TL;DR – It’s quite the science.
It’s 2018 and one of life’s greatest dilemma is which bubble tea we should have. And as if that ain’t enough, adding to our list of first world problems is how can we drink bubble tea without finishing the tea before the pearls.
As Medium user Krist Wongsuphasawat who’s based in Thailand accurately points out, the strategy is to maximise pearls consumption in every sip, i.e. try to get the maximum amount of pearls while getting the minimum amount of tea possible. But what exactly are the maximum and minimum amounts?
He goes on to explain that there are several factors that can affect the drinking experience and whether you can finish your pearls before your tea.
These factors include,
1) Cup dimension
The shape of the cup affects how well pearls can stack up. If the cup is wider, the pearls spread more and you get fewer pearls per sip.
2) What you put in the cup
This graphic shows the simulations for different amount of ingredients that will affect your bubble tea experience – top, no ice; middle, more pearls; bottom, with ice.
The more tea you have, the higher your chance of success.
3) How you drink it
Of course different users will yield different results. Whether you’re an aggressive pearl sucker or slow drinker (such that the all the ice melts), they all play a part in your bubble tea drinking experience.
Conclusion?
- It’s better to use a slim cup than a wide cup.
- Don’t add too much ice.
- It’s better to take a powerful sip than a weak sip.
You can read the full article here and even create your own simulation to see how long it could take to finish a cup of bubble tea in your own drinking style, and if you can finish the pearls before the tea.
(Cover image via)