~241 cal · 4g protein · 49g carbs · 4g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Glass of milk tea with black tapioca pearls
🇹🇼 Taipei
Invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, bubble tea (zhenzhu naicha) took the world by storm: sweet, cold milk tea poured over chewy tapioca "pearls" cooked in brown sugar and sipped through an oversized straw. Endlessly customizable, it began in Taichung tea houses and is now Taiwan's most famous export in a cup.
Sign in to save recipes to your book and leave reviews.
Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 2 —
•
1/2 cup tapioca pearls
•
1/3 cup brown sugar
•
2 cups strong black tea
•
1 cup milk
Instructions
1
Boil the tapioca pearls until soft and chewy, then toss with the brown sugar and a splash of water to make a syrup.
2
Brew the black tea strong and let it cool.
3
Spoon the syrupy pearls into glasses and add ice.
4
Pour over the cold tea and milk, stir, and serve with a wide straw.
Taiwanese tea-house invention.
Ratings & reviews
Sign in to rate this recipe once you’ve cooked it.
No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Taipei. A city that argues nightly over the best beef noodle soup.
🗺️
Taiwan. Night-market island with a noodle-soup obsession.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
More from Taiwan
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Chewy wheat noodles in a dark, star-anise beef broth with melting shank and pickled mustard greens.
Dan Bing
A soft, chewy egg crepe rolled up and sliced — Taiwan's favorite hot breakfast off the griddle.