Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict • Hacker News Board

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#81

Post by iljya » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 3:58 PM UTC

legulere wrote: post #75

Jack000 wrote: post #73

I find it kind of funny that milk tea is tied to Asian identity. afaik for traditional Chinese adding milk to tea is a faux pas kind of like adding Coke to wine. I think the modern practice of adding milk to tea started with the British, who imported it via Hong Kong. The Taiwanese then added tapioca + sugar which became bubble tea. There are traditional milk teas in other countries though, like India and Mongolia. T…

I don’t know why you see Indians drinking tea with milk more traditional than British doing that, considering that British brought tea to India.

That tea is - for the most part - known as "chai" in India suggests a different origin (the world's languages are largely divided on the first sound in the word for tea: either Te or Ch).

It is true that the British brought large scale tea production to India, but the plant is endemic to India and its local consumption long predates the British (though the exact origins are somewhat obscure).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_tea_culture

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#82

Post by say_it_as_it_is » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 4:03 PM UTC

Not a single person on HN who has tried to make their own tapioca pearls?

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#83

Post by packetlost » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 4:10 PM UTC

legulere wrote: post #75

Jack000 wrote: post #73

I find it kind of funny that milk tea is tied to Asian identity. afaik for traditional Chinese adding milk to tea is a faux pas kind of like adding Coke to wine. I think the modern practice of adding milk to tea started with the British, who imported it via Hong Kong. The Taiwanese then added tapioca + sugar which became bubble tea. There are traditional milk teas in other countries though, like India and Mongolia. T…

I don’t know why you see Indians drinking tea with milk more traditional than British doing that, considering that British brought tea to India.

Historically, yes. But masala chai is distinctly Indian, and one of the more notable examples of a tea where milk is a core ingredient instead of an optional addition.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#84

Post by snarfy » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 4:26 PM UTC

dilap wrote: post #72

amelius wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Smoking and socializing seem to go together, though. At least, that's how it appeared to me at a distance from observing other high-schoolers.

Bumming a cigarette is how my mom met my dad. I also used to smoke, and it really was, on the one hand, a great way to meet people, and on the other, to maintain casual friendships w/ the people who happened to be around you (e.g., people working in the building next door). Still, not worth it on balance. But I miss it.

If you go to conventions to network, the smoking section is the best place to meet people.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#85

Post by notsureaboutpg » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 4:34 PM UTC

JCharante wrote: post #36

There's nothing better after a 14 hour flight to Incheon than to finish going past security, up the escalator, and immediately into the Gong Cha on the left. Well, going outside into Seoul instead of just transiting there would probably be better. I like how the author used bubble tea as a backdrop to bring up a bunch of different topics. I find representation to be interesting (well, when they mentioned Crazy Rich A…

I agree. The last place I care about representation is Hollywood. Hollywood seems more and more a place to me devoid of morals, obsessed with lecturing to people, and a strange icon that so many are obsessed with worshipping. It's the one place I'd be happy if I were never represented.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#86

Post by kemayo » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 4:50 PM UTC

philliphaydon wrote: post #65

I don’t understand where “boba” comes from. Because I live in Singapore, my wife is Taiwanese, so I travel to Taiwan a lot, no one calls it boba... I keep seeing American or European articles say boba. Even in this article it says boba known in Chinese... but I’ve never heard anyone in Asia call it boba... in English it’s always called “bubble milk tea” or “brown/black sugar bubble milk tea”, depending on what you wa…

I always assumed it was a corruption from someone saying "bubble" with an exaggerated Chinese accent.

Granted, I now know this is wrong, since it's apparently a straight-up mashing together of the words for "big" and "bubble". So, funny how languages work.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#87

Post by winkeyless » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 5:03 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #61

ewokone wrote: post #33

Reading the 'in the realm of hungry ghosts' from Gabor Mate I learned that is not the substance itself but 3 major circumstances which trigger addiction in the human: powerlessness, isolation and stress. These key factors bring up behaviour patterns for addiction. Let it be sugar, sex, Screentime, drugs, food, sport, buying things, etc.... Really helped me to reflect on my patterns and I also learned about the differ…

As a New Yorker near some of her favorite places, who also picks up litter every day, I see the plastic these places generate, as will people 500 years from now. I wish they would find an addiction that doesn't pollute so much. Not that they're any different from Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and peers, but they certainly contribute their share.

Feel bad about this too. Blue Bottle uses compostable cups which sets an example

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#88

Post by ljm » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 5:07 PM UTC

Jack000 wrote: post #73

I find it kind of funny that milk tea is tied to Asian identity. afaik for traditional Chinese adding milk to tea is a faux pas kind of like adding Coke to wine. I think the modern practice of adding milk to tea started with the British, who imported it via Hong Kong. The Taiwanese then added tapioca + sugar which became bubble tea. There are traditional milk teas in other countries though, like India and Mongolia. T…

I don't know about wine and coke being a faux pa. Kalimotxo is a fantastic addition to a drinking game.

Just...don't use the good stuff.

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#89

Post by winkeyless » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

kibibyte wrote: post #12

How did "boba" become the de facto term for the drink? I remember calling it "pearl milk tea" in middle school, somehow switching over to "bubble tea" in late high school to college, and now calling it "boba". And I don't think I heard of the slang meaning until much later. Aside from that, as I am a first generation (native-born) Chinese-American, this article discusses my identity scarily well from an angle that I…

You’ll probably like Paper Tiger by Wesley Yang, which is even more frighteningly acute. https://nymag.com/news/features/asian-americans-2011-5/

Re: Chronicles of a Bubble Tea Addict

#90

Post by antoniuschan99 » Sun, Jan 31, 2021, 5:33 PM UTC

KMag wrote: post #35

ehnto wrote: post #7

I once went to a Bubble Tea place, and not knowing how the process worked, I said no to all of the additions, and ended up with nothing but chocolate milk and a big straw.

On the flip side, my buddy and I got hooked on bubble tea in school. A year after graduation, we rented a house along with my buddy's brother and my buddy's elementary school buddy. We were always drinking bubble tea from a kiosk in a mall within walking distance, so the brother one day decides to see what the fuss is about. He mentioned "Hey, I tried that bubble tea you guys are always drinking. It's pretty good, ex…

Could that have been taro? They leave in the taro at some places like Chatime. Aka Taiwanese style.

Also, op you could have use the normal straw :P