Two Stories about History of Famous Taiwanese Bubble Tea?

There are two stories competing with each other for the origin of bubble tea. The “Hanlin Tea Room” of Tainan of Taiwan, claims that this invention took place in 1986 teahouse owner “Tu Tsong” he was inspired by white tapioca balls he witnessed in the “Ya Mu Liao market” (Taiwan). He then made tea using the tapioca balls, called "tapioca bubble tea".

After, “Hanlin” changed the white tapioca balls to the black version, mixed with brown sugar or honey that is seen today. At many locations, people can purchase both the black tapioca balls and white tapioca balls for their bubble tea company.

Others claim it is from the Chun “Shui Tang” tearoom in Taichung, Taiwan. The Founder, “Liu Han-Chieh” observed the way of Japanese serving cold coffee (while on a visit in the 1980s) and applied this method to his tea. The New way of serving tea pushed business to new heights, and he then established multiple chains serving tea with the new way discovered. This way it began the rapid expansion of bubble tea. The creator of bubble tea supplