Contrary to its name, there are no bubbles in the drink. Boba was invented in Taiwan; the pearly drink was first made in Taiwan. Boba is a chewy and creamy drink and it is great to refresh your mind. The boba tea is also called “bubble tea” and “pearl milk tea”. Boba is made from tea, fruit juice, coffee, or milk base with chewy balls clustered at the bottom of the cup. Over the past decade, Boba has not only been limited to Taiwan, but it has become a trend all over Asia, America, and Europe. Boba is a chunky drink, including fresh juice with fruit chunks to iced tea with tapioca pearls. To be precise, Boba is a drink that consists of milk, ice, black/white tea, and chewy pearls; everything is shaken together and served with a fat straw to accommodate the pearls that are settled at the bottom. The pearls are made from starch; it is white initially, hard and tasteless. Further, these hard pearls are boiled in huge vats and then caramelized in syrup for hours until they are transformed into those black, bouncy pearls that we have all been slurping. If we talk about the taste of Boba tea, well, it depends exactly on whether you order milk-based Boba or fruit-based Boba tea. But one thing is for sure that Boba tea is indeed sweet.
What is inside Boba Drink?
Before going deep into the flavors and tastes of Boba tea, it is important to know what goes inside the drink.
Generally, there are four steps to make a boba drink. There will be freshly brewed tea, milk, sweetener, and different toppings. Boba shops prefer using the loose-leaf to brew the tea to get the high concentration of the tea, and of course, the tea tastes better this way. For creamer or milk, they usually have several options, including; almond milk, soy milk, skimmed milk, oat milk, and regular dairy milk. As for sweeteners, only brown sugar syrup and plain white sugar syrups are used. Now for the most interesting and exciting part, the toppings. Several types of topping are available, including; tapioca pearls, pudding, grass jelly, aloe vera, popping Boba, fruit bits, and many more. What makes Boba the best is its toppings and texture indeed.
What Does Boba Taste Like?
All in all, the Boba tastes very sweet. The drink is very creamy and frothy with the texture of tapioca balls. The boba tea is cold but not icy cold and thick like milkshakes. If we talk about the exact flavor of the drink, it depends on whether you choose milk base or fruit base for your tea. To help you understand it better, you can think of juice or milkshake flavorings but certainly with a different texture. However, you can also order some exotic boba tea flavors, i.e. Passion Fruit Boba Tea, Lychee Boba Tea, Calamansi Boba Tea, Honeydew Bubble Tea, Papaya Bubble Tea, Star Fruit Bubble Tea, etc. If we talk about the pearls, they are chewy and flavorless; however, they absorb some of the drink’s flavor. The original and real flavor comes from the drink itself, and the pearls are more like there for texture only. You can always have other exotic add-ons in your boba drink, i.e. aloe vera, pudding, and grass jelly. The experience of boba drink is mainly those chewy and full of texture tapioca balls. Some boba shops offer more exotic flavors, which will eventually give the pearls a more pungent taste.
White and Black Tapioca Pearls
Both the black and white Boba come from the cassava root and most certainly have similar cooking instructions. Both are chewy in texture and can be used in the boba drink. Most cooks have white pearls in their kitchen, but it is not a hidden fact that the classic boba tea has black tapioca pearls. The black pearls look very exotic and attractive, in addition to how sweet they are. The black pearls have added brown sugar that gives the pearls black color and sweetness. Apart from the exotic black color and little sweetness from the brown sugar, there is no significant difference between white and black pearls.
Boba Tea Flavors
If we talk about the flavors of Boba, its basic flavor originates from the base of the tea that usually is green tea, black tea, or even coffee.
- Foam red tea: This type of Boba tea is made without tapioca pearls.
- Black tapioca tea: This contains classic black pearls in the drink.
- Fruit flavors: This type of tea has fruits in it, including; strawberry, peach, pineapple, banana, lychee, kiwi, and jackfruit.
- Bean flavor: Azuki bean or mung bean are used in this tea for subtle flavor and texture.
- Non-fruit: Coffee, mocha, ginger, caramel, almond, and chocolate are popular non-fruit flavors.
- Tapioca pearls: This type is chewy and has texture.
- Foam milk tea: It is the same but with milk added.
Conclusion
Now you know all about the Boba drink, from its taste to texture to variety to flavor. You can go ahead and try your first Boba tea since you have all the information regarding it now. There are several names for the Boba tea depending on the country and region; bubble tea, Boba tea, and pearl milk tea. Boba tea is a lot of fun to drink, all thanks to the interesting flavors and chewy pearls at the bottom of the cup. The drink contains tea mixed with fruit or milk, and it is best served cold. There are three varieties of bubble tea; milk-based, fruit-based, and hybrid, a mix of fruit and milk. The flavor of the tea depends on the base used. You can have many flavors with your milk and fruit-based tea. However, all variants of the tea have small tapioca pearls. And the most interesting part about Boba is that you can easily make it at home after finding the right ingredients in an Asian market.
Now that you know all about the taste and texture of the drink, enjoy drinking your boba tea!
