Talk:Bubble tea/Archive 1

Vandalism
Hi, I restored the recipe text back to its former incarnation since some user Lauraa changed the first line to include some inapprorpiate text for this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.206.72.82 (talk) 16:01, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Variants section looks like an advertisement
Seriously. "add equally tantalizing texture". "Aloe, egg pudding, sago, taro balls can also be found in most tea houses to complete the perfect cup of tea." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.23.224.17 (talk) 23:00, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Good Article
Currently in Taipei, and a work collegue from Taiwan bought me some of this bubble tea, and said he did not know how to say what the bubbles where, he only knew "pearl white tea", a quick trip to Wikipedia revealed all. Thanks... --Mgillespie 08:59, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Name of article
"Pearl milk tea" is much more common than "Boba milk tea" (1,680 v. 238) on google. --Jiang

However, "Boba tea" returns 1270 hits. RickK 07:41 26 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Aren't the commonly used black pearls made out of taro root instead of cassava, and hence aren't tapioca? --68.77.122.61 12:58, 27 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I moved the article to "bubble tea". Everyone I know calls it "bubble tea"; furthermore, a Google search for "bubble tea" returns 40300 results, far more than for any of the other names above. &mdash;Lowellian | Talk 18:24, Oct 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * Interesting. Well, no one I know ever refers to it as "bubble tea".  Most people I know refer to it as "pearl tea" or "pearl milk tea".  Sometimes I hear people call it "Boba".  BTW, I live in NorCal. &mdash; J3ff 23:28, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Same thoughts as J3ff. I've heard most of the other names in the list EXCEPT bubble tea, but I guess it's just a California-vs-the-U.S. thing. EnsignYu 05:36, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I've only ever heard it called "Boba" --Dakart 18:50, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I take offense when Google counts are used as a source of reverence like this. Like it's mentioned in many article discussions, Wikipedia is meant to be an encyclopedia, not a dictionary. The articles describe facts, not usage. As for the actual name, it's like debating if tofu or bean curd is the proper name for an Asian soy food. They're both correct and approximately interchangeable. What you use for the name is more of a reflection of how mentally close you are to Asia.

I'm from a Taiwanese family living in California, and we've always called it Pearl Milk Tea. (Or more precisely, Zhen Zhu Nai Cha.) It wasn't until about 3 years ago where I heard it called "Boba", which to my understanding is street slang in Taiwan for Pearl Milk Tea. From my understanding, "Bubble" is an American corruption of "Boba", and I never heard the term until I moved outside California. Viltris 05:37, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

This whole article disturbs me as being imprecise, and it begins with the title. Bubble tea and Pearl Milk Tea are not the same thing. Each has its own distinctive name in Mandarin. It was Pearl Milk Tea that was invented here in Taichung, not Bubble Tea. [User:Ludahai|Ludahai]]

Everyone I know calls it a pearl shake (and not pearl milk tea since there are many different flavors like chocolate, mango, strawberry and creme brule in the Philippines) and that was the search query I used to try to find this article (which states that it's only around 8% accurate in the search results). This is the first time I've ever heard of Bubble tea in my whole life so I do hope this gets resolved by someone who knows their pearl shakes all over the world. -anonymous


 * According to 珍珠奶茶,
 * 在台灣，有一陣子將使用大顆粒粉圓的珍珠奶茶稱為波霸奶茶，但後來珍珠奶茶變成一種通稱；反而是在國外較常聽見波霸（Bubble）這一名詞. 特別是在北台灣，珍奶店通常只賣「珍珠奶茶」–通常是大顆的粉圓.


 * (translation) In Taiwan, there was a time when the Milk tea made using bigger pearls were called "Boba Milk Tea", but "Pearl Milk Tea" became the common name for it. It is in overseas that the name "Boba (bubble)" is more common. Especially in North Taiwan, shops only sell "Pearl Milk Tea", usually with bigger pearls.


 * It's not sourced, but it does back up the claim that it is more commonly called as Pearl Milk Tea in Taiwan / China, where it originated. --antilivedT 10:09, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Having living through these periods, and also understand English, perhaps I can clarify these terms. In the early 1980s, there were tea shops (akin to coffee shops) popular in Taiwan that served beverages and Western style snacks. These shops served predominantly black tea shaken in a cocktail shaker, therefore they are called "Bubble Black Tea Shops," which describes the bubbles in the tea.

Later on, mini theaters start to become popular (shops that show movies in private boothes, called MTV in Taiwan in the 80s). These theaters serve snacks and drink to the customers, most often Bubble Black Tea. However, in order to attract customers who are usually teenagers, they start to experiment with the variety of beverages by mixing drinks to create different colors and flavors, and give each drink a hip name. This was about the time when mass innovation in drinks were starting to be seen in Taiwan.

Pearl Milk Tea in an innovation by mixing milk tea with traditional Taiwanese tapioca pearls (粉圓）. These pearls are bout 1cm in diameter. When people introduced larger pearls into the drink, they call them Boba, which means is a Hong Kong term describing big breasts.

