On January 29, Google published an animated game on its site that asks users to prepare the ideal cup of bubble tea in response to requests from “a team of popular Doodle personalities.” Also referred to as boba tea or bubble milk tea, this Taiwanese beverage has become so well-liked outside of its homeland that it has even made an appearance in Thiruvananthapuram’s neighborhood cafés.
What is bubble tea?
Bubble tea is a sweet, tea-based drink made by mixing black tea with natural flavors and syrups, which can either be water-based or creamier varieties. The star of the drink is the chewy tapioca pearls. After they’re cooked, drained, and soaked in sweet syrup, they’re added to the tea to create the signature bubble tea experience.
Once a regional specialty, this beverage has gained international renown in recent decades. Whatever the flavor—honeydew, matcha, raspberry, or mocha—chewy bubbles produced from tapioca or fruit jelly is a requirement.
The invention of bubble tea, however, was a tasty accident, as are most unusual foods. According to The Survey in 2018, the drink’s inception dates back to 1987, when Liu Han Chieh, the proprietor of Chun Shui Tang Teahouse, intended to add cold tea to the menu. For fun, his product development manager Lin Hsiu Hui added tapioca balls to her iced tea, which led to the creation of bubble tea. Nowadays, the majority of Taiwanese teahouses provide it.
Today, Google honors the unveiling of Bubble Tea as a new emoji on this day in 2020 with an interactive game featuring Taiwan’s unique Formosan Mountain Dog.
More details on this treat can be found on Google’s blog, which claims that the tea’s origins may be traced back to the 17th century and traditional Taiwanese tea culture.
“Over the last several decades, waves of Taiwanese immigrants have carried this drink worldwide, and innovation on the original bubble tea has continued. New products, tastes, and combinations are continuously being tried in stores all over the world. The boba movement has spread to nations like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and more, and traditional tearooms around. Asia have also joined in,” the statement reads.