Pearl Tea

So far, I know of 4 places in the Seattle area that serve Milk Tea (NOTE: sorely out of date as of Spring 2001): Ambrosia in the International District (619 S King St 623-9028) Yummy House Bakery in the ID (522 6th Ave S 340-8838) Ten Ren Tea Company, Ltd. in ID (506 S King St 749-9855) Great Wall Asian "supermall" down by Ikea (Champion Gourmet, the first shop on your left as you walk in) Related Links: "Official" Pearl Tea web site Bubble Tea Online Seattle Times: The Great Wall Mall Our office rates Pearl Milk Tea

Other notes I've found:

There's a new tea from Taiwan. It doesn't tout health benefits, won't put you in a Zen state of mind and is not reputed to improve your libido.... At the bottom of every cup, a pile of gumball-size tapioca pearls -- round, black and rubbery -- sits, plainly visible. They're sucked up through a fat straw and -- it need be noted -- chewed, not swallowed [whole]. Tapioca iced tea, also known as pearl milk tea or bubble tea, has been popular in Taiwan for at least 10 years but in the last few years has gained a devoted following in the West, especially in cities with large Chinese populations, such as New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area. Source

Pearl tea is the current cool drink among young Asians in suburban Richmond and in Chinatown. It's a concoction of tea, condensed milk and ice, plus marble-sized balls of tapioca that hover near the bottom. It's served in a plastic cup with a straw wide enough to let you suck up those slick tapioca balls - a somewhat strange sensation if you're not used to it. Source

TEN REN TEA & GINSENG CO. Behind a long counter, Chinese-American hipster Terry Zhang ladles dozens of black tapioca balls into plastic cups. He adds milk, sugar, ice and flavored teas, such as honeydew, taro (a Chinese root) and barley embryo (which even Zhang has yet to try). Customers slurp the tapioca through thick straws, experiencing Taiwan's hottest craze: tea shakes ($2.50). "Tapioca in Taiwan is like Coca-Cola here," says Zhang, 20. Since Ten Ren opened in May, locals have been curious about the low-calorie, high-fiber drinks with the gunk on the bottom, and for good reason: The black tea shake with the gummy bear-like tapioca clumps is liquid bliss.135-18 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing (718-461-9305). Subway: 7 to Flushing-Main St. 10am-8pm. Source

Milk Tea: Almost every block is a store serving nearly a hundred varieties of flavored milk teas. This is rather surprising considering how seriously Chinese take their tea, and that they supposedly don't like to have it with milk. Everyone's favorite drink is "Pearl Milk Tea" which comes with lots of tapioca balls which need to be slurped up with an extra wide straw. For the curious, I know that this drink is now available in Los Angeles and New York in the Taiwanese neighborhoods. Source

Taiwanese pearl teas. Iced sweetened-milk teas are spiked with a ladleful of pearl-sized tapioca balls for texture at Fair Bee Coffee & Tea Shop. Source

(ChenChuNaiCha) Milk tea with tapioca-like stuffs in it. The most popular drink in summer. You must drink it with a big straw to suck these "pearls". (Yummy!) Source

Tapioca pearls can also be added to drinks; in fact, in Manhattan's Chinatown I sipped tea that had "black tapioca pearls" in it. I have since learned that there is no such thing as black tapioca--all tapioca starch is naturally white. The black pearls are actually white tapioca pearls that have been dyed black. Source

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