So to recap, while all three terms are used in English, they actually have different original meanings. Bubble Tea means tea shaken in cocktail shaker that started this trend in Taiwan. Pearl Milk Tea is the general term for the tea drink with tapioca pearls. Boba Milk Tea is the one that has large pearls. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.162.105.165 (talk) 00:48, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Literal meaning
are you sure that boba properly translates to "dominatrix of balls"? dominatrix is the feminine form of dominator. i don't think that's a proper translation. boba does refer to the texture of women's breasts though. -j3ff


 * I don't believe so either. To me, it just means "busty", as in describing huge female breasts, maybe like those possessed by overweight women or just silicon-enhanced. :o) --Menchi 10:39, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)


 * Regardless of correctness, it sounds obscene to me (as written here). --24.226.28.65 03:36, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)


 * It is obscene. It is also correct, though. Viltris 05:38, 19 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Boba means "breasts" in Chinese. And I do speak Chinese. -- CH


 * I don't have any source on this besides my friend who owns a gourmet tea shop and is very knowledge able about teas, but the term "bubble tea" in english may have nothing to do with boba or the tapioca balls at all. According to her websited:
 * "Bubble Tea originated in the early 80's in Taiwan. It first came about by shaking Black and Green Tea with sugar and ice which formed a frothy head of bubbles at the top giving it its name. Later milk teas were developed and all kinds of flavors can be mixed in too. You can also get a flavored slush. The Tapioca Pearls are chewing gummy balls place at the bottom of the drink to be sucked up through a very wide straw. So you drink refreshing tea and get a fun snack at the same time. There are many different people around the world making these wonder teas, but we believe that we have the secret recipe for the perfect cup and the highest quality ingredients directly from our factories in Taiwan. No order is too small or too large."
 * (http://houseofcha.net/cha/bubbletea.asp)
 * This seems fairly possible considering that many knowledgable people consider the bevarage without the tapioca pearls to still be bubble tea. --samusamuSamusamu 16:22, 2 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The "literal" meaning of "boba" (波霸) would actually be something like "mighty wave." 波 (bo) literally means wave, while 霸 (ba) literally means "mighty." The term originated in Hong Kong, where 波 took on the additional meaning as the transliteration of "ball," and can refer to a variety of round objects, and in the case of 波霸, that of the female breasts. Taken in that sense, 波霸 can then be interpreted as "mighty breasts," which therefore implies a woman with large breasts. In context to 波霸奶茶 (Boba Milk Tea), the "mighty [large] ball [round object]" refers to the large "tapioca" balls, because of its relative size to regular tapioca. Glenn W (talk) 18:58, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Photo request
May we have a photograph please? -- Kaihsu 19:47, 2004 Aug 1 (UTC)
 * Nope.
 * I want a photograph too.

I want one tooo... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.48.185.54 (talk) 22:15, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

Let's all get a photograph

and then some milk tea! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.73.134.114 (talk) 07:20, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Inconsistency in terminology used
This article is inconsistent with respect to the terminology that it uses to refer to bubble tea; this is most apparent in the Availability section where both "boba" and "pearl milk" is used and "bubble tea" is not. Also, "bubble tea shop", "bubble tea lounge", and "bubble tea house" are more commonly used than "bubble tea café" AFAIK. I suggest that the Taiwan-centric terminology be made secondary to the North American/English.

--UTSRelativity 03:27, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Passing fad
I reside just north of a predominantly pan-Chinese immigrant neighborhood (a new so-called "Chinatown" in the suburbs, so to speak). A number of mom-and-pop boba beverage stores have frequently come and gone in the area and the major chains currently dominate. Tough business. Could this be "McDonaldization"? Could boba be a passing fad as well?

I think the bubble tea craze has dwindled a bit, but Asian communities still love tea shops and cafes. You're right, it's a tough business, especially the tea shops in Asia.. there's one on every street corner. Tea shops have become more creative though with new add-ins replacing tapioca, such as aloe or grass jelly. Another drink served at bubble tea stores in Taiwan now is something called an iced milk honey boba drink. Joycenyupimco (talk) 16:55, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

How popular is this stuff really? There's even a boba tea place at one of the local malls in jacksonville, florida


 * I haven't seen any in the Boston area, not in malls anyway. The stuff is utterly unfamiliar to me. I'll have to take a look the next time I'm in the local Asian superette, though. Dpbsmith (talk) 00:36, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * Several years ago, I'd only seen it in chinatown, but two years after the above comment, there's quite a few places to get it -- Tealuxe, Lollicup, etc. Matthew Miller 17:57, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Try food court in China Town, dessert shop in Wellesley College, both have bubble tea. --Jackbean 22:05, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Much belatedly, there's also a bubble tea place (called Tapicha, maybe?) in the Porter Square Exchange, which has been around quite a while. Corvi 20:10, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

There is no language called "Mainland Chinese"
Duh! quit following me around and correcting things, Geebus! SchmuckyTheCat 02:40, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * "Overseas Chinese" neither. The reference is not about languages, but peoples and cultures. &mdash; Instantnood 07:04, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Origin Dispute
Though it is acknowledged that the drink originated from Taiwan, there is a dispute on the inventer of the drink reported in News papers. I believe one shop in Taichung disputes with another shop in Tainan claiming the invention of the drink. The current article attributed the invention to one but did not acknowledge the other.Mababa 07:27, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I made some changes ;)
I'm sorry if this seems selfish, but I added some things about bubble tea that I think might be more specific to my area. I added the definition of bubbles as the tapioca balls, as I think it is a good explanation of the name, as I read this off of one cafe's wall, and I have heard it several times before. I added some details about fruit freezes someties refered to as bubble tea, and about milk tea and stuff. And I added the thing about the plastic seals- those are cool, and sometimes the images on them are fobby and neat.

