Recognizable to many people by the tapioca balls at the bottom and the wide straws that allow you to sip them along with your tea, you probably know bubble tea when you see it.

杯底的粉圓，還有讓你可以把奶茶和粉圓一起吸進嘴裡的寬大吸管，辨識度極高。只要一看到就能立刻認出，這就是珍珠奶茶。

But how much do you really know about this odd and exhilarating beverage?

但你對這種奇特而令人興奮的飲料了解多少？

These facts about bubble tea's history, ingredients — and health risks — might surprise you.

這些關於珍奶歷史、成分及危害健康的威脅，可能會讓你大吃一驚。

A happy accident

無心插柳柳成蔭

Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Taichung in the 1980s.

珍珠奶茶是 1980 年代發明於台中的台灣茶飲料。

So the story goes, Lin Hsiu Hui got bored during a meeting and poured her tapioca dessert into her tea — and it turned out delicious.

故事是這樣的，在一次會議中林秀慧感到無聊就把她的木薯粉做的點心倒進茶裡，沒想到竟很美味。

Nothing might've come of it if Lin Hsiu Hui wasn't already the product development manager for Chun Shui Tang teahouse, but she was.

如果林秀慧當時不是春水堂的產品研發經理，那麼這一切都不會發生，但剛好她就是。

And that's what kicked off this trend.

就這樣開創了珍奶的風潮。

Even though Lin Hsiu Hui first created bubble tea by adding tapioca balls into her tea, the "bubble" in bubble tea actually refers to the oxygen pockets formed by shaking the tea.

雖然是林秀慧發明了將木薯粉做成的粉圓加入她的泡沫茶飲料裡，但是這泡沫茶中的「氣泡」實際上是指搖晃茶水所形成的含氧氣泡層。

It's likely that these same bubbles formed when she first poured her tapioca dessert into her tea during that fateful, boring meeting when she invented the stuff.

可能就是林秀慧在那個改變命運的無聊會議上，首次將她的木薯甜點倒入她的茶中時形成了相同的氣泡。

This is also why you can get bubble tea without any tapioca.

這也是你可以買到沒有粉圓的泡沫茶的原因。

Milk tea, pearl tea, tapioca tea, boba tea, and foam milk tea are a few of the variations available to suit your taste palate.

奶茶、珍珠奶茶、粉圓奶茶、波霸奶茶和泡沫奶茶則是其中的一些變化，可以迎合不同的味蕾。

Evolution of tapioca size

粉圓大小的演變

The size of the tapioca in bubble tea can also vary.

珍奶裡粉圓的大小也有所不同。

This explains a few of the different names for the tea.

因此這飲料才會有各種不同的名稱。

Pearl tea refers to the original bubble tea with smaller tapioca "pearls."

珍珠奶茶是指較小的「粉圓」。

Boba tea, on the other hand, refers to the bubble tea with larger pearls.

另一方面，波霸奶茶則有較大的粉圓。

Because the small pearls are typically used in desserts like the one Lin Hsiu Hui poured into her tea in the 1980s, we might say that small pearls are the traditional style for bubble tea, though now almost all shops use the larger boba.

因為較小的粉圓一般是做點心用的，就像在 1980 年代林秀慧倒進她的茶裡的一樣，我們可以說小的粉圓是用在傳統珍奶，然而現在大多數的店家都是用較大的粉圓。

If you want something chewy in your bubble tea, but don't like tapioca, that's also not a problem!

如果你希望在奶茶裡吃到 Q 彈有嚼勁的東西，但不喜歡木薯做的粉圓，那也不成問題！

Other options for the balls include grass, konjac, or coconut jellies.

你可選不同種類的加料，包括仙草，蒟蒻，或是椰果。

You can also get popping boba, which is made from a seaweed extract with fruit juice flavoring inside that pops open once you bite into it.

你也可以選爆漿圓，它是由海藻萃取物製成的，裡面含有果汁調味料，一旦你咬下去，它就會在你嘴裡爆開。

Some shops even offer puddings or beans as a tapioca-alternative.

一些店家甚至提供布丁或豆類作為木薯替代品。

Meanwhile, you may have mostly had bubble tea in its cold form, but drinkers aren't limited to what has become known as the traditional style.

同時，可能你喝的珍奶大部分都是冰的，但是珍奶迷並不局限於傳統冰珍奶愛好者。

If you're craving bubble tea in the freezing winter, you can find it available in hot varieties to help you warm up.

如果在嚴寒的冬天你渴望來上一杯，也有熱騰騰的珍奶可以溫暖你。

If you like it cold, but you're looking for something a little thicker, it's also available as a smoothie.

如果你喜歡喝冰的，更濃一點的，則有珍奶冰沙。

Another option for customizing it is by choosing the type of tea.

用不同的基底茶是客製化珍奶的另一種選擇。

Some shops offer lots of options, including green, black, oolong, and sometimes even Thai and chai tea.

有些店家提供了多種選項，包括綠茶、紅茶、烏龍茶，甚至泰式茶和印度茶。

Pick your favorite variety and go from there.

