6 Facts About The History of Bubble Tea in Singapore

The “bubbles” or little chewy tapioca pearls in bubble tea have undergone various transformations, from simply being drenched in brown sugar to give them their classic black colouration in the early days, to being injected with different flavours and colours in recent years. Between 2017 and 2018, places like Hollin and PlayMade came up with freshly made matcha, chocolate, coffee, and even peanut butter flavoured pearls. Homegrown brand LiHo now offers purple taro pearls with its new taro soy latte. For the heath conscious or those who prefer something less starchy, you can replace your pearls with aloe vera, grass jelly or konjac jelly.

Before the recent craze over brown sugar milk in 2018, there were salted and unsalted caramel bubble milk tea, which tasted just as sweet as its new cousin. Brown sugar milk does not have tea in it, and is simply fresh milk with brown sugar syrup streaked along the sides of the cup to give it a signature look. Tiger Sugar is known for brown sugar milk, but several other brands have also caught up with the latest trend and innovated new variants. For example, HeyTea has created Brown Sugar Brûlée Bobo Milk, which is brown sugar milk with crème brûlée topping. What a way to increase your calcium and calorie intake!

Bubble tea has become so popular among Singaporeans that the drink has transformed into an edible treat. Whenever you are craving for something more substantial than a beverage, look to the Bubble Tea Ice Cream sold at Halal-certified TP Tea or HeyTea. Shuang Yeh’s Boba Milk Tea ice-cream bars are also available for purchase at online stores. In more recent history, sweet snacks such as the Bubble Tea Croissants from Brotherbird Milk & Croissants (available only on weekends) and Bubble Tea Tarts from Edith Patisserie have caught the attention of die-hard fans. For the adventurous, there is the enormous bubble tea hot pot from Spice World Hotpot at Clarke Quay…Yes, the bubble tea is served hot. Wonder what’s next?