In addition, I would like to add something about bubble tea cafes being popular places for Asian Americans. Let me tell you how it is in Glenview, Il (Chicago suburb): There is one place called Liquid Fusion right next to a PC-bpoung (PC gaming lab, "bpoung" being Korean for room). It is Korean-owned, and it's always crowded by Koreans, especially on Fridays, when the Lakeview Church youth group (which is all-Korean)goes after Friday services. There is a place called Tea Leaf cafe in China Town (in the city) that has another location at the new shopping center (we live in a suburb, and there's a new, expensive development) that has more white people, but is still flooded by Koreans. Alot of places like this also have board games and stuff.

So... how should I put this?

Blueaster 07:37, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

Damn you
Now I had to go to Quickly and try some Blatant advertising ploy :( -130.65.85.112 18:56, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Milk tea vs Boba tea
Milk tea or Hong Kong Style Milk Tea (kong sik nai cha) usually does not refer to boba tea. If you order a milk tea or a Hong Kong style milk tea, you generally do not get boba with it. If you want boba tea, you usually need to request it and order boba tea (boba nai cha) not just milk tea (nai cha).

Yeah, Boba is something you put in Milk tea. --Dakart 18:52, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Not enough information
I don't see any information about Singapore's strong bubble tea craze at a time. Bubble tea is not popular in Singapore anymore. From over 1000 outlets in 2001, to say around 60 currently. This should be put into the article. This article only talks about the origin, too Taiwanese centric. --Terence Ong Talk 08:44, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Incorrect/incomplete definition of characteristic 'bubbles'
It is widely available that the original beverage, prior to the addition of pearls, was known as bubble tea because shaking the beverage produces small bubbles. Either a misunderstanding or a rebranding over the past decade has reformed the definition of 'bubbles' as 'pearls'. --Hyoomen 16:38, 7 February 2006 (UTC)


 * You are right. In Taiwan, the term "Bubble Tea" strictly refers to the tea beverage produced in the cocktail shaker, which was popular about 20+ years ago. The milk tea with tapioca we are discussing here is called "Pearl Milk Tea".
 * "Bubble Tea" does sound more catchy, and I don't mind the rebranding/misnomer. We should insert a little section explaining the origination of the name.
 * --Jackbean 22:22, 10 February 2006 (UTC)


 * I believe that we are actually discussing the evolution of language here. Otherwise I could get mad at the local bubble tea cafe for wanting to charge me more for bubbles, and if I let them then they'll put the "boba" in.  In much the same way as the old definition of "hacker", usually meaning just a person good with computers, has the current definition of the old "cracker", bubble tea and boba tea are the same thing.  --TIB (talk) 05:31, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

Here is some wider info on the significance of the word. http://www.teflideas.com/2013/01/05/ruminations-contrastive-linguistics-tea/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.57.140.133 (talk) 07:49, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Process
Why are the tapioca pearls black? (Particularly given that the main tapioca article refers to tapioca as being white, and tapioca pudding pearls are clear.) Also, what does this sentence mean: "The water to pearl ratio is significantly higher." Higher than what? How much do the pearls expand when they're soaked? Why are the balls put into a sugar and water solution afterwards? To sweeten them, or is the sugar some kind of... preservative to keep them nice and chewy? I guess I'm really just curious about the process used to make the pearls. I think the article would be much more helpful to people who don't know anything about bubble tea but enjoy it (like me) if there were some more info on the process. Emperial 10:35, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm guessing that it has brown sugar in it. See here for a picture of the uncooked pearls(the brown stuff in the vacuum pack). The sugar solution may be to prevent the pearls from sticking together. --Dodo bird 14:19, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Photo of buble tea shop
It adds nothing to the article. Will remove in a few days time if there is no objection. --Dodo bird 14:09, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

I OBJECT!!!!

thats a nice picture and helps to fill out the page a little bit more. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.13.192.86 (talk • contribs)

It's the best drink in the world!!!

Nutrition
Does anyone have any information to add to this article regarding the nutritional value of bubble tea, if any? I've heard some say that the stuff is extremely high in calories, while others say it lacks any nutrients. Phauge 17:04, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Still no info on this, huh? That's awesome. I guess it is kind of silly to think that an article about a food might contain such info. 17.232.148.189 00:33, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

ambot...........

