Taiwan, 1980s: the birth of an icon
The context: the tea is chilled
In the 1980s, Taiwan experienced a small revolution in its teahouses. The national drink, until now enjoyed hot and in silence, is beginning to venture outside its codes. It is served cold, shaken in a shaker, consumed while walking. A young, urban clientele demands something else — without turning their back on tea.
It is in this testing ground that the bubble tea sees the light of day.
An almost accidental invention
The most popular version of the story points to the tea room Chun Shui Tang, in Taichung. One day, during an internal meeting, an employee had the idea of adding tapioca pearls — until then reserved for desserts — to her cold milk tea. The result surprises everyone. The drink is on the menu. Success is immediate. Simple, almost accidental. But this gesture marks a lasting turning point.
But then, why “bubble” tea?
It is often believed that the "bubbles" of bubble tea, These are tapioca pearls. This is a received idea. Originally, the word "bubble" designates the foam that forms on the surface when you vigorously shake the tea in a shaker. A gesture that is not just aesthetic: it oxygenates the drink and homogenizes the flavors.
Over time, “bubbles” have taken on a double meaning in the collective imagination – that of foam and that of pearls. The two are now inseparable from the drink.
Tea, always at the heart
An extension of Taiwanese tea culture
Taiwan did not invent bubble tea by chance. The island is famous for its teas oolong exceptional, but also for its high quality black and green teas. The bubble tea was not built against this tradition — it is an extension of it.
Tea remains the backbone of the recipe. It is what gives character: black tea brings power, green tea offers freshness and lightness. Changing the base means changing the entire personality of the drink.
The founding ingredients
Even if the variations are infinite today, the original structure consists of a few simple elements:
| Element | Role |
|---|---|
| Brewed tea | The aromatic base, the soul of the drink |
| Milk or substitute | Roundness, softness |
| Tapioca pearls | The texture, the pleasure of chewing |
| Sugar or syrup | Taste balance |
| Shaker | Foam, the visual signature |
This minimal framework explains why the bubble tea can reinvent itself endlessly without ever losing its identity.
From Taiwan to the rest of the world
A lightning conquest in Asia
Since the 1990s, the bubble tea crosses Taiwanese borders. China, Japan and South Korea are adopting it, each in their own way, coloring it with their own codes. The drink fits naturally into urban lifestyles: we drink it in the street, we order it to take away, we personalize it.
And in France?
The arrival in the West took place at the turn of the 2000s, driven by the Asian diasporas in North America. In France, the phenomenon takes a little longer – but it is firmly established. First acclaimed by a young audience curious about Asian cultures, the bubble tea today appeals to a much broader spectrum of consumers, particularly those who are attached to the quality of the tea and the authenticity of the ingredients. At Kusmi-Tea we are keen to offer you a recipe for Bubble Tea with organic teas, natural flavors, and fruit pearls made in France!
Towards a bubble tea more demanding
A drink that has sometimes lost track
The freedom of customization is one of the great strengths of bubble tea. But it also had a perverse effect: certain versions relegated tea to the background, in favor of artificial flavors and excessive doses of sugar.
This is not inevitable. It’s even an opportunity to return to basics.
The new wave: less sweet, better infused
More and more consumers are looking for bubble teas balanced, less sweet, made from quality teas. This trend is not a return to the past — it is a return to meaning. Using an exceptional tea as a base restores the aromatic complexity of the drink, limits unnecessary additives, and rediscovers the elegance of the original recipe.
