Bubble Tea
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Bubble tea is a beverage of Taiwanese origin that is popular throughout Asia and gaining popularity in the West. In the West the term usually refers to Pearl Milk Tea.
In Taiwan "Bubble Tea", a literal translation of a Chinese term, refers to a modern method of beverage preparation: to efficiently and homogenously mix various ingredients in these drinks (e.g., sugar, powdered milk, tea, and ice), drink makers often shake the tea up as bartenders do with cocktails. Thusly prepared, a layer of foam forms on the surface, and any tea so prepared can be called bubble tea. "Foam black tea" (traditional Chinese: 泡沫紅茶; simplified Chinese: 泡沫红茶; pinyin: pàomò hóngchá; literally "bubble black tea") and "foam green tea" (traditional Chinese: 泡沫綠茶; simplified Chinese: 泡沫绿茶; Hanyu Pinyin: pàomò lǜchá; Tongyong Pinyin: pàomò lyùchá;literally "bubble green tea") are also common drinks made by shaking sweetened tea. After Pearl Milk Tea was brought to non-Asian countries, it was given the name "bubble drink." Since the most notable difference between bubble tea and other tea is the tapioca at the bottom of the drink, some assumed that the "bubble" in "bubble tea" referred to these pearls, though the frothy layer created from shaking the drink is what gives "foam (or bubble) tea" its name. The pearls in "pearl milk tea," however, do refer to the tapioca "pearls."