Pearls not necessary?
Can someone explain why, as the article states, tapioca pearls are not necessary for bubble tea? Isn't that like saying that milk tea doesn't need to have milk in it to be called "milk tea"? Badagnani 03:37, 14 August 2006 (UTC)


 * OK, it's clear that the "pearls" are not the bubbles, it's the froth produced by shaking the beverage. Badagnani 16:46, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Color of black tapioca pearls
Can someone add to the article how the black tapioca pearls acquire their black color? Is this natural or is there some color added? Badagnani 03:37, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I second that request! -68.163.149.111 (talk) 21:14, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Vigorous defluffing
I have tossed out quite a few statements that were unverifiable and links to myspace among others. Please abide by the guidelines when adding to articles. ju66l3r 04:13, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Translations
Issue with: 泡沫紅茶 or 泡沫红茶 (pinyin: C hóngchá): "bubble black tea", used mainly in Taiwan. Hong (紅) means red in Mandarin Chinese - Hei (黑) means black I'm not going to change it as I am only in second year Chinese and could be wrong - just thought I would bring it to the attention of the editors. 150.135.114.61 20:30, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Isn't Chinese red tea the equivalent of English black tea? 125.225.77.151 08:16, 13 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, see Red tea (1st. disambig.) --antilivedT 09:56, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Basil seeds
Although this is a fairly new invention, there's a precedent for Chinese drinking cold drinks containing gelatinous/chewy balls; basil seeds, which swell up and look like frog eggs, have been used for a long time in China. This should probably be added to the article because there may be a relationship between the two. Badagnani 00:46, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Needs to be reorganized
Many large portions of this article need to be organized in a more logical order so that one idea or point follows the next instead of this jumble of little things. This is especially true in the intro.Apolloae 06:27, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Non-dairy products
Under the culture section, I changed "Some cafes use a non-dairy milk substitute instead of milk, which adds a distinct flavor and consistency to the drink." to "Some cafes use a non-dairy milk substitute, such as Coffee-Mate, instead of milk because many East Asians are lactose intolerant. [2] This adds a distinct flavor and consistency to the drink."

Reference 2 is a newspaper article from December 1999 in the San Francisco Examiner about tapioca tea. A shop is reported to use Coffee-Mate because of lactose intolerance in East Asians. I also linked lactose intolerant to the Wikipedia article Lactose Intolerance. This article states that a large portion of East Asians are lactose intolerant.

I am unsure if this is the correct way to cite references for the statement. --Ae86 10:55, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

First sentence contradictory
I feel that the first sentence in the Description section contradicts the rest of the article. It first says the following:

Bubble tea is a mixture of iced or hot sweetened tea, milk, and often other flavorings.

This implies that all bubble tea contains tea and milk. Later the article goes on to say that there are different types, one that contains milk, and another that is simply fruit flavored. This makes the entire article misleading. 168.215.139.162 14:48, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

bubble tea supplies in uk?
im intrigued by bubble tea and wish to try it. where i live doesnt have any places to buy it ready to drink, so i will have to create my own at home.

where can the supplies to make bubble tea be found in england or scotland? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.203.126.46 (talk) 21:48, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

You can buy it in the Hong Kong Cafe just down the road from Leicester Square tube station. Come out of the Leicester Square exit, turn left and walk down the road, and it's a few doors down. There are looooooads of flavours too :) My friend showed this place to me today.  I lived in China for a year and had milk tea (as we called it, not knowing the correct name) practically every day, and this is the only place I've come across in England which does it!  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.5.144.201 (talk) 23:42, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

yam starch?
What proof or citation do we have that the balls are made from "yam starch" in East Asia? Suggest this be deleted if no citation is supplied within a couple months. Softlavender (talk) 06:56, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

External Links?
Who deleted all the External Links that were there a year and a half ago, and previously, and why? Softlavender (talk) 06:56, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

First two sentences
These are the first two sentences of the article:


 * Bubble tea also known as boba, is a tea beverage that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s. The  balls are often called "pearls," and are consumed along with the beverage through a wide straw.

The second sentence is broken, it leads off with "The balls", when I read it I thought "What balls?". Reading the article, I found out that the tea contains little tapioca (or other starch) balls, but without knowing this information ahead of time the sentence didn't make sense. Another sentence mentioning the balls needs to be placed between these two, the summary of an article should not require knowledge of information that is contained within the article. I don't think most people outside of Taiwan have ever heard of this stuff, and most are probably like me drawn to it through a link in another article. When I saw the link in the Taiwan article to 'Bubble tea' I assumed it was some sort of carbonated beverage, so I found the first two sentences somewhat confusing. --HarryHenryGebel (talk) 05:37, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Article rename
I appreciate the attempt to clarify things, but this Wikipedia is an English Wikipedia, not a Chinese one. Even though the literal translation is "Pearl Milk Tea", the English term is "Bubble Tea". To say it is "in the west often mistakenly called Bubble Tea" suggests that we know better than all the people who call it "Bubble Tea". Do you have a reliable source for calling it "Pearl Milk Tea" rather than "Bubble Tea"?

