3 January, 2021 | Bon Tea Cafe Updated 2021
Honey Boba: All You Need To Know
For a very long time, the only boba we knew was the bland and naked boba that was mushy outside yet hard inside. As the drink became popular in the United States, the styles evolved. Then came the honey boba, and that was when our world changed forever!
Honey boba is delicious, chewy, and served warm sometimes. When you take it for the first time, you will wonder why the regular boba is even legal! It is the most delicious part of the boba tea; a drink originated in the late 1900s from Taiwan at a street food stall.
Many Vendors Claimed Ownership
Numerous vendors claim to be the ones who came up with the brilliant idea of inventing the boba tea. Regardless of who gets the credit, the combination of these three menus was a complete genius!
If you are not familiar with boba tea or honey boba, it probably means you do not get out much. But that's okay. Boba shops are not as universal as Starbucks. But they have, over recent years, become a popular place to hang out in the United States.
Another reason could be that you know boba tea by a different name. Some places in the U.S. call it bubble tea, boba milk tea, pearl milk tea, and many others. In this guide, we will explain to you everything you need to know about honey boba.
But first, let's go through a short primer on boba to get the full context.
The Popularity And Invention of Boba Tea
In Taiwan or East Asia, milk tea was no stranger when boba got invented. That's because milk tea had been a popular beverage for centuries in the region. The milk tea was introduced to the Dutch and the British when they got to India. The Dutch then sent it to Taiwan when they colonized the country in the 17th century.
When boba tea was created, flavored shaved ice and tapioca pearls or tapioca balls were served as desserts by street vendors in Taiwan. They were both common desserts. But one day, as the story goes, one of the street vendors had the idea to serve both desserts and milk tea together.
The vendor combined the flavored shaved ice with the tapioca pearls in a cup. Then filled the rest of it with the milk tea. And that was when boba tea became an instant sensation. It was first referred to as bubble tea but was labeled "boba," which happens to be a Chinese slang term for breasts. That's because of how the tapioca pearls are shaped.
As you probably know, tapioca comes from cassava starch, which is also called yuca. Yuca looks like yam.
More And More Shops Serves Their Version of Boba Tea
As the years went by, more and more boba shops began to create their boba milk tea version. They started adding fruit powders and syrups, including sweeteners such as honey, to replace the flavored shaved ice.
Boba shops and numerous street vendors experimented with ingredients aside from tapioca balls. Some use almond jelly, rice balls, egg pudding, grass jelly, etc., instead of tapioca pearls. Others also started replacing regular milk with non-dairy creamer. That way, the drink mixture would be stable until served. That replacement made the boba milk tea more sweet and creamy.
However, even though there are so many variations, they are still called boba tea or bubble tea. The enormous popularity led almost everyone to the Taiwan street markets. It got to a point where chain stores were even selling bubble tea! Everyone had boba tea in their hand.
The craze spread to Japan, China, and Hong Kong in the mid-1990s. After that, it went to Oahu, and then it moved to the Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese neighborhoods in the United States and Canada. These places in the U.S. and Canada had local Asian tea shops where they started selling bubble tea.
Now, numerous boba shops in L.A. serve smoothies, green tea lemonade, yogurt tea, and slushies. There is one favorite milk tea: Japanese milk tea, also known as royal milk tea. It is a black tea that is sweetened with honey or sugar.
Ah, honey. If you were wondering when we will get to honey boba, the wait is over.
Honey Boba: The Popular Form of Milk Tea
Honey boba has steadily risen to become the popular version of milk tea. First of all, you can prepare honey boba in two ways. You can add honey to the tea, milk, and tapioca balls. The added honey adds a recognizable sweetness to the milk tea. But the flavor will depend on the type of honey you use.
The second option is to cook the tapioca balls in honey before adding them to your boba drink. That will leave the tapioca pearls in a sweet and delicious coating. When it comes to the type of honey that works magic with bubble tea, you can't find one. There's no secret recipe. It all depends on your taste.
If you want to have a classic honey flavor, you can make your boba tea with clover or acacia honey. If you want the taste to be richer, sourwood or buckwheat would be preferable. However, if you love the linden honey, then adding it to your milk tea will take your experience to a whole new level!
Is Honey Boba Good For You?
Honey is universally known to have numerous health benefits, and it's one of the healthiest foods around today. The polyphenols and phenols found in tea help fight against multiple medical problems such as heart disease.
However, don't assume that honey bubble tea is exceptionally a healthy drink. It's not, unfortunately. You can even use the raw, unfiltered honey, which contains the most health benefits, to prepare your milk tea. It will still not be enough.
That's because tapioca pearls contain high amounts of carbohydrates, thus high calories. There are no vitamins, contains few minerals, and you get no nutritional value. And if your boba tea contains lots of milk, it adds to the fat and increases the calories.
In other words, there are no real benefits to boba tea other than its delicious taste. And adding honey to the milk tea does not add the health benefits you would hope for. So if you add honey to your diet due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, then it's better to use it in a different way than adding it to your boba tea.
Does that mean honey boba is not good? Of course not. You don't avoid your occasional milkshake, right? However, it's not advisable to make it your daily diet. Honey boba is a fantastic treat that most people enjoy all year round. When taken in moderation, it can be one of the most delicious ways to consume honey.
Drink Your Favorite Honey Boba At Bontea!
Preparing honey boba at home is quite easy. However, if you have a busy schedule, you can get your favorite honey bubble milk tea at Bontea Cafe. Our unique recipe brings out the sweetness of the drink.
You can enjoy your favorite drink in a relaxed and serene environment at Bontea. Visit us at our specialty coffee and tea shop at 7275 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046. We'd love to see you there!