Bubble Tea Blows Up

WHEN BUBBLE TEA was first introduced to the United States about 30 years ago, you could get it only in mom-and-pop shops in big-city Chinatown and Koreatown. Now it's popping up in cafés around the country; Baskin-Robbins even offered a version this spring and summer.

- Sarah Jinee Park

Classic bubble tea is black tea brewed with milk and sugar, then poured over ice and tapioca pearls (also known as balls or boba; bubble tea is often called boba), and served with an oversized straw so you can slurp up a pearl or two with each sip.

Made from tapioca starch extracted from cassava root, these marble-sized pearls traditionally are boiled and caramelized in brown sugar syrup, giving them their dark color and sweet flavor. (Just take care not to swallow the pearls whole; they're meant to be chewed and savored.)