選一種你喜歡的然後從那裏開始享受你的珍奶吧。

Now, let's talk about the bad news ...

現在，讓我們談談珍奶的負面消息...

The waistline factor

腰圍指數

Because the boba are most often made with tapioca starch, bubble tea isn't exactly low-calorie.

因為粉圓多半是由木薯粉做的，確切的說珍奶不能算是低卡飲料。

While tapioca boba are fat-free, bubble tea is loaded with empty calories and, depending on the milk used, potentially also fattening.

雖然木薯粉圓不含脂肪，但珍奶充滿了「空熱量」(只有熱量而無營養價值)，加上使用的牛奶，也可能會造飲用者肥胖。

Not only that, but some drinks add in flavored syrups, which means the carb count factor can be very high.

不僅如此，還有一些飲料添加了調味糖漿，這意味著碳水化合物指數可能非常高。

According to a 2016 study, the high caloric and sugar content of boba beverages poses public health concerns as they have the potential to further exacerbate the childhood obesity epidemic, so enjoy this stuff in moderation.

根據 2016 年的一項研究，珍奶的高熱量和高糖含量引發了公共健康議題的關注，因為它們有可能進一步加劇兒童肥胖症的流行，所以請「適度」地享用這些東西。

There's also evidence that consumption of bubble tea and other sugary beverages has been linked to the development of ADHD in children.

還有證據顯示飲用珍奶和其他含糖飲料與過動兒的成因有所關連。

Yikes!

嚇！

A bigger concern?

更大的擔憂？

In May 2011, a food scandal broke out in Taiwan where the palm oil in some drinks and syrups — including some that may have been exported and used in bubble tea shops around the world— was replaced with diethylhexyl-phthalate.

2011 年 5 月，台灣發生了一起食安醜聞，一些飲料和糖漿中的棕櫚油- 包括一些可能已出口並用於世界各地的泡沫茶店 -被鄰苯二甲酸二乙酯 (一種塑化劑) 所取代。

This is a chemical often used in plastics to make them pliable and is considered a potential carcinogen in humans by researchers.

這是一種在塑料中經常使用的化學物質，使它們變得柔韌，被研究人員認為是潛在的致癌物。

However, the true effect of small doses of DEHP in humans — such as what would be obtained through the casual drinking of bubble tea — still needs further testing.

然而，小劑量塑化劑對人體真正的影響—比如偶爾喝杯珍珠奶茶—仍需要進一步檢驗。

Another report said that samples of bubble tea contained other carcinogenic chemicals.

另一項報告指出珍珠奶茶的食品檢驗包含了其他致癌的化學物質。

That same year, however, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration confirmed that a second round of tests conducted by German authorities found no cancer-causing chemicals in bubble tea.

同一年，然而，台灣的食品藥物管理署證實德國當局進行的第二輪檢驗發現，珍珠奶茶中並沒有致癌化學物質。

Whether this means that the original samples were tainted in some way or that the levels of chemicals vary from sample to sample isn't clear.

這意味著是原始的樣本受到了某種程度的汙染，還是樣品間化學物質的含量不同，並不明確。

But there's been no further indication that bubble tea leads to cancer.

但沒有進一步的跡象表明珍珠奶茶會致癌。

Even so, the risk-averse might take the better safe than sorry approach than indulge in this bubbly beverage.

即使如此，避免風險可能比沉迷於珍珠奶茶好得多。

So it's a tapioca starch, they pearlize it, and that's why they get the big straw so you can actually suck up some of the tapioca pearl.

那麼這就是木薯澱粉，它們是珍珠狀，所以給你粗吸管，你才吸得起來。

No?

不要嗎？

To bubble or not to bubble?

要不要珍珠？

Although it may not be a health food, bubble tea hasn't been definitively proven as particularly dangerous — unless you have an allergy to one of its ingredients.

儘管這可能不是健康食品，珍珠奶茶還沒有明確被證明有特定的危險性，除非你對其中的某個成分過敏。

As an occasional treat when you're thirsty and want something sweet and chewy all at the same time, bubble tea is no worse for you than lots of other desserts.

偶爾在你口渴並想來點甜甜的、可以咀嚼的點心時，珍珠奶茶並沒有比其他甜點糟糕。

And that's how it should be seen: as a dessert!

而我們也應該這樣看到它：它是種甜點！

Just remember your options for customizing your bubble tea and the potential risks of having it too often.

只要記得你可以客製化你的珍珠奶茶，以及太常喝的潛在風險就好。

After all, you wouldn't drink a milkshake every day, would you?

畢竟，你不會天天喝奶昔，對吧？

You might gain weight, feel sick... or just end up like this guy:

你可能會變胖，感到不適...或變成像這個人這樣：

I drink your milkshake!

我喝了你的奶昔！

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謝謝觀看！

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點集 List 訂閱我們的 YouTube 頻道

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也記得來看看所有有趣的影片，我們知道你也會喜歡！