The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

TONE
We want to hear your voice!

Which school event do you most look forward to this year?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Pearl Tea: Eccentric but appealing

Imagine the taste of an ice-cold mocha on a hot summer’s day. Now add the feeling of soft-on-the-outside-but-gummy-on-the-inside marble-sized balls, and the result is pearl tea, a refreshing beverage introduced in Taiwan in the early 80s.

Ten years ago, chances would have been that the mention of pearl tea, or the sight of a beverage containing gummy balls might have been fairly peculiar to the average Californian. However, over the last decade, pearl tea has spread across the state and to various other areas across the nation. Found in small private tea bars and large chains alike, the Taiwanese treat has had quite a significant success in the Bay Area. The Black Pearl and Live Café are but two examples of pearl tea cafes, which as an ensemble have rapidly spread to various regions in North America according to Bubble Tea Supply, an American-based leading Pearl Tea company.

In Taiwan, pearl tea went through a period of evolution in becoming what it is known as today. According to whatscookingamerica.net, a culinary recipe site, a leading source on tea history, in the early 80s tea vendors would assemble around schools toward the end of the day so that when leaving school, children would stop and buy refreshments. Eventually, vendors started selling cold tea due to summer heat. Soon after, they added fruit flavouring to the drinks, which attracted an increased amount of customers. To get the tea and the flavouring to mix, one had to shake the two ingredients which created bubbles. As a result, the beverage was given the name bubble tea.

According to Bubble Tea Supply, Taiwanese tea vendor Liu Han-Chieh, decided to add tapioca pearls to his teas so as to emphasise the bubble aspect of bubble tea. The new "bubbles" were a hit among school children, largely due to their intriguing gummy texture.

The same texture, since its introduction in the U.S., has not only captured the taste buds of children, but for the most part appeals to members of all age groups. According to server Clara Aranovich of the Black Pearl tea bar in Palo Alto, a customer’s age usually is not a factor in determining whether he/she will enjoy the tea. "We get the whole spectrum, mostly students during the day since we get a lot of people from Stanford, but we also get a lot over 40 later. We even get senior citizens," Aranovich said.

When pearl tea made the transition from Asia to America in the early 90s, it was primarily found in areas with high Asian population, such as San Francisco or Vancouver, due to the fact that it was a part of Asian culture. However, according to Tea.co.uk, over the last decade the beverage has spread across California and to other parts of Canada such as Toronto, from which it has spread to other U.S. states like New York.

No longer concentrated solely in highly Asian areas, the Taiwanese treat has been made increasingly available to people of other nationalities. However, in doing so, different branches of tea bars have formed. On one hand, you may find a tea bar like the Black Pearl, which with its English menus and signs is primarily focused towards non-Asian customers. On the other are for the most part entirely Asian bars, like Lucy’s Tea Bar or Tea Era, both in Mountain View, whose main customers are people of Asian background looking for a traditional Taiwanese style pearl tea.

As a result of the creation of the two separate branches, the drink has further evolved from its emergence in America. As Black Pearl head chef Alex Rosten explains, due to the high level of smoking in Asia, teas tend to be made more sweet in Asian tea bars than in American-focused ones, due to the fact that people who smoke usually crave sweet things. "In general teas in Asia are a lot sweeter because people tend to smoke. Here [Black Pearl], we try to make our teas have more of a distinct flavour," Rosten said. Thus, by making the transition to America, pearl tea has continued evolving, creating the likes of pearl tea smoothies, a tangible manifestation of American influence.

Despite the many American variations of the beverage, the traditional pearl milk tea remains a common favorite. Enzo Njoo, a sophomore at Paly, says that despite the fact that American tea bars usually offer several variations of pearl tea, nothing can beat the real thing. "I think that the variations are not necessary because regular pearl tea is already good enough," Njoo said.

Paly senior Marco Fossati-Bellani supports that view, stating that, "Regular pearl milk tea is good enough that I don’t even need to start experimenting with different flavours and styles." Pearl tea is a common favourite, and according to Rosten is likely to spread. "In Asia it’s like Starbucks. Its everywhere. Here it’s more of a fad but it’s spreading," said Rosten.

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

All The Paly Voice Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *