咖啡廳與健身日常

A Brief History of Pearl Milk Tea

Drinking tea is a Taiwanese pastime that verges on the edge of obsession. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner there’s a variety of tea to perfectly complement any food and suit any palate. But when it comes to an afternoon drink or something to sip on while wandering through the local night market, nothing beats a pearl milk tea, Taiwan’s (unofficial) official drink.

在台灣，喝珍奶就像是在英國喝茶、在義大利喝咖啡那樣，都是閒暇時間放鬆的一種生活方式。對於每個人來說，三餐所可以搭配的茶飲，應該也有各式各樣不同的習慣。但如果論一種適合下午品嘗或是解嘴饞又或者逛街時邊走邊喝的飲品，那麼相信在台灣沒有任何一項是能夠比得上珍珠奶茶的。

What is pearl milk tea?  到底什麼是珍奶呀？

While it might sound like a rather odd shade of paint suitable for dental surgery waiting rooms, it’s actually an incredibly tasty drink that is more like a snack than a beverage. And why is that? Well, that would have something to do with the score or so of tapioca balls floating around in the bottom of the cup.

您可能常常發現，就連牙醫診所之類的醫療場所都會有珍奶的蹤跡，或許會覺得有些詭異吧〈對於外國觀光客應該是〉。但從這點可以說明，在台灣，珍珠奶茶是一種相當受到歡迎，甚至可以說它是日常解饞的點心而非只是一種飲料而已。但為什麼要說它是一種點心呢？您有機會點杯珍奶來喝的話，看看珍奶底部那些黑嚕嚕的粉圓就會明白了。

Served with an oversized straw, this drink can be any variety of tea, at any temperature. The only prerequisite is that vendors must pack the bottom half of the cup with the jelly-like pearls, or what many call bubbles.

如論珍奶的特色，對於許多人來說答案，應該是需要使用口徑大的吸管，但是任何一項飲料都能用這樣粗的吸管來喝呀。而珍奶與眾不同之處在於，它含有近半杯量的珍珠，所以在喝珍珠奶茶時，您還必須要用嘴巴咀嚼，用牙齒搭配嘴巴才能夠飲用，就像吃東西一樣，所以我才會說，珍奶算是一種點心，而不單單只是飲料的原因就在這裡。

珍珠奶茶裡的珍珠，圖片來源：Toby Oxborrow

Where did it come from? 珍奶的發源地

Although there are several tea vendors that claim to have been the first to create this now world-famous drink, the most credible is Liu Han-Chieh of Chun Shui Tang Teahouse in Taichung. In the early 80s, he noted that Japanese people enjoyed drinking cold coffee and so he tried out the idea with tea. His cold teas were so popular that his business expanded and he opened several new branches throughout the city.

雖然在臺灣有非常多的店家聲稱自己是珍奶的創始人，但到目前為止，最有可能的答案，是位於台中的春水堂的創辦人-劉漢介先生。早在1980年代，他發現日本人喜歡喝冰咖啡，就以此做為發想，並藉由搭配台灣人愛喝茶的習慣，進而研發出冷的茶飲。到現在春水堂的茶飲在台灣相當受歡迎，難怪也有相當多的分店。

The bubbles or pearls arrived on the scene in 1988 when during a meeting Liu poured some tapioca balls into his iced teas. Everyone loved it, and so the national drink was born.

那麼最初只是發明冷的茶飲而已，到底跟珍奶有什麼關係呢？先別急，聽我慢慢解釋，第一杯的珍珠奶茶是在1988年時，春水堂創辦人突發奇想，將傳統用於冰品的粉圓加了幾顆在冰茶裡，然後發現這樣的飲料相當好喝，就開始在店內販售。許多人喜愛這款飲品，也因此這款國民飲品就此開展了它的歷史。

Another popular theory is that Tu Tsong-he of the Hanlin Teahouse invented the drink on a whim. He used white tapioca balls which resembled pearls which is allegedly where the name originated.

