Tapioca Fever →

Recently, in Japan, there has been a trend that goes around the society involving not only teenagers, but also adults and children. Tapioca, or bubble tea, or boba tea - whichever you would like to call it - is a drink that has edible chewy black balls in it. The drink can be in any form: milk tea, chocolate, coffee, tea, etc. Tapioca has actually been in Japan and many other countries for many years now, but for some reason, the trend is suddenly high these days. A week ago, I tried a new tapioca in Nakano. It was just open not long ago, and since I live near there, I felt like I have to try it. It tastes pretty good, and it costs around 400-600 yen. I tried the chocolate flavor, and my friend tried the seasonal pineapple flavor.

It's Boba Time!

Who doesn’t like boba? Boba is another term for bubbles that are made of tapioca. It was first invented in Tainan, Taiwan. These ‘magic pearls’ elevate the flavour of a milk tea, that’s why people started to add them into drinks. It has sweet flavour and chewy texture that comes from the tapioca itself, or in Taiwanese this chewy sensation is often called as QQ. Boba got so famous back in the late 20th century and began to spread all over the world, including Japan. Japanese people are crazy for boba, they are even willing to queue for more than an our to enjoy one cup of bubble milk tea. The first time I tried bubble milk tea, I feel like it’s becoming my new favourite drink of all time. However, I don’t need to worry about my boba intake in Japan, since they are literally everywhere! It is not too hard to find, although it costs more expensive than those in Taiwan. Nowadays, boba is not only served as a plain flavour, but also mixed with other additives like brown sugar, green tea, and many others. This undoubtedly is a game changer in food industry.