The Bubble Tea Battle

Written By Guest User
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Renee Kuo (G11)

An Asian drink has been on the rise in recent years… you guessed it — bubble tea. For some, it is a once in a while treat, and on the other hand, many drink it religiously, sometimes even having an alarming 3 cups per day. Despite the frequency, we can all agree that bubble tea is a popular Asian drink. Unfortunately, for many of us, our knowledge of this blessed drink ends there. So, allow Renee to educate us with her newest article “A Brief History of Bubble Tea".'“

As an avid fan of bubble tea, Renee has had more than her fair share of the drink. She and many others have wondered - who invented bubble tea? To answer this question, she explores the unexpected history behind the popular drink loved by millions around the world.

Bubble tea! (Courtesy of Tasty)

Bubble tea! (Courtesy of Tasty)

I used to get bubble tea almost every week during the eLearning period of 2020. Being in Taiwan, I figured that I should try as many different brands and stores as I could. Trying drinks from local ice shops to national chains made me realise the sheer number of different bubble tea vendors. It's the same in Beijing, and even just in Shine City - internet sensation HEYTEA, rapidly-growing Nayuki, and the original MeetFresh all boast an overwhelmingly large selection of bubble teas. With all these renditions, stores, and internet fame, it can be hard to imagine that a drink this popular actually has a history involving a wet market, a staff meeting, and a 10-year-long lawsuit.

The truth is, no one actually knows how bubble tea originated. Many different people claim to have invented the drink, but there are only two main stories on the origin of bubble tea.

The first story claims that bubble tea originated in Tainan. The owner of Hanlin Tea Room and self-claimed inventor of bubble tea, Tu Tsong He, said that he first got the idea when he was visiting the Yamuliao wet market in Tainan (CNN). With over 100 years of history, the traditional market is one of Tainan's largest and oldest (TripHospital). Its dark streets are lit by lightbulbs dangling from the roof and crammed with stalls each boasting its own speciality.

The Yamuliao Traditional Market in Tainan.

The Yamuliao Traditional Market in Tainan.

Tu recalled that he "saw fenyuan [tapioca balls], a traditional snack I loved from my childhood . . . [and] I thought to myself 'why don't I add some fenyuan into my green tea'" (CNN). The old-fashioned tapioca balls were a translucent white that, in the sea-water like colour of the tea, looked like pearls. He coined the drink "pearl tea" in Mandarin because the white tapioca balls reminded him of his mother's pearl necklace.

Traditional tapioca balls (fenyuan) (Courtesy of WeiHeart)

Traditional tapioca balls (fenyuan) (Courtesy of WeiHeart)

Hanlin Tea Rooms’ bubble tea.

Hanlin Tea Rooms’ bubble tea.

He then experimented with black tapioca balls and milk tea and created the now well-known version of bubble tea. Both versions first appeared on the market in October of 1986 with the opening of Hanlin Tea Room; in fact, the "original" white tapioca bubble tea is still offered on the menu today. And with the invention of bubble tea came the creation of the bubble tea straw. Since nothing like bubble tea had been on the market before, there were no straws that could fit the tapioca balls. Tu said, "'Our customers had to use spoons to scoop out the tapioca balls. We had to work with a plastic factory to customize straws just for our tea'" (CNN). With over 80 stores worldwide (UpMedia) and over 30 years of experience (Hanlin), Hanlin Tea Room has an undeniable history with bubble tea.

But so does ChunShuiTang.

ChunShuiTang is a popular teahouse that opened in May of 1983, in Taichung City (ChunShuiTang). Their story is that Lin Hsiu Hui, then-employee of the store, combined tapioca pearls and milk tea for fun during a staff meeting in 1988 (UpMedia). Lin said that "'Everyone at the meeting loved the drink and it quickly outsold all of our other iced teas within a couple of months'" (CNN).

The loading screen for Chun Shui Tang’s website.

The loading screen for Chun Shui Tang’s website.

The two different stories that claim the invention of bubble tea invariably led to conflict. Who wouldn't want to be known as the first person to ever make bubble tea? By that time, the drink had already become popular worldwide and was being made by various other stores. The fight for this claim became so heated that it kicked off a litigation between the two companies (CNN). i.e. they sued each other for the rights to be the Bubble Tea King. The lawsuit began in 2009 and continued over the span of 10 years; only concluding few years ago (CNN).

Chun Shui Tang vs HanLin Tea Room: A Side by Side.

So, who was crowned the King of Bubble Tea? Who went home with the coveted title? The answer, as it turns out, isn't what anyone expected. After ten years of legal action, the court decided that it was "unnecessary to debate who created [bubble tea]" (CNN). Since bubble tea is not patented and anyone can make it, there is no need to know who the creator is (UpMedia). That's about as anticlimactic as it can get. That's ten years worth of arguing over bubble tea culminated in a seemingly disappointing ending.

However, another expert seems to agree with this conclusion. The daughter of the creator of ChunShuiTang teahouse commented that her father, who is nearly 70 years old, got tired of this argument long ago (ETtoday). Additionally, the owner of Hanlin Tea Room also said that they are "all old friends in the tea industry . . . The lawsuit with Chun Shui Tang is a must-fight battle for truth but nothing personal. We will let the people who drink our tea be the judge'" (CNN).

Tu Tsong He, founder of Hanlin Tea Room.

Tu Tsong He, founder of Hanlin Tea Room.

ChunShuiTang’s bubble tea.

ChunShuiTang’s bubble tea.

Although I've never had Hanlin Tea Room's bubble tea, I can say that ChunShuiTang's bubble tea consistently ranks as one of my favourites. Not to offend anyone who likes these brands, but comparing the originals to Nayuki or MeetFresh is like comparing In-N-Out or Shake Shack to McDonald's. They're both good, but the latter just doesn't match up to the former.

At the end of the day, it looks like the truth of bubble tea's origin doesn't really matter. What does matter is that bubble tea has brought and continues to bring culture, joy, and sugar-induced headaches to the rest of the world. Sure, we'll still be curious to know what actually happened, but at least we can take comfort in knowing that we can always count on having a good cup of bubble tea.

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