Witness History
The invention of bubble tea
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21 November 2023
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In 1987, a tea shop in Taiwan named Chun Shui Tang began selling pearl milk tea, or bubble tea, as it’s often called.
It would revolutionise the tea-drinking world.
Ben Henderson speaks to Liu Han-Chieh, the shop owner, and Lin Xiuhu, who first added the drink’s signature tapioca balls.
(Photo: Bubble tea. Credit: Chun Shui Tang)