Personally, I learned it as "Pearl Milk Tea" because I learned about the stuff from a speaker of Chinese who translated it word-for-word. However, that's not how the English language adopted it. If I want to tell friends about the stuff and suggest they buy it, I have to tell them Bubble Tea because that's the English word for it, and that's what they'll have to know to find it on a menu.

I propose we return to a single article with Bubble Tea as the main and "Pearl Milk Tea" mentioned as a less common alternative way of saying it and as a literal translation.

I also suggest discussion before renaming or moving articles that have been around for a while.Readin (talk) 21:44, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I think the same ... I'm in Montreal, Canada and I have always heard it being called Bubble Tea, also it is still called Bubble Tea no matter if it has bubbles or not and it doesn't necessarily need milk.


 * I think in different regions it took different names ... it's like the General Tao, General Tso thing. What should be done is a vote to see what is the most commonly known name and make that the main page. (66.36.141.155 (talk) 04:30, 23 April 2008 (UTC))

Agree with above comments, this article should be titled "bubble tea", NOT "pearl milk tea". This thing is called bubble tea in English; "bubble tea" is the vastly more common term, outweighing "pearl milk tea" by 728,000 to 32,400 in Google hits. There was no consensus for the move to "pearl milk tea", nor was there discussion beforehand. While I agree that "pearl milk tea" is a more literal translation than "bubble tea", that doesn't matter, because as this is the English Wikipedia, the common English name, per Use English, should be used, rather than a more literal, but not commonly used, translation, which would amount to original research. We can address the fact that "pearl milk tea" is a more literal translation by simply including that information in the introductory paragraph. Furthermore, "bubble tea" would NOT be a literal translation of the process from Chinese; "bubbling tea" (the gerund form) or "to bubble tea" (the infinitive form) would be the literal translation of the process, so there is no confusion about the term "bubble tea". —Lowellian (reply) 15:28, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

It is quite often called Pearl Milk Tea or Boba Tea in Boston, so there is no consensus that it's called Bubble Tea in English either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.162.105.165 (talk) 00:13, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Price
How much is the average price of bubble tea (in Taiwan and elsewhere)? —Preceding unsigned comment added by JensMueller (talk • contribs) 22:51, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I would imagine it depends on your geographic location, as well as what sort you're getting. The variety I get usually runs me about $3.99 here in Seattle, but there's some variation with that, too.  I'm guessing it's somewhere around the same price as your typical espresso drink. X-Kal (talk) 06:42, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

i'm in guangzhou, prc. and they are about 5-9 rmb. around 1 usd. on campuses you can get them for as little as 2 rmb. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.32.196.19 (talk) 07:59, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

From experience, in Taiwan, generally about 25 NT for a regular size cup, 30NT for large (less than $1 USD). In the Dallas area, it goes for usually around $2.75 for regular and up to $3.20-3.50 or so for large. In Houston, about $3 for regular (I think...), and in California generally $3.25+ (on the cheaper end) for regular. These are just approximations and general ideas though. Hopefully this will help out. --The Macro (talk) 01:28, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Bubble Tea ≠ Boba Tea
Bubble Tea refers exactly to "tea with bubble". It usually doesn't contain milk and can be either black or green tea. Boba Tea can be used to describe any kind of tea with Boba, but usually refers to "Boba Milk Black Tea" because it is the most common kind. If no one objects, I'll begin rewrite/split this article into "Bubble Tea" and "Boba Tea" articles in a few days. --Will74205 (talk) 12:01, 4 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Before you begin the rewrite, please provide sources for these assertions. Readin (talk) 14:16, 4 August 2009 (UTC)


 * This is a problem with the definition of the word, I don't know who would confuse "bubble tea" with "boba tea" with the exception of people confused between "bubble" and "boba", since their pronunciation is similar. I don't know how can I provide reliable sources beside giving the definition of "bubble" from the dictionary. --Will74205 (talk) 08:34, 5 August 2009 (UTC)


 * The problem with a definition is that a word is defined by how people use it. I understand that from an etymological point-of-view, the use of "Bubble Tea" to refer to the drink with tapioca balls may have resulted from mis-translation or misunderstanding, but we have to consider current use.  At least in the heavily English-speaking area where I live, if I want to go buy the drink with tapioca balls, I'll find it under advertisements for "Bubble Tea" far more often than under advertisements for "Boba Tea".  In fact I almost never see "Boba Tea".  My experience doesn't count as a reliable source, but it does give me sufficient grounds to say that if you want to rewrite this article - an article written by many authors on different continents who have apparently had experiences similar to mine - you need to provide a reliable source or at least a really good reason for the change. Readin (talk) 14:48, 5 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Okay I see your point. Maybe I'll rewrite some portion of the introduction to clarify the relationship between the name "bubble tea" and what the actual drink is.--Will74205 (talk) 19:16, 5 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Readin has a point but we also need to take into account not to perpetuate an incorrect use simply because it is the most prolific. I know a business that advertises "Bubble Tea" near me and was talking with the owner, she said that she's had boba drinks on the menu for 6 months but nobody knows what that is. When she put them under the header "Bubble teas" she can't make them fast enough. Case in point, Sherlock Holmes is known for his deductive reasoning. Except, as the article rightly points out, he didn't use deductive reasoning, he used inductive reasoning. Just because that's what it's called by the masses doesn't mean the masses are right. Padillah (talk) 12:09, 7 August 2009 (UTC)


