What is Bubble Tea!?

Bubble tea, aka Boba Tea, Milk Tea, Pearl Tea among other things depending on the region, is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Taichung in the 1980's. Most bubble tea recipes contain a tea base shaken with fruit and/or milk, to which chewy tapioca balls, fruit jellies or other fun treats are added. The shaking causes frothy bubbles to rise to the top, which is where the name "bubble tea" comes from, as opposed to the pearls added to the tea.
​Bubble tea to Taiwan is what coffee shops are to us here in the U.S.A.