it at Epcot and never found it. I wanted to compare it to what I drink at home.

 

[cdrn1]

It is a very strange concoction. I get one every time I am in Epcot. I just really like the texture of the tapioca. I usually end up tossing half of it but then I am compelled to get it again!

 

[bavaria]

Vancouver now has almost as many bubble tea places as Starbucks! My sister is a high school teacher in a school which is 85-90% Asian students, and most of them stop at one of the many bubble tea places on the way home.

Basically globs of tapioca - very much an acquired taste. Popular on the west coast ie California and Vancouver (don't recall seeing it much in Seattle or Portland though)