Why Is It So Hot? a Study on Taiwan's Miracle Boba

Taiwan’s Miracle——Boba tea

Why is it so hot? A study on Taiwan’s miracle──Boba tea

Authors:

Wang Min-rong (王敏容) Ling Ya-ting (林雅婷) Kang Meng-han (康孟涵) National Tainan Commercial Vocational Senior High School Department of Applied Foreign Language / Class 3B

Advisor:

Huang Yan-Hong (黃燕鴻師)

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I. INTRODUCTION

A. Motivation

It goes without saying that necessity is the mother of invention, so merchants created the business to make good use of people’s need of drinking water. In the past, we would drink plain water or tea to quench our thirst. Nowadays, there are much more competitions as more and more prosperous tea cafes spring up. To appeal to more customers, the increased sorts of beverages followed the increase of innovative ideas. Then, Boba tea came into being. Modern people drink beverages instead of plain water. Among that, Boba tea is a drink in great demand. Imagine this, on a hot summer day; you’re having a cup of refreshing Boba tea. When having a sip of it, the chewy pearls are full of your mouth. It’s fantastic! Boba tea, which is one of Taiwan’s miracles, is the most popular beverage in Taiwan.

B. Research Questions

As Boba tea now is a well-known drink, we desire to know why Boba tea can be so popular in Taiwan. It is a common sight that while roaming in the streets; you will see someone having a cup of Boba tea in his hands. Today, Boba tea is the hottest drink, growing in popularity every day not only in Taiwan but also over the world. Then, do you want to know what the origin of Boba tea is? Where on earth is the perfect combination——pearl tapioca and milk tea being created? And what are the procedures of making a cup of Boba tea? We can find Boba tea in almost every country. Consequently, we wonder what magic of Boba tea is to become so well known. And what is the difference of Boba tea between Taiwan and those in other countries? We investigated the research three questions as follows： Q1.What is the origin of Boba tea? Q2.Why is Boba tea so popular in Taiwan? Q3.What is the difference of Boba tea between Taiwan and other countries?

C. Approach

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In order to satisfy our curiosity, we found some information through Internet, which helped us get the answer to Q1 and Q3. The keywords we used to search on the Internet were Boba tea’s origin and Boba tea in the world. Furthermore, we used some of the information to generate our questionnaire. We compared Boba tea in Taiwan with that in other countries as well. For making more accurate research, we foraged in books and corrected false information on the Internet.

To solve Q2, we made a questionnaire to know people’s knowing about Boba tea in different ages and how much they love it. We asked one hundred and six people to help us and gave them our questionnaires, and subsequently divided them into different at age groups which are 10 to 20, 21 to 30, 31 to 40, and beyond 40. We put the results we had investigated in order, and compared the percentage of people’s fondness in different ages. Then, we classified them and analyzed the data we had collected. Through these processes, we knew more about Boba tea.

II. Thesis

A. What is the origin of Boba tea?

At the start, tea shops in Taiwan only sold teas, such as green tea, black tea and oolong tea. In the cause of attracting more purchasers to buy teas, tea shop keepers were inspired to develop new products; accordingly, Boba tea was invented. As the story goes, not until reported by a Japanese TV program did Boba tea catch businessmen's attention. As a result, there were more and more vendors selling Boba tea around schools, cram schools, and night markets. As time went by, different sizes in tapioca balls and pellets of Boba tea had been showing up. For the sake of distinguishing the difference, people in the south of Taiwan call bigger tapioca balls "boba" and smaller "pearl". At the same time, people in the north of Taiwan only call them "pearl", so called "boba" in the south of Taiwan. Interestingly, the northern people buying Boba tea in the South of Taiwan will find that tapioca balls shrink in size.

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There is a controversial issue that who on earth invents the tapioca balls. Two tea shops, "Chun Shui Tang cultural tea house" and "Han Lin Teahouse", respectively claim that they are the first pioneers. According to the owner of Chun Shui Tang cultural teahouse, Liu Han-Jie, he began experimenting with milk tea in 1983, and a clerk made the first Boba tea by accident. On the other hand, the boss of Han Lin Teahouse, Tu Tzung-He, indicated that an inspiration struck on him as he went to a supermarket seeing white tapioca balls in 1987. Hence, he said that tapioca balls were transformed from white into black as we see today.

