Taro Milk Tea in LA - Everything You Need to Know

You must have heard of taro milk tea either from your friends or somewhere on the web. There’s no way it has escaped your radar, especially if you are living in a big, shiny city like LA. Taro milk tea was originated in Taiwan in the late 80s, and quickly became famous all over the world.

This beverage is just one of many bubble tea types offering a unique taste and vibe to its lovers. Let’s take a more detailed look at its origin, then discuss the ingredients to see what goes into your favorite beverage.

The Origins of Taro Milk Tea

There is a city in Taiwan called Taipei, which is believed to be the motherland of the original boba milk tea; however, some locals may argue otherwise. Milk teas have been around for eternity, and according to the sayings, one cafe owner decided to add tapioca balls to the drink, which is also known as boba. 

The boba tea quickly became widespread throughout the country and turned into one of the most favorite beverages of the locals. The boba tea, however, has not stayed in its original form for long. People started to make modifications to the drink swapping tapioca balls for other fruits such as red beans or grass jellies. This catapulted the spread of the beverage as it was being tailored to the different tastes of people.

The purple drink was also the favorite of tourists who came to visit Taiwan. The fame of the drink didn’t recognize any borders coming all the way to the United States. Americans called boba tea in Los Angeles ‘bubble tea’ as tapioca balls looked very much like small black bubbles.

What’s Inside My Bubble Milk Tea?

Well, there are different variations to the taro milk tea itself too. The main ingredients are milk, organic taro blend, and organic tea, which define the characteristics of this drink. However, the tea is sometimes being excluded from the beverage.

We, BonTea, include jasmine green tea as it is the default ingredient of this drink. As you have already seen, tapioca pearls sit on the bottom of the mug right under shaved ice, making the beverage cold and thick. Then the mix of milk and tea is being added until its full. 

You can make this drink at home if you have the right tools and ingredients. The only tricky part of preparing this drink can be the boba itself as it needs to be boiled for approximately 30 minutes and then cooled before being added to the drink. 

If you don’t feel like making taro milk tea on your own, BonTea has got your back. Our specialists have years of experience creating different variations of this Taiwanese drink and have learned to put love and care into every drink they make!

Taro Powder

Now, apart from the primary ingredients which are inside almost all of the bubble tea types, there is a final additive called taro, which makes the taro milk tea unique. So, what is taro? It’s a tropical plant that originated in the South of Asia and India. Now, it is being cultivated all over the globe. Taro consists of lots of nutrients such as magnesium and potassium and is similar to a potato.

Apart from the dynamic flavor taro gives to the bubble tea, it also adds crucial nutrients to your favorite drink. Taros now come in packages and are almost ready to be added to the drink, making the process a lot easier. However, if you have the raw form of taro itself, you can prepare it for the drink by yourself following the recipes on the internet.

What is boba made of?

The recipe for boba is relatively simple. The only thing you need is tapioca flour; however, if you don’t find it in your local stores, you can go with tapioca starch as well. If you are living in a small city, odds are finding dried boba will be a challenge.

Unless you have a friend who can send you packages from Taiwan, you need to make your own boba. There are lots of resources on the internet that can help you make tasty tapioca pearls for your favorite taro milk tea. And believe me, it is going to be much better than dried boba from a local supermarket.

What Are The Different Variations of Taro Milk Tea?

There are tons! BonTea offers Jazz Passion Tea, which consists of organic jasmine green tea with added milk and strawberry syrup. If you love the taste of fresh strawberries in your favorite bubble tea beverage, it just might be your best bet.

There is also matcha milk tea, which has a deep green color to it. Matcha is a powder made of green tea leaves and a lot of antioxidants, which is quite beneficial. The origins of matcha tea are beyond the scope of this article, and deserves its own post, so we are going to focus on taro milk tea for now.

How Much Bubble Tea Can You Drink a Day?

According to health.com, bubble tea is safe to drink a few cups a day. It has major health benefits such as providing nutrition for your body, supplying antioxidants to protect your cells and putting a smile on your face every time you take a sip!

However, just like any other food or drink, having too much of something can lead to negative consequences, so be aware of the amount of sugar and caffeine, you are putting into your body.

Sum It Up

Taro milk tea keeps a long history and worldwide fame because of its irresistible taste and flavors. If you are living in Los Angeles, you are in great luck! We, BonTea, are located down in Melrose Avenue, offering our customers a large selection of bubble teas along with tasty Belgian waffles that only leave pleasant memories of sweet dessert experience. 

So come on down, we are excited to meet and offer you delicious beverages tailored to your taste buds! 

Answers to Common Taro Milk Tea Questions

What makes up the average taro bubble tea?

As earlier mentioned in the sections above, taro tea consists of a number of ingredients. In summary, these ingredients include the following: tea base, sweetener, creamer, and the most important piece of the taro puzzle; taro powder or taro root. For those who choose to use taro root freshly grounded, you can find information here to help you get it right. 

Can you find dairy in taro bubble tea?

To make the answer to this common question short, it depends on the milk you use. Your taro milk tea boba will contain dairy if it is present in the milk you added to make the drink rich and creamy. Or if you don’t order non-dairy milk, the tea you’ll be served will contain 2% milk. In some cases, you may get some other variation of cow’s milk. 

For those who will prefer non-dairy taro bubble tea, you can choose either almond milk, oat milk, etc. 

What is responsible for the purple color of taro bubble tea?

Here too you get a simple answer. The food coloring used in processing taro tea is the only factor responsible for the purple color you observe in the finished drink. If you’ve ever seen the insides of regular taro root, you’ll observe spec of purple in its typical off white coloring. 

For taro powder, processors or food manufactures deploy food coloring to achieve that purple color. Since the days taro milk tea took the scene by storm, this has been the norm. 

How can I expect it to taste?

If you’ve ever tasted vanilla, you’ll find the taste of taro milk tea in the likeness of light vanilla. Usually, tastes are difficult to describe. Therefore, you need to seep some to feel the magic.

Our Menu

To get more information on our offerings, visit the BonTea menu to get acquainted with our beverages and waffles. We offer special types of coffees, bubble teas, and herbal teas, which are served cold in hot summer days and warm in freezing winters. If you have an event coming soon, you can benefit from our bubble tea catering services and let all of your family members and friends taste the unforgettable taro milk tea.

Author Bio

Aziz Hamidov is a professional content creator and editor, known for making in-depth research and coming up with extraordinary solutions. Although he writes mostly on marketing-related subjects, making various tea and coffee is also his strong suit.