Boba is a funny word, right? But do you know what is the meaning of this funny word? The word “boba” refers to a large category of chunky drinks, from fresh juice with a lot of fruits to iced teas with pearls of tapioca.
Probably you heard a lot of different names when you heard about “boba”, right? Maybe you heard the name bubble tea or pearl milk tea.
Or Boba tea!
Whatever the name you heard, the drink is a mix of black tea, milk, ice, and tapioca pearls. You put all of this together, shake it very well, and then…
…you have a boba tea, or whatever name you want to call it!
So do you want to know what does boba taste like?
Keep reading and you will know all you need to know about boba tea before you taste it.
What Is Bubble Tea?
Well, bubble tea is tea invented in Taiwan in the 1980s. And usually, the recipe contains tea mix with milk or fruit. And the common way to serve this kind of drink is to serve it cold.
You can have your bubble tea in two varieties: fruit-flavored or milk-based.
And if you search very well you can find some hybrid versions, the fruit milk tea.
Almost any bubble tea comes with small tapioca pearls
If you want to star with the most popular types of bubble tea you can start with bubble milk green tea with tapioca or bubble milk tea with tapioca
In America, many bubble tea shops will sell ou milk smoothies that are based on the boba idea but without the tea ingredients.
If you don’t consume sugar, many boba shops offer a substitute for sugar. You can have your boba drink with stevia or agave instead.
So how many boba tea flavors do exist?
Well, a lot and next we are going to cover some
Boba tea flavors
Tea base: A tea base is usually a form of black tea, green tea, or even coffee.
- Fruit flavors: Some fruit flavors are green apple, strawberry, mango, peach, pineapple, banana, avocado, kiwi, jackfruit, watermelon, lychee, and passionfruit.
- Non-fruit flavors: some non-fruit flavors are pudding, chocolate, coffee, taro, mocha, sesame, ginger, rose, caramel, violet, barley, and almond.
- Tapioca balls: this is the most popular added chewy and there are some options to add more texture to the drink… just like green pearls that have a little bit of green tea flavor, or jelly cubes in many flavors such as mango, lychee, jelly, grass, and konjac.
- Snow bubble: here you can have your boba tea base with a flavoring blended with ice instead of coffee or tea base.
- Foam red tea: This is a type of boba tea made without tapioca.
- Beans: Mung bean or Azuki bean paste is also used to give the boba tea drinks a subtle flavor and texture.
- Black pearl milk tea: this type of boba tea has black tapioca pearls with it.
And with all that flavors and shapes what does boba taste like?
What Does Boba tea Taste Like?
Well, when you try your first boba tea you will see that is very sweet indeed. If you love a sweet taste go for it! It’s really good.
But the actual flavor? Well, it will depend on whether you order a milk-based or a fruit-based boba tea.
Is there any difference between black and white tapioca pearls?
Did you know that even though many boba shops have white tapioca pearls in their kitchens, they usually use black pearls in their boba teas?
The reason for that? Well, that happens because they are sweeter,
Black tapioca pearls have brown sugar added to them, and this is the reason why they are sweeter and of a different color as well.
Besides that, the difference between white and black pearls is none.
Both of them come from the cassava root and both are cooked the same way before they can be used in a bubble tea.
Can I make my boba tea at home?
Oh no, you don’t have a boba tea coffee or store near you, what can you do? Can you make your tea at home?
Yes, you can!
But you will need to go to an Asian market to find some of the boba tea ingredients. You cannot make boba tea with any of your regular ingredients you find in your regular market near you.
Or you could order those ingredients online. Nowadays that’s possible!
You will need to find and use the right pearls of tapioca. This is one of the keys to making a great boba tea.
Conclusion
If you want to try your first boba tea and you wanted to be more informed first, now you are.
There are many names for boba tea and it all depends on the region, country, or just the habit of the person saying it. You can call it boba tea, bubble tea, or pearl milk tea.
Boba tea was created in the 1980s in Taiwan. And usually, the recipe contains tea mix with milk or fruit. And the common way to serve this kind of drink is to serve it cold.
You can have your bubble tea in two varieties: fruit-flavored or milk-based. But in some places, you can find a hybrid bubble tea called “ fruit milk tea”.
Almost any bubble tea comes with small tapioca pearls. And you can have many types of flavors with your milk-based boba tea or fruit-based bubble tea. The taste of your boba tea will depend on which base you use.
So my suggestion? Try as many as you can to see which one is your favorite!
And if you don’t have any boba shop near you you can make your own boba at home.
But you will need to go to an Asian market to find some of the boba tea ingredients. Or just order some of those ingredients online.
Go and find out what does boba taste like.