另外也有許多人認為翰林茶館的凃宗和先生研發了這款飲品。他使用了像是珍珠的白粉圓來調製，〝珍珠〞奶茶這樣的稱號因而得名。

Wherever it started, there’s no doubt that it took the Taiwanese tea industry by storm and forced many traditional vendors to adapt their menus to include this new and popular drink.

無論珍奶發源地在哪裡，關於珍奶是台灣最熱門的飲品這點，相信大家都會同意的。在台灣的飲料界，珍奶颳起了一陣急強勁的旋風，別的先不說，只要您有留意的話，會發現大街小巷所能見到的飲料店有十之八九都有供應這款飲品，就可以明白了。

The different types 不同風味的珍珠奶茶

Most shops sell a straightforward green or black tea with milk and perhaps some sweetener added. But while this was and still is a popular choice, the Taiwanese sense of culinary adventure always desires something new.

大多數的店家都會賣的珍奶多半都是奶茶或是奶綠直接搭配粉圓，又或者稍微特別點會添加些甜味劑。雖然這樣的搭配到現在依舊是最受歡迎的品項，但台灣的飲料業競爭激烈，總會有店家由珍奶研發出一些新奇的特色飲品。

These days, teashops will offer a wide variety of teas and flavors to entice their adventurous clientele. Common flavors include strawberry, honeydew melon, apple, passion fruit, mango, and many many more.

有些店家在近年來，開始提供各種風味的珍奶來吸引追求不同變化的客戶群。而這些珍奶當中像是草莓、蜜香甜瓜、蘋果、百香果、芒果等，都是相當常見且收到歡迎的口味。

For those that aren’t too keen on tea, there are coffee versions of the drink while those that are lactose intolerant can try one of the many milk free variants.

另外，針對不喜歡茶味的客戶群，有些店家也有咖啡版本的珍奶-也就是用咖啡搭配珍珠，另外如果喝奶製品會拉肚子或有乳糖不適症的客人，也有不含牛奶的選項可以做選擇。

各式各樣的珍奶，圖片來源：Ben W

The national obsession 珍奶無疑是台灣的國民飲品

It’s not quite clear why this particular drink took root while so many other food and drink fads faded into obscurity. Perhaps it’s the fact that people here drink tea like other nations drink water or maybe it’s because it’s an ideal snack/drink combo for people on the go.

目前還不太清楚為何，珍奶不像曾在台灣風行的髒髒包〈不確定到六月的今天是否還流行？〉、葡式蛋塔〈哎呀，還記得之前很火紅的蛋塔工場嗎〉那樣的產品熱潮的壽命不長。或許是因為在台灣，茶飲對於許多人來說，就像是水一樣的像是必需品；又或者對於很多人來說，這種有口感的飲品正符合他們的需求吧。

The most likely reason though, is that it’s not just one drink but a thousand reinventions of the original. Yes, we still call it pearl milk tea but with so many variations found in so many tea shops throughout the country, often the only thing they have in common is the pearls, and even those can be flavored.

另一種為何珍奶從不退燒的原因很可能是因為，它不只是一種飲品而已。許多店家為了吸引更多顧客上門，以珍奶為基礎研發了許多變化版的創意飲品吧。像是公館商圈的陳三鼎提供不加茶而只加牛奶和粉圓的青蛙撞奶；又像是最近很紅的蜜滋麻美在珍珠鮮奶上加上像是可可粉這樣的配料來增加口感，這些飲品的共通點大概是都有加上粉圓吧。

Taiwan has always been a country of innovation, but it’s still incredible that such a simple thing as a cup of tea can have so many new leases of life. Next time you’re in Taiwan, make the local pearl milk tea shop your first port of call.

的確，台灣素有發明之國的外號，但是難以想像的是，單就珍珠奶茶這樣的飲料就能有那麼多種口味。這大概需要花一生的時間才能喝完所有的珍奶吧。下次有機會來台灣，您們決不能錯過珍珠奶茶。〈好啦，只要有來台灣，我絕對會選珍珠奶茶店來當作我的第一站拉〉

原文連結：A Brief History of Pearl Milk Tea

原文作者：Ciaran McEneaney

原文撰文日期：2017.5.26