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The Fabled Pour
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Country

Taiwan

I have one sourced drink connected to Taiwan. The label on each card says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

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Taiwan on the world map. Boundaries are generalized Natural Earth data.

Drinks of Taiwan

Signature drinks and regional ones, with the evidence behind each. A drink marked non-alcoholic has no alcohol in the traditional serve.

  • Illustration of Pearl Milk Tea (Bubble Tea): opaque light tan milk tea with dark caramel-brown tapioca pearls settled at the bottom, in a tall clear plastic cup with an extra-wide straw.

    Pearl Milk Tea (Bubble Tea)

    ContestedSignature drinkNon-alcoholic

    Sweetened milk tea with chewy tapioca pearls resting at the bottom of a clear cup, drunk through an extra-wide straw. Black, green, oolong and jasmine tea bases are all used, and the pearls are dark caramel from brown sugar.

    It emerged from Taiwanese tea shops in the 1980s. Chun Shui Tang in Taichung and Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan each claim to have invented it, with National Geographic noting both give 1986. A court in 2019 ruled the question irrelevant because the drink was never patented.

    Made with: tea, milk, sugar, tapioca pearls.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: nationalgeographic.com (opens in a new tab), taipeitimes.com (opens in a new tab)

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.