The History of the Taiwanese Tea: Boba and her Origins

Young people worldwide have fallen victim to a wicked virus, one which has transcended East-Asian oceans to the Western world - that is, an insufferable quench for bubble tea.

It seems that lately, everyone has become addicted to the delectable drink Londoners know and love as bubble tea, with Americans tending to refer to it as Boba. Whilst Western countries grapple (as usual) over which country’s vernacular is veritable, we ask the more important question: whom do we have to praise for the chewy creation - in other words, where did boba come from and how did it take over the world?

The Origin of Tapioca Pearls

Tapioca pearls are the gelatinous, oftentimes black, spheres which capsize to the bottom of your iced tea drink. Tapioca is a food starch extracted from the roots of the cassava shrub, grown in warm lands native to South America. During the Spaniard conquistadors’ colonisation of the Americas in the 17th Century, the Spanish brought cassava from Mexico to Asia for plantation. Ever since, the cassava plant has been a staple in many Asian cuisines, with tapioca used in gluten-free bread, puddings and thickeners.

The Origin of Boba

There have been a few debated claims of who founded boba and when, but one solid fact is universally acknowledged - boba originated in Taiwan, and can be traced back to the 1940s.

The most popular iteration of its origin story lies with mixologist Chang Fan Shu, who opened a tea shop in 1949 selling hand-shaken iced tea crafted with cocktail shakers. His practice revolutionised how Taiwan regarded their beverages: previously, cold drinks had been uncommon due to a lack of cooling appliances. People had also found the consumption of drinks for pleasure inappropriate during the wartime period, when rationing had made food items scarce and valuable.

In 1986, an entrepreneur drowning in debt, desperate for redemption after a failed business, decided to start an ice-tea shop. Tea shops were becoming popular, and every business owner was jumping on the band-wagon. Thus, Tu Tsong needed an edge. Out of pure accidental coincidence, he one day purchased a bag of a childhood favourite snack of his, fenyuan, and in his boredom dumped the load of pearl-like balls into his tea. He dubbed it, fittingly, ‘pearl tea’, a name which a lot of bubble tea shops still use today.

Why is it called ‘Boba’?

An odd moniker, how bubble tea got its cute nickname was indeed not so innocent: a barrow boy in Tainan sold his quota of teas by associating the spherical shape of tapioca pearls with movie star Amy Yip’s nickname, Boba, which loosely translates to ‘breasts’. The name quickly became widespread.