The History of Boba Tea

The Start of Tea

According to the Chinese legend, the first type of tea wasn't specifically Green or Black tea. But actually it was the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. It was discovered by accident after Emperor Sheng Nong was holding a cup of hot water when the leaves of the tree fell in. That was in 2737 BCE.

I Made Oolong Tea ( Camellia Sinensis tea)

I put a Camellia Tea bag into boiling water. I waited about 10 minutes for that bright brown color. After I took the tea bag out, I added honey to sweeten up the bitter tea.

What It Was Used For

After the discovery people would press the tea leaves in cakes (thick layers) and use pour boiling water in to drink, and sometimes even eat. They also believed that it would help with people's well-being and they used it for medical purposes.

Getting Green: Green Tea Becomes Popular

Back in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) green tea became well-known as the national drink of China. People drank it for taste and pleasure, as opposed to Oolong Tea (Camellia Sinesis Tea) . Later it replaced the traditional leaf cake style of tea that was used in everyday life.

I made this Matcha, I added Matcha powder in a cup with boiling water, then I mixed it all together with a whisk. I proceeded to add ice to cool it down and cold foam for taste.

Tea Comes To England

Let’s go the 1650s when tea first came to England. When it was in England, the British added sugar and cream into the tea and popularized tea parties and afternoon tea. Then in 1773 they started a Tea Act. An Act is where the government puts taxes on a object. All this eventually led to the Boston tea party, where people threw hundreds of tea crates overboard a ship in rebellion.

Boba Tea

Back in the 1980’s Liu Han-Chuich added tapioca pearls into her tea, and she later added that to the menu in her tea shop in Taiwan. The practice of adding tapioca pearls quickly spread to other countries in Asia, before finally reaching America in the 1990’s. From the start Boba was an immediate addictive success.

I bought a strawberry green tea, then I added lychee Jelly, cold foam, passionfruit popping boba, and strawberry hearts. This tea is from BOBER.

Modern or Ancient?

You may be wondering which version of tea is better. luckily for you, we tried tea from the Tang Dynasty till now.

Pros and Cons

Modern pros: Delicious , easy to find, available in a lot of flavors. Ancient pros: Traditional, good with honey, healthy. Modern cons: Addictive , really unhealthy, expensive. Ancient cons: Bitter without additives, caffeinated, not too likable.

Conclusion

To conclude, Boba isn't just a sweetly addictive drink, it’s a icon ranging from the Tang Dynasty till now.