Both of the teahouses did not apply for patent or brand equity. Thanks to it, Boba tea made its way to the most representative and popular beverage in Taiwan.

B. Why is Boba tea so popular in Taiwan?

Boba tea is made from sweet potato flour and added to milk tea. On account of its sweet, chewy, quirky and funky taste, many a person loves it deeply. Originally, it was eaten with a spoon. However, it was inconvenient for people to eat while walking. Afterwards, with the invention of its fun HUGE straw for us to eat through, allowing for the tapioca balls to travel through the straw as we drink it, Boba tea is circulated widely. As a result, it appeals to youngsters. Apart from that, Tea shops where Boba tea are sold situated in downtown, can be seen everywhere. The prices are acceptable as well. Consequently, they are thought of as the best place for people to get together. From then on, Boba tea has grown into its popularity, being bought in night markets and so forth. Subsequently, Boba tea is even circulated all over the world. We made a questionnaire to survey why it can be so popular in Taiwan.

The result of Boba tea’s questionnaire:

１． AGE: □ 10 to 20 □ 21 to 30 □ 31 to 40 □ Up 40

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Distribution of age

Up 40 4

31 to 40 9

21 to 30 19

10 to 20 74

0 20 40 60 80

Figure 1 We can see from the bar chart that 70 percentages of the consumers who buy Boba tea age from10 to 20. 18 percentages of them age 21 to30. 8 percentages of them age 31 to 40 and 4 percentages of them above 40 years old. As the bar chart indicates, youngsters aging 10 to 20 have the largest percentage of consuming Boba tea. We can also infer that there is a great deal of discrepancy in the need of buying Boba tea among different ages. The younger the consumers are, the more times they buy Boba tea, and vice versa. To sum up, Boba tea is more attractive to the youngster.

２． HOW OFTEN DO YOU HAVE BOBA TEA? □ 1 to 3 days □ 4 to5 days □ 6 to 7 days □ two weeks □ one month

Frequency 50 44 40 30 18 20 13 12 13 10 6 0 Two 1 to 3 4 to 5 6 to 7 A month Seldom weeks

Figure 2 As the chart illustrates, the average frequency of consumers having Boba tea once 1 to 3 days is 12 percents, 4 to 5 days is 11 percent, 6 to 7 days is 12 percent, two weeks is 17 percent, a month is 42 percent, and seldom drinking Boba tea is 6 percent. Although Boba tea is extremely popular in Taiwan, 44percents of the interviewees only purchase Boba tea once a month. Due to this, the frequency of consuming Boba tea is not as high as we

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expected. We can infer that the tainted milk powder event which was reported all over the world by media affects the willingness that consumers buy Boba tea. Many shoppers claim that sales volume drops off obviously.

３． WHAT ARE THE REASONS YOU LIKE BOBA TEA? (MUTIPLE CHOICE) □ Chewy Taste □ Quenching Thirst □ Cheap Price □ Simply Loving It □Craving For It

The reasons of loving Boba tea

To quench thirst Craving for it 9% 29%

Chewy taste Simply love it 39% Cheap 22% 1%

Figure 3 As the chart shows, the reasons why consumers purchase Boba tea are as follows: we have 39 percentage of the interviewees love Boba tea because of its chewy taste, 29 percentage of the interviewees love Boba tea because of craving for it, 22 percentage of the interviewees love Boba tea because of simply loving it, 9 percentage of the interviewees love Boba tea because of quenching thirst and 1 percentage of the interviewees love Boba tea because of its cheap price. As can be inferred from the result, the highest percentage of buying Boba tea is the chewy taste and the lowest is the cheap price. Compared with other kinds of tea, Boba tea’s price seems to be more expensive. Therefore, it is believed that if we can lower the price of Boba tea, Boba tea may gain more profit from the consumers, and make it more popular.