 * "Deductive reasoning" and "inductive reasoning" are well defined outside of Sherlock Holmes pop culture. He did not use one or the other simply because his doing so defined the term. The question "What kind of reasoning did Sherlock Holmes use?" is not a question of definition, it is a question of applying well-established undisputed definitions to a situation.
 * The Bubble tea Boba tea question is entirely different. The question "What is Bubble tea?" is entirely a question of definition - how does one define "bubble tea"?  Definitions are determined by usage. Sometimes usage is incorrect or confusing, but it becomes the standard and becomes the definition.  Consider for example, Columbus calling the people he found "Indians".  It was certainly incorrect because Indians should be people from India.  But the name stuck and until very recently the most common correct definition of "Indian" in the United States was "a person whose ancestors were in America prior to 1492".  Consider the word "doubt" which means "suspect" - at least it used to mean that.  The meaning has somehow morphed in modern times to mean "suspect not".  I guess someone screwed up and inverted the meaning somewhere, but we don't try to correct that usage; we accept it as the new definition.
 * I'm not dead-set against changing the article, but at this point we have prima facia evidence that "Bubble Tea" is the name to use and very little in the way of evidence that we shouldn't use it. If "Boba" is more correct as an industry standard there should be reliable sources to back that up and we need to put them here to gain consensus (at least from me - I don't know if anyone else is paying attention). Readin (talk) 14:52, 7 August 2009 (UTC)
 * The minutia of the Sherlock argument are pedantic and moot, the point is the same and, from what you've expressed, you've seen it so I'm good with that (although I would like to see an example of "doubt" meaning "suspect not", that one is new to me). I wonder if we are not trying to define the wrong thing? Or define a thing the wrong way. We know, and can establish, that "Boba" is the pearls in the drink, but does it "define" the drink? Or is the drink an established beverage and the pearls an accessory to the drink? Whereas the "bubbling" is the method for making the drink and therefore much more central. Might this be a better approach to the naming? Padillah (talk) 15:08, 7 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Merriam-Webster:Doubt
 * 1.archaic a.fear b.suspect 2.to be in doubt about, he doubts everyone's word  3.a.to lack confidence in; distrust,find myself doubting him even when I know that he is honest — H. L. Mencken b.to consider unlikely, I doubt if I can go
 * I read that the language of Shakespeare is made difficult for modern readers because English has changed so much with some words even meaning the opposite of what they once meant, e.g. "suspect". Readin (talk) 16:55, 7 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree that the article should not perpetuate the incorrect use of a term simply because it is the most prolific. However, this article is a relatively obscure and mundane example where Wikipedia is concerned, where others have been confused by this issue...for example see the article on antisemitism for how modern use of a term has trampled over its clear etymology. I am but a humble observer with not enough vested interest in Wikipedia to even register, but Padillah if you wish to champion that cause over in antisemitism, then godspeed. Readin my apologies, but there was some formatting problem with your last entry in this section that was causing everything below it to italicize. I was unable to parse it well enough to correct the formatting issue (no dangling double apostrophes found, etc.) so I had to just reformat your text.70.127.69.16 (talk) 06:39, 19 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Given that the antisemitism article has a section on usage detailing the confusion between literal antisemitism and what the term is used to mean, should we not also at least apply a similar section to refer to the boba/bubble debate regardless of it's merit? Would it be particularly hard to find a source saying that people believe this has originated as a misconception? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.118.166.55 (talk) 07:20, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree with Will that they should be distinguished to preserve history but it should still be noted that people simply use them synonymously. i lived in Taiwan and saw the progression of the drink as it evolved. I think there are a few pop-culture books/magazines that contain some research on the origin of the drink.  Though they are in Chinese and i wouldn't know where to find them again. haha.  In any case, the current history sounds familiar, as tapioca balls (fenyuan, 1/12 tapioca pearl) were a very popular snack in Taiwan and tea houses were big cultural hangouts during the 80's, so it is not surprising that some tea houses would attempt such combination.  The modern popularity of the drink definitely did not inherit directly from that, because tea houses took a sharp decline (thanks to karaoke and other hangout locations) and the recipe for these drinks went away along with the tea houses that served them.  Street vendors became the main source of snack-tea for the populace.  There were a period of at least 4~5 years where bubble/foamed tea were the main drinks of choice in hot summer days for both street vendors and in karaoke bars.  Pearl milk teas started to be added on to the menu, and it later took over and became the main type of tea on the menu.  Boba (1/4 big pearls) milk teas were introduced after that and quickly replaced the pearl teas (since bigger is better!). Small pearls are retired since the majority of drinkers would order Boba instead of pearl, and the vendors eventually decide to only prepare Boba.  Though it seems that in the U.S., the wording is misused, confused, and re-imposed (isn't that sick!? i mean a new reinvented word is the shit! >:3)  So bubble tea and boba tea are used synonymously and they both refer to tea that contain the big tapioca pearls.  Many tea stands in the states still serve foamed/froth tea, but... you'll probably have to order them in chinese and not enlglish (no such confusion in the chinese language, thankfully)Ssh83 (talk) 05:20, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

Instant Bubble Tea
Removed the following paragraph:

''"Instant Boba Milk Tea" mixes in individual serving packets are now widely available in Asian and Thai grocery stores. In keeping with modern marketing practices, while the illustration shows a translucent cup with large purple boba pearls showing through, in very small letters are the words "serving suggestion" and "Just add Boba". There is no mention of the time-consuming process of preparing the tapioca pearls.''

