assam milk tea

[chris.]

At a net cafe I go to often they sell a drink called Assam milk tea. It is supplied from taiwan as the owners of the net cafe are chinese.

The name sounds Indian or something but the drink container has chinese written all over it apart from the 'ASSAM milk tea' written in english.

I really like it and I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me some good information about it and I would love to be able to make it myself.

[wix]

Assam is a state in the north-east of India and one of the world's major tea growing areas. It is near Darjeeling which is another large tea growing area. Although the Chinese first discovered tea, tea was also discovered growing wild in Assam and that marked the beginning of the tea industry in India. The real reasons for the huge tea industry in India though is that the British lost the Opium War and had to look for a new place to source their tea from.

[tetsuo500]

If you like Assam, you're going to love the real stuff! 珍珠奶茶 (zhen zhu nai cha - pearl milk tea) is a tea drink from Taiwan. It's sweet tea with milk and there are black 'pearls' sitting in the bottom of the cup. The pearls are balls of cooked tapioca. It's served in a plastic cup, and the top of the cup is usually sealed by melting a sheet of plastic onto the top of the cup. You have a thick straw which you use to pierce the top of the cup, then you can drink the tea and eat the pearls!

There are also lots of different flavours. I like coconut and mint flavours the best. Assam make a few different versions of milk tea, I think one has pearls in it, but the pearls are tiny, too soft and disgusting. You're best bet of finding real pearl milk tea is to go to a Taiwanese restaurant. but try not to get addicted, I went through a period of drinking 2 or 3 cups everyday! .....erk..... Also remember to pierce the top of the cup with the sharp end of the straw, do it quickly, firmly and keep the straw pointed straight down. One time I took a girl to drink pearl milk tea, and she tried piercing the top with the blunt end of the straw and the whole thing exploded all over her. It was not good.

[Tsunku]

Pearl milk tea is also really popular in mainland china, and also in certain places in america (such as where I live). It's really cheap in China, only about 2RMB for a big cup of it, whereas they'll the places in the US charge about as much as Starbucks.

My favorites are coconut and honeydew. I thought honeydew would be nasty at first but it grew on me.

[tetsuo500]

Yeah, it's pretty popular in Australia too, you can get it at most Taiwanese and Chinese restaurants. There are also a lot of tea shops, even chains which survive mainly on selling pearl milk tea! So I guess it should be pretty easy to find in New Zealand as well.

[Guest mshellyoung]

Please please help me someone!!!!!!!!! Does anyone know where I can get the nai cha in the UK??????????? I try every new restaurant I find but still my thirst is thirsty!!!!!!!!!!!

Please someone write back soon!!!!!!!!

[Quest]

Please please help me someone!!!!!!!!! Does anyone know where I can get the nai cha in the UK??????????? I try every new restaurant I find but still my thirst is thirsty!!!!!!!!!!!

Please someone write back soon!!!!!!!!

Thirst potion recipe--

Pour filtered milk(filter by silk) into a cup, then pour filtered(by silk) tea into that same cup, Badabing Badaboom.