４． WHICH DO YOU PREFER, BOBA OR PEARL? □ Boba □ Pearl □ Both of Them The Reasons: ______The fondness of Boba or pearl

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60 54 50

30 32

20 18

0 Boba Pearl Both of them

Figure 4 From the chart we can conclude that, to the consumers, the fondness of Boba is 52 percent, that of pearl is 17 percent, and that of both is 31 percent. The result clearly shows that most of the consumers prefer Boba. The account may be the chewy taste of the big size pellet Boba, which can meet their satisfaction more easily.

５．IN WHAT SITUATIONS WILL YOU HAVE A CUP OF BOBA TEA? (MUTIPLE CHOICE) □ Reunion or Celebration □ Shopping □ Spare Time □ Thirsty

Motivation

Reunion or celebration Thirst 15% 19%

Shopping Spare time 26% 40%

Figure 5 As we can see from the pie chart above, in descending order of percentages of the motivation for people to purchase Boba tea we have spare time（ 40%), shopping（ 26%), reunion or celebration （19%) and thirst （15%). In the light of data showing that it is having their spare time that consumers purchase Boba tea. Purchasers drink Boba tea to

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satisfy their appetite for good food in their spare time. Also, they drink Boba tea while going shopping. In consequence, the percentage of shopping is not low.

Through this questionnaire, we found most people drink Boba tea once a month on average. There are some reasons we concluded why and how Boba tea is so popular. First, boba’s chewy taste draws a large number of crowds. The size of boba is bigger than pearl, so it is easier to chew. On the contrary, pearl is not as chewy as boba. Second, people, especially teenagers, like to have a cup of Boba tea as they are shopping or joining parties. Last but not least, being available for people to get one everywhere, Boba tea becomes popular as well.

C. What is the difference of Boba tea among Taiwan and other countries?

Have you ever heard boba strawberry juice? Boba tea is stemmed from Taiwan. However, it is developed into another form while scattered over other countries which have their unique culture and custom. After conducting the research, we find two of the primary differences as follows.

1. Components

In terms of Boba tea components, boba is made of tapioca. In Taiwan, milk tea, going with boba, is the fundamental elements. With both of these important elements, Boba tea comes into being. On the other hand, in other countries, the sellers of Boba tea are not always adding boba into milk tea. People in different countries use different kinds of juice in place of milk tea. For example, the United States has boba strawberry juice and boba mango juice. Distinct flavor has different tastes. It depends on the culture in your country. No matter what flavor you like, just have it and add some boba in, then this cup of drink will become tastier.

Below is a report from CNN. It proves that Boba tea prevailed in other countries, apart from Taiwan. What a glory for Taiwan. (Tapioca milk tea creating waves as fun coffee alternative , November 27, 2000 , Web posted at: 8:57 AM EST （1357 GMT）)

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Also known as boba milk tea or tapioca milk tea, the drink is showing up at tea shops across Los Angeles and Orange counties, with similar success in San Francisco, New York and elsewhere. Its backers think they may have stumbled onto a fun-to-drink alternative to coffee.

The media, according to the news issued by CNN, reported Boba tea’s success all over the world. Surprisingly, Boba tea could even replace coffee, which has been most of the foreigners’ daily drink. As a result, we may infer Boba tea has its significance that can’t be substituted for other drinks, at least, in these decades.

2. Price

The price of Boba tea in Taiwan is far cheaper than that in other countries. In Taiwan, a cup of Boba tea costs NT$ 25 dollars around. However, in Singapore, it costs NT$ 100 to have one. Then, in America, the price is even higher and cost NT$ 75 to 120 a cup. Moreover, we compared Taiwan’s price with Canada’s, finding that the price of the latter is almost 4 times as much as the former. So, if you have the chance to come to Taiwan, you must go to have a cup of Boba tea for its cheap price in Taiwan.

pic.4 the price of Boba tea in Japan pic.5 foreigners also love to drink Boba tea 1

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III. Conclusion

When it comes to Boba tea's origin, opinions are widely divided; nevertheless, no matter which sides you stand for, undoubtedly, BOBA TEA is in vogue. Nowadays, wherever you are on earth, you may find the trace of Boba tea, which has its allure to different peoples. Thus, it goes without saying that Boba tea is one of Taiwan's miracles.