The first sentence lacks a citation - while I have personally seen this product in some Asian groceries, the article lacks a verifiable source as to whether or not this product widely available. The latter two sentences lack neutral point of view and take a very critical tone with regard to the labeling. There may be encyclopedic value in noting that some instant milk tea mixes are sold as bubble tea, so for the time being I am adding the following placeholder text:

Single-serving packets of black tea (with powdered milk and sugar included) are available as "Instant Boba Milk Tea".

This is within the realm of common knowledge and can stand without citation, though of course the article could be improved by expanding this with suitable sources.70.127.69.16 (talk) 06:20, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

This article doesn't need lots of cleanup
This is a really useful article. It answered all my questions about bubble tea and some questions that I didn't know that I had. I think it doesn't need any more work, and having the Needs Cleanup banner at the top is very off-putting to new readers. --Avirr (talk) 06:13, 24 March 2010 (UTC)

Spread of Bubble Tea?
I think we can make the global spread of bubble tea much simpler. Looking at the sentence in the article "Bubble tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, first spread to nearby East Asian countries, migrated to Canada before spreading to Chinatowns throughout the United States, and then to various college towns along the West Coast.[1] The first cafe in the UK to specialise in bubble tea-making was opened in April 2011." why do we need to specify that after coming from Taiwan it went into various college towns on the West Coast (I assume this is the West Coast of the USA?). Bubble tea has been in Australia for at least 6+ years and I'm sure it is the same in some other countries - I don't understand why this has to be American-centric. I propose we change the article to simply read something like ""Bubble tea originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, first spread to nearby East Asian countries and then to many Western countries around the world""--Duffsta (talk) 03:36, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

New reference
Doesn't appear to say a lot that we don't already have sources for, but it might be more WP:RS than what is in the article now. r ʨ anaɢ (talk) 19:26, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

"Island Nation"?
I don't think it's necessary to refer to Taiwan as "democratic island nation officially known as the Republic of China (Taiwan)" every single time. This isn't an article about the geography of Taiwan...it's an article about a specialty drink that happens to originate from Taiwan. Why is it referred to as "the island nation" and "officially known as the Republic of China (Taiwan)" every time? Either it is called that or it isn't. There's no point repeating that it is "officially known as" every time. The US is officially the United States of America and Canada is officially the Dominion of Canada, but we don't use the full names of those countries, so why do it in this article for Taiwan?

It smells of activists trying to make some political point about Taiwan being part of China. Jmajeremy (talk) 02:40, 3 August 2011 (UTC)

Should we mention "Popping Boba"?
Local tea houses have taken to adding flavor caviar to their Boba, calling it "Popping Boba". I have no idea how wide spread this is or if it deserves mention. Padillah (talk) 12:15, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

What is meant by "overseas Chinese"
The article says "or more commonly referred to as bubble tea by most English speakers and overseas Chinese." It is clear what is meant by "English speakers". But what does it mean to say that "overseas Chinese" call it "bubble tea". Presuming that "overseas Chinese" means Chinese expats, wouldn't it depend on whether they are speaking their country's language (Chinese) or the English? What about overseas Chinese living in non-English-speaking nations? It think we should remove the reference to "overseas Chinese" or else explain more clearly what is meant by the usage here. Readin (talk) 00:51, 23 September 2011 (UTC)

Original research and this article
Could be used to develop the tea wiki (www.tea.wikia.com]] article - which would solve the problem. Jackiespeel (talk) 16:02, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

"Names" section
I think this dictionary entry is rather unnessesary, just a collection of names in various languages. The Chinese section also gives a lot of names, however, are these synonyms for bubble tea itself or are these names of sub-variants of bubble tea? It looks like the latter, although the first sentence of the section states that it's the former. --Cold Season (talk) 21:15, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

Urban Dictionary Citation
Can anyone get a better reference than Urban Dictionary for the etymology of the term "boba"? Since anyone can add an entry to Urban Dictionary, citing it and only it is problematic, to say the least. - RedWordSmith (talk) 22:00, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

And, contributions to Urban Dictionary are not checked for accuracy. Owlgorithm (talk) 23:48, 17 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I strongly suspect the word "boba" is a Chinese rendering of "bubble." Of course I realize that a strong suspicion is the opposite of what you are asking for here! Nevertheless that is the most plausible explanation given that "bubble tea" is the English name for this drink. Dratman (talk) 02:47, 22 April 2013 (UTC)


