While everybody is talking about the Oscars, I’m going to talk about tea! Boba milk tea to be exact, something that is not widely available in Europe (yet).
Boba milk tea (also called bubble tea) originally came from Taiwain in the 1980’s. It first spread to nearby East Asian countries, then Canada, then Chinatown in New York City and finally to the West Coast!
Boba tea is a sweet tea that is usually served cold. There are A LOT of different recipes, but most boba teas contain a black tea mixed with fruit flavors and/or milk. And here comes the best part: they add tapioca balls to the drink! Tapioca is also known as ‘cassave’ in The Netherlands or Manioka in Portuguese speaking countries like Cape Verde. Click here for a picture of tapioca and here for a picture of the tapioca balls before they are added to the drink. The chewy tapioca balls are commonly called ‘pearls’.
After the pearls are added to the tea, it is then shaken to mix the ingredients. The end result is a deliciously refreshing (ice cubs are added as well) drink!
The first time I tried boba tea (a few years ago in L.A.), I didn’t like it so much. What can I say, it wasn’t love at first sight… I had never had a drink with ‘chewy bits’ in it, so it felt ‘weird’ to me. But now, I’m hooked! I really enjoy boba tea! 
And this is when I had my first boba tea, back in 2007! I believe this was strawberry milk.
Since I’ve been living here I’ve discovered that my favorite flavor is honey milk with pearls, from Verde Tea Cafe (see pic above, together with the delicious piece of cheese cake). Yummy!
Have you ever tried it? What’s your favorite flavor?
