We Need to Talk About Bubble Tea – What’s the Fuss?

What's the deal with this Taiwanese bubble tea stuff? It looks hideous, but I admit, I've never tried it. Just recently, a friend of mine told me she thought it tasted like a candle. For that matter, I've never attempted to bite off a piece of a candle flavored or otherwise.

And what are those little floaty round things on top? You know what they look like, right? Also known as Boba Tea, the drink consists of tea, milk, ice, and those hideous-looking tapioca pearls.

Nasty little things! The drink is shaken together like a martini and served with a fat straw to accommodate the marbles of tapioca that cluster at the bottom of the cup.

Look, maybe this works for you, but personally, I DON'T WANT TO CHEW MY BEVERAGE! Call me old-fashioned. Think about it, you're relaxing at your favorite café enjoying your bubble tea beverage, and you suck on your straw and up flies one of those tapioca things into your mouth. Ewwww!

Those "pearls" are boiled inside huge bubbling vats and steeped in sugary caramelized syrup for hours until they're ready to be plopped in your bubble tea. But, I have an even better idea, instead of chewy little tapioca pearls, how about dropping little balls of milk chocolate into my Boba tea which I'm renaming 'ChocoTea.'

On the positive side, this adventurous beverage is available in various flavors such as chocolate and vanilla. In addition, you should know that the chewy tapioca balls are treasured in Taiwan.

Bubble or Boba Tea has caught on in the states, and if you haven't tried it yet and you're inclined to do so, it's available at Pho Vietnam and Papa Tea in Danbury. WARNING: DO NOT get one of those tapioca balls stuck in your nose.