What is bubble tea exactly?

It’s a drink (maybe with tea in it, maybe not) that has tapioca balls in it as well (hence the bubbles)

In one word. Delicious.

but yea, what dalepetrie said

right, its a drink with Boba, little tapioca balls.

It is from Taiwan originally, I think.

Most “bubble tea” places sell a variety of green and black teas, milk teas, pudding teas, juices, slushies, “snows” etc. all of which you can add the “Boba” too. The Boba doesn’t have much of a taste itself, but is soft and chewy.

So you drink it through a wide straw and suck up the Boba with the drink, then chew on them. Some people are horrified by this sensation, some people love it.

I love it:)

Heaven.

I don’t like balls in my drinks.

If you think the balls are weird, definitely don’t try the pudding tea either.

Its just like tea, with a blob of pudding floating in it.

it’s damn tasty.

there’s a hookah bar down the street from the club I bartend at that’s open until 5am.

After a busy night there’s not much better than walking down there with a couple co workers and having some Snow and hash. mmmmhhmmmmm

Hey, I want to try this….like now. Are these the same tapioca balls you’d buy for making pudding or are they a different variety prepared specifically for the tea purpose. I love tapioca and I have the balls! See ya…..Gary aka wtf

@whatthefluther

When I’ve had it at Vietnamese Rest. that’s exactly what they looked like to me, but perhaps a slight bit larger maybe? You could probably call up any nearby Viet Restaurant and ask them about it.

@Buttonstc…Thank you! I’m rather adventurous and do have the larger sized balls. I shall try and report back.

Well, before posting above note, I thought it best to actually put my hands on those balls, and as I feared, it appears @sccrowell has moved them from their normal location in the pantry. Thus, the taste test has been postponed until she gets home for lunch or after work, at which time she can directly hand me my balls. Until then, and the subsequent taste test….. see ya…..Gary aka wtf

at which time she can directly hand me my balls. Until then, and the subsequent taste test…..
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And you certainly deserve it you cheeky little monkey (as Mike Myers would say) :)

ha ha ha

what’s a tapioca ball?

@Lynne

It’s like a grain of rice except that it is literally round like a ball and 4x or so larger.

It is cooked very similarly to rice also except that rice is usually used in savory dishes and tapioca in sweet.

ooh…interesting…we don’t have them here… well not where I live anyway..the bubble teas I mean..I’m sure they have tapioca.. :-/

No Vietnamese Restaurants?

Presumably there other types of Asian restaurants, Chinese etc. You could try asking them about Bobo. That’s what they’re called.

In many Asian rest. they make things not listed on the menu since most native born Asians are not enthusiastic eaters of most of the Americanized (bastardized) food so loved by most here in the US—Chow Mein being a prime example.

I only had bubble tea once in Toronto…it was odd the juice tasted awesome but the texture and experience of drinking it made me want to barf..its amazing how sensitive you can be to stuff you put in your mouth

Yeah you’re right. It’s definitely an acquired taste. I happen to like squishy stuff like that but many find that texture off-putting. It’s sort of like thinned out tapioca pudding.

@Buttonstc well either texture is fine just not together i mean its probably some evolutionary kick back where you shouldnt have lumps in liquid cuz it means its rotten…its has a sort of weird feeling like your drinking sick or something

I have a friend that says it is like chewing on whale blubber.

But still, it’s fantastic.