I went to bubble tea school and visited the world’s first bubble tea shop…
Step 11: Enjoy.
It's supposedly definitive that bubble tea was invented in Taiwan. But the inventor’s identity is unclear: teahouses in Taichung and Tainan each claim the title.
In Taichung, the Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂人文茶館) began serving iced tea in the early 1980s, after its founder observed the popularity of iced coffee in Japan. In 1987, his product manager added black tapioca balls on a whim, fellow employees loved it, and bubble tea was born. Maybe.
A year earlier, the owner of Tainan’s Hanlin Tea Room (翰林茶館) spotted white tapioca balls in a local market. In a flash of inspiration, he took some home, added them to cold milk tea, and bubble tea was born. Maybe.
Lawsuits from both sides—and a decade of litigation—failed to reach a conclusion. The courts ultimately decided that, as a non-trademarked, non-patented product, anyone can make bubble tea and therefore it’s not necessary to know the inventor. A friendly, equivocal, unsatisfying outcome.
So, in an unfriendly, unequivocal, but very satisfying move, I’ve decided to call it:
Taichung’s Chun Shui Tang teahouse is the true inventor of bubble tea.
Which is convenient, because that’s where I went yesterday, on a 340km round-trip bubble tea odyssey…
A friend from New Zealand joined me for this quest. Our journey started at Kaohsiung’s Zuoying High Speed Rail Station.Eight minutes after departure, we were traveling at 302km/h. The bullet train took 40 minutes to reach Taichung, 170km away.It was 21ºC and sunny when we arrived at Taichung High Speed Rail Station.The TV in the taxi was playing a long-form ad for the upcoming presidential election. But the moment I clicked the shutter, it was interrupted by whatever this was.Our first stop was this Chun Shui Tang teahouse in West District, where we’d be attending bubble tea school.We were directed to the third floor for our class.In a side-room, this table had been pre-set with ingredients.But first, handwashing! The five steps to “Keep Disease Away!” included rinsing the faucet after use (step 4).First up, we made black iced tea. Our excellent teacher mostly spoke Chinese, which my friend translated. Step 1: Fill the cocktail shaker with ice.Step 2: Pour a precisely-measured 10mL(?) of liquid cane sugar over the ice. I said I preferred no sugar, but was told to stick with the official recipe for round one, as this quantity of sugar would best accentuate the tea.Step 3: Add 70mL of freshly-brewed black tea.Step 4: Shake for an eternity.Step 5: Admire the frothy black tea.Step 6: Enjoy.Next up, we’d be making classic bubble milk tea. We started by smelling the tea leaves and inspecting the tapioca balls. Part of Chun Shui Tang’s founding story is that its bubble tea was the first to be made with black tapioca balls (shown here in uncooked form). The black balls were soft and crumbly, while the white balls were extremely hard. After fingering lots of balls, I concluded black balls are truly superior, and looked forward to putting them in my mouth.Step 1: Scoop some cooked tapioca balls into a cup.Step 2: Measure 70mL of freshly-brewed tea. This tea was intentionally stronger than what was used for the black tea, in anticipation of……Step 3: Diluting it with two level scoops of creamer.Step 4: Whisk for an eternity.Step 5: Refill the cocktail shaker with ice (this time the liquid cane sugar was optional).Step 6: Pour over the mix of tea and creamer.Step 7: Shake for an eternity.Step 8: Pour over the tapioca balls.Step 9: Add the remaining ice.Step 10: Whisk for an eternity.Step 11: Enjoy.We were awarded certificates of participation and gifted plastic cocktail shakers. And with that, class was dismissed.I rate the black tea 8/10. It was good, but the standard sugar level was (subjectively) too high. However, the bubble tea was incredible—the best I’ve had. An easy 10/10, for which I took none of the credit but all of the pleasure.At this point, the bubble tea odyssey was only half done. Gifts in hand, we caught an Uber to another Chun Shui Tang……The world’s first bubble tea shop, the Chun Shui Tang teahouse on Siwei Street, Taichung, Taiwan. (Established 1983; bubble tea since 1987.)We got a table near the back……And ordered bubble tea, of course. I gave this one a 9. (My guided effort had been marginally fresher.)Two-and-a-half hours later, we were boarding the bullet train back to Kaohsiung. It’s not the cheapest way to visit a teahouse, but it works for a 340km same-day round-trip. Ganbei! 🧋
On an unrelated note…
Today, January 5, 2024, marks my one-year anniversary in Taiwan. I forgot to celebrate. But I’ll be celebrating my one-year anniversary in Kaohsiung—this coming Monday—by leaving town. I’ll be embarking on a solo huandao (環島), literally ‘around the island’, circumnavigation of Taiwan by scooter.
I plan to post daily updates, starting the night of January 8. Weather, scooter, and body permitting, the trip will take 11 days.
My first 24 hours in Taiwan were challenging in unexpected ways. For my one-year anniversary, I’m hoping for a smoother ride.
