Pearl milk tea

Last summer I discovered the existence of what has become one of my favorite drinks: pearl milk tea with green tea and coconut. But what am I talking about? Now I'll explain...

By Alessandra Ivaldi / 22/09/2025

For a while now you can find even in Europe places that sell so-called bubble teas, i.e. drinks based on tea and fruit syrups, characterized by the presence of unmissable small “spheres” (the so-called bubbles) that explode in the mouth and release the most varied flavors: strawberry, mango, litchi, green apple, blueberry, peach... Well, if you know what I am referring to, remove it from your mind for a moment, because what I want to talk about today is the “real” bubble tea or, better said, the variant that gave rise to the one with the explosive bubbles.

I am talking about a drink invented in the 1980s in Taiwan and subsequently spread to other countries on the Asian continent, especially to China, where today it can be purchased in every corner of the cities. It comes in many variations and is called by different names: boba naicha or zhenzhu naicha in Chinese or pearl milk tea in English.

It is usually served in large glasses, sealed at the top with cellophane, which allows you to transport the drink comfortably, without the risk of spilling the contents. Some believe that this is precisely the secret behind the overwhelming success of pearl milk tea, i.e. its practicality and ease of transport, which make it particularly appreciable by younger generations, who have a frenetic lifestyle and prefer alternatives “from fast food” compared to traditional Chinese tea houses.

The original recipe involved the use of black tea, condensed milk, sugar syrup or honey and tapioca, a starch derived from the roots of cassava, a plant native to South America. Today the main ingredients behind this drink are the following: tea sprouts or leaves, red sugar, brown sugar and tapioca. In addition to these, many other “optional” ingredients are provided, such as milk, coconut milk and various fruity flavourings, added in the form of powder, pulp or syrup and essential to give to the drink the most varied flavours.

All ingredients, except tapioca, are mixed in a shaker before being poured into the glass. Tapioca is an essential element, but it is not shredded together with the rest. It comes in the form of small dark pearls with a rubbery consistency. The cellophane film that covers the glass is pierced with a particularly wide straw, so as to allow the tapioca pearls to be “sucked in”. The pearls are then chewed and eaten between one sip of tea and another. Therefore pearl milk tea is sometimes called a “snack drink”, which can be eaten and drunk at the same time.

Tapioca pearls, which are believed to have digestive properties, are naturally white, but become transparent and chewy once cooked and, by adding brown sugar, take on the dark color familiar to all lovers of pearl milk tea. Jellies of different shapes, diced or ball-shaped, or pieces of fruit are often added to tapioca. The most popular flavors in this sense are coconut, litchi, mango or coffee.

Although originally only black tea was used, today pearl milk tea can also be prepared with green, white and oolong tea. There is also a variant called yuenyeung and prepared with black tea, coffee and milk. And for those with a sweet tooth, there is a further surprise: in some places, pearl milk tea is served in one large glass along with ice cream or fruit!

As already explained, this type of tea can be enjoyed in its hot variant in winter or cold in summer. The latter mode has become the most popular. In this regard, the ice-blended version is particularly widespread, in which ice is added and everything is blended to give to the tea an almost creamy consistency.

Strange as it may seem to you, in China there is only one drawback linked to the consumption of pearl milk tea, namely its exaggerated popularity. In some places the waiting queues for a single glass of tea can reach up to half an hour! To avoid the problem, it is often possible to book your tea well in advance through special telephone apps, a choice particularly recommended by the most famous pearl milk tea sellers.