Bubble tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. Taiwanese migrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially in California through regions like Los Angeles county, but has likewise spread to other countries where there is a large East Asian diasporic population.
Bubble tea most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls ("boba" or "pearls"), but it can be made with other toppings as well, such as grass jelly, aloe vera, or red bean. It has many varieties and flavors, but the two most popular varieties are black pearl milk tea and green pearl milk tea ("pearl" signifies the tapioca balls at the bottom).