Bubble Tea in Chinatown, NYC

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This week has been a hectic one, as I am sure you have all figured out from my lack of posts πŸ™‚
With all the frantic fun of Toy Fair (which I LOVE but wears me right out, LOL) there was little time for a whole lot else πŸ™‚ But on Thursday, Grace from Blessed Elements and I took the day off and went sightseeing in NYC, since it was her first time there! (Outside the Jacob Javits center, anyway!)

One of my favorite places in New York is Chinatown. Chinatown is really 2 places in one- one place is what tourists see- the other is a rich and tight knit community, and the largest Chinatown in the country. As a tourist, there is tons to see and do- and taste!

There are so many fun and different things to try- one of my favorites is Bubble Tea, which is really only found in primarily Asian areas. Miss Grace had never had one, so of course….

We got her a papaya (fresh fruit) bubble tea.
What is a bubble tea, you may want to know? I’ll clue you in.

Bubble tea is the name for pearl milk tea and other similar tea and juice beverages that originated in tea shops in Taichung, Taiwan during the 1980s. Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit syrup) and/or milk. Ice-blended versions of the drinks, similar to slushies, are also available, usually in fruit flavors.

One of the famous categories of bubble teas is “pearl milk tea” (also known as “boba milk tea” in parts of America), which contains small chewy balls made of tapioca starch, called “pearls” in Chinese (also known as “fenyuan” or “zhenzhu “). Pearls made of tapioca are also available in many places.

Two shops claim to be the creators of bubble tea. One is Chun Shui Tang teahouse in Taichung, Taiwan,where Liu Han Chie experimented with cold milk tea by adding fruit, syrup, candied yams, and tapioca balls in the early 1980s. The other is in Hanlin Teahouse in Tainan, Taiwan, who made tea using traditional white fenyuan, or tapioca, which has the appearance of pearls, supposedly resulting in the so-called “pearl tea.” Shortly after, Hanlin changed the white fenyuan to the black version that is seen most today.

You also need a MEGA straw for it, only special “bubble tea straws” will work. They need to be really large so that the pearls will fit through it. It can be a little disconcerting at first, and the balls are very chewy- but it’s fun and they are good. The drink is almost all the flavor, I find the balls to have only a small bit of flavor- but they are really fun and whimsical πŸ™‚

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Comments

  1. I have heard of this but never tried it. I will have to see if I can find it around here…

  2. Bubble tea is so good!

  3. that looks like such a fun drink i would love to try one

  4. Looks good. I’d love to try it.

  5. I’ve never heard of this before. Definitely interesting, but any fruit drink I’ll try. I’m in!

  6. I’ve never had bubble tea. It sounds yummy!

  7. I love bubble tea. They have a Lollicup Tea Zone place up here which makes both mini and mega boba plus jellies too.

  8. Thanks for the experience and the drink was great and fun. Plus I always love learning about different cultures.

  9. I had never heard of it before. I’m not a tea fan but this sounds good.

  10. I had Bubble for the first time in Oahu this october. Nummy!!!

  11. Love it! Thanks for sharing your day, your drink and your interesting insights! πŸ™‚ I’d never heard of Bubble Tea, but I will certainly make a point to try.

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