Compared its price in Taiwan with that in other countries, Boba tea is cheaper. However, people in Taiwan still think it is not cheap enough to drive them to buy it all the time. After researching Boba tea, we think profoundly that if wanting to increase its sales volume and appeal to more consumers, owners should lower the price or engage in promoting its quality and developing other innovative products with boba. Furthermore, with a view to passing it down instead of breaking off, owners should swim with the tide that healthy living has become the mainstream in recent years. In addition, establishing more branches overseas can let people all over the world observe Taiwan's culture through Boba tea and promote People-to-People Diplomacy as well.

IV. References

A. Content

1.吳德亮(2004) 。珍珠奶茶完全攻略。台北市：民生報社。 2. Cable News Network (2000), Tapioca milk tea creating waves as fun coffee alternative, from http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/11/27/bubble.tea.ap/ 3. (2003) The History of Bubble Tea, Retrieved January 7, 2009, from http://www.bubbleteasupply.com/index.php?page=what.html 4. (2009) Bubble tea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Retrieved January 19, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boba_tea

B. Picture

1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/siukwan_kitchen/2824865059/ 2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/paipaizoo/2218139109/ 3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cinaya/23941263/ 4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fiona_hml/1668026277/ 5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/56393157@N00/387498344/

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V. Appendix

The questionnaire of Boba tea:

Dear friends: We are the students of National Tainan Commercial Vocational Senior High School. We are conducting a proposal, having to design a questionnaire to survey the level of the fondness of consumers toward Boba tea. This questionnaire is only for our assignment, and it won't leave any personal information. So, please fill it out with relieve. Whatever opinions you offer will help us a lot. Thank you for spending your time on this questionnaire. Sincerely yours

１． AGE: □ 10 to 20 □ 21 to 30 □ 31 to 40 □ beyond 40 ２． HOW OFTEN DO YOU HAVE BOBA TEA? □ 1 to 3 days □ 4 to5 days □ 6 to 7 days □ two weeks □ one month ３． WHAT ARE THE REASONS YOU LIKE BOBA TEA? (MUTIPLE CHOICE) □ Chewy Taste □ Quenching Thirst □ Cheap Price □ Simply Loving It □Craving For It ４． WHICH DO YOU PREFER, BOBA OR PEARL? □ Boba □ Pearl □ Both Of Them The Reasons: ______５．IN WHAT SITUATIONS WILL YOU HAVE A CUP OF BOBA TEA? (MUTIPLE CHOICE) □ Reunion or Celebration □ Shopping □ Spare Time □ Thirsty

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波霸奶茶──問卷調查親愛的朋友：你好，我們是台南高商應用外語科的學生，目前正在校修習「專題製作」科目，需設計一份問卷以作調查之用，此份問卷主要是研究消費者對波霸奶茶的喜好程度，此問卷僅供研究之用因此不會留下您任何資料，請您安心填寫！您所提供的寶貴意見，對我們的研究將會有很大的助益，再次感謝您撥空填寫這份問卷！最後敬祝心想事成台南高商應外科第五組學生敬上

１．年齡： □ １０～２０歲 □ ２１～３０ □３０～４０ □ ４０歲以上

２．平均多久喝一次波霸奶茶？ □ １～３天 □ ４～５天 □ ６～７天 □ 兩週 □ 一個月

３．你喜歡喝波霸奶茶的原因為何？（可複選） □ＱＱ的口感 □ 解渴 □ 價錢便宜 □ 單純喜歡 □ 嘴饞想咬東西

４．你比較喜歡波霸還珍珠？ □ 波霸 □珍珠 □ 皆喜歡原因：______

５．在什麼情況之下，你會想喝波霸奶茶？ □ 朋友聚會或慶祝 □ 逛街 □ 閒暇無聊時 □ 口渴

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