Bubble tea 101
What is bubble tea?
Tea and milk shaken over ice with tapioca pearls. It started in Taiwan in the 1980s, and today it covers everything from fruit teas to brown sugar boba.
The original
Pearl milk tea
Bubble tea, also called pearl milk tea or boba, was originally black tea and milk shaken with tapioca pearls. The name now covers a whole world of milk teas, fruit teas and more.
It began in Taiwan in the 1980s and has travelled the world since. We fell for it there, and brought it home to Bristol in 2012.
The bubbles
Tapioca pearls
Our pearls are made from the starch of the cassava root, so they are naturally gluten-free. Cooking them to be soft, with just the right bite, is the hardest part, and the part we care about most.
Bursting with fruit
Popping boba
Popping boba have a thin skin made from seaweed extract, filled with fruit juice. They burst when you bite. Try them in our fruit teas.
The CUPP way
How we make ours
No sugary powders and no non-dairy creamer.
- Loose-leaf teaBrewed fresh, never from a powder.
- Real fruit puréesMade with real fruit, for fresh, natural flavour.
- Premium milksFresh milk, or a plant-based alternative.
- Less sugarLess sweet by default. Ask for more or less.
- Shaken and sealedShaken in a cocktail shaker, then sealed to take away.
- Matcha and morePremium Japanese matcha in our Matcha Clouds and lattes.
Ready for your first one?
Find your nearest CUPP and try a classic milk tea.