Food

Sasha on the Scene: Terrible Tapioca

by Sasha Passero

Thursday April 5, 2007

Downtown in SoHo the other night, I was persuaded to walk what I thought would be a few blocks down to Chinatown in search of the strange new phenomenon that is taking over America: bubble tea. Apparently, though, it isn’t that new. And little did I know what trouble I was getting myself into.

Bubble tea is said to have originated in Taiwan in the 1980’s at a tea stand where kids stopped on their way to school in the morning. What started as a simple tea drink progressed to adding fruit flavors and later tapioca balls and wide straws to accommodate the elaborate drink.

Originally bubble tea was served as a hot drink, known as black tea. This drink included the typical tapioca pearls, condensed milk, and honey. And like any other seemingly marketable product as it became more popular different variations were created. The trends then moved to iced versions with fruit flavorings as to make the bitter taste sweet. Later real fresh fruits were integrated.

Bubble tea was a huge fad in the 1990’s among Asian teen culture, but it has just recently hit our shores in mainstream fashion. Now bubble tea shops are popping up in major cities across the country. The trend for Americans is said to have begun in the city of San Gabriel, California, and oddly enough it spread throughout my stomping grounds of southern California.

Don’t be fooled by the title of the tea, though, because it really isn’t filled with what I would call bubbles, and in my opinion it makes the drinker feel like anything but being in a bubbly mood!

The term “bubble” actually refers to the wretched tapioca balls that one is forced to endure throughout the ingestion of the drink, hence the wide straw that accompanies the bubble tea Beyond the “bubbles” bubble tea comes in two slightly different forms: fruit flavored and milk flavored.

Some of the more popular flavors today include strawberry, passion fruit, chocolate and coconut. These flavorings are usually added by powders. The “bubbles” are created by boiling tapioca balls until they are cooked thoroughly, and while still malleable they then are cooled and last about seven hours.

As per my experience I have to say that the trend is lost on me. If, however, you enjoy having what feels like tapioca snot balls being sucked down your throat, the best place for bubble tea is Ten Ren Tea Time on Mott Street in Chinatown.

If you’re not a fan either, and find yourself being dragged won there, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the appetizer dishes— all under three dollars. For more info in the hot new teahouses in Chinatown, and to learn how to make bubble tea in the comfort of your own home, check out explore explorechinatown.com.

Sound delicious? Next time you’re in the city, visit:

Ten Ren Tea Time
79 Mott Street
New York, New York