 * I thought the same thing. But from the discussion above (in the section titled "Literal meaning") it seems that "bubble" is the English rendering of the Chinese word "boba", which means "big breasts".  Mixed with a confusion between Chinese bubble tea (that is shaken to a froth) and Chinese boba tea (that contains large chewy balls).Sheherazahde (talk) 20:42, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Dispute over Popping Boba
There needs to be something in the entry about popping boba. Notability guidelines do not limit content within an article. I can buy it at my local Asian restaurants but there is no mention of it in the article. This is the sort of information people come to wikipedia looking for. Popping balls exist there should be a reference to them. And part of what I copied and pasted was the list of ingredients. Lists are not copyright protected. I have vegetarian friends and they would be interested to know that popping boba are not made from gelatin. I included the Frooba reference so as not to be siding with just one brand of juice filled ball manufactures. User:The Potato Hose has threatened to ban me. I'm posting here to go through all the steps before I take this to dispute resolution.Sheherazahde (talk) 21:31, 24 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Sigh.


 * I have already told you this twice. If you don't want to listen, that's not my problem. Maybe the third time will be the charm. If you want to have information about popping boba in the article, you will need to find reliable sources.
 * You copied and pasted more than just a list of ingredients. But that doesn't matter. You cannot copy and past information into Wikipedia. Do you understand? See here.
 * I don't care about your vegetarian friends, and nobody else does either. If you want to include information about the composition of popping boba, you will need to first find reliable sources, and second you will need to summarize those sources in your own words.
 * As I have also already explained to you, yes notability does affect content. If Frooba isn't a well-known or dominant brand within the sector, it looks like spam to include it here. And since no other brands are mentioned, there is no bias.
 * I have not 'threatened' anything. I have warned you that if you continue to insert copyright violations, you will be blocked for violating policy. If you continue reverting to insert your copyright violations, you will be blocked for violating policy. That is not a threat. That is telling you what part of your current behaviour is unacceptable according to Wikipedia policy, and telling you that if you continue to violate policy your editing privileges will be revoked until such time as you communicate to the community that you will stop violating policy.


 * I have already basically said all this on your talkpage. What part(s) of what I am saying do you not understand? I can explain them better, maybe, but you need to tell me what you do not understand here. — The Potato Hose 21:42, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

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Assessment comment
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Franchise opportunities in the US
Would consider a section on franchise opportunities to have a place in the article. Not that I am against sole proprietors. Maybe even some metrics on locations and growth of the segment.--Wikipietime (talk) 19:38, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

To add to article
To add to article: what is the etymology of the word "boba"? 173.88.241.33 (talk) 21:44, 28 August 2016 (UTC)

Citing Information
It is important to cite where your information comes from in the description portion of the article. Failing to do so, violates the WP:V because it is unclear of where you derived this information from, therefore making it an unreliable source. Please refer to the verifiability policy page.[] --Kathy.s28 (talk) 19:33, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Bubble Tea Frothing
Hello! I've added a citation needed to this: "which is shaken with ice to create the "bubbles", a foamy layer on top of the drink" as the image in the article does not show any frothing or air bubbles on the top of the drink and I've never seen bubble tea prepared in this way. Is this a more traditional preparation, as I live in a Western country, is this how bubble tea made in Taiwan for example? I would love a citation about this!

 Snuggle  09:48, 19 August 2020 (UTC)


 * I never noticed that line in the lead before, I'm not really sure what they're talking about and it doesnt seem to line up with the sources we have. There are a number of bubble tea variations that float a cream or custard on top of the drink but that doesnt appear to be whats being described there. Horse Eye Jack (talk) 15:58, 19 August 2020 (UTC)

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Supposed Mandarin name paopaocha 泡泡茶
I've deleted it because it's simply not correct. I looked up the reference and did not see this term in there. As a Taiwanese who drinks this frequently I've never heard of this term either. If I hear anyone say these words I'd expect either a novelty product consisting of frothy tea or it being used as a verb phrase, as in 我們來泡泡茶 "let's brew some tea". I googled this term and the results are like what I said, either some completely different novelty food or used in a phrase. I suspect the term was added by some non-native speaker doing a word-for-word translation of the English term bubble tea. Even the predecessor of bubble tea, 泡沫紅茶 (lit. "frothy black tea") is never referred to as paopaocha. C9mVio9JRy (talk) 08:09, 11 December 2022 (UTC)


 * I agree. Although the editors are probably trying to be consistent with the Chinese Wikipedia article, which sites 泡泡茶 as an alternative name. Kazuha1029 (talk) 17:54, 29 January 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 March 2023
I have some more info on bobaaaa so i was wondering is it ok if i edit this page please and thank you.

-Boba Lover 365 204.102.76.163 (talk) 23:46, 15 March 2023 (UTC) I have some more info on bobaaaa so i was wondering is it ok if i edit this page please and thank you.

-Boba Lover 365
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:50, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

Protected page
Thanks for the early incoming Google search to protect the page's incoming. 47.234.198.142 (talk) 21:36, 29 January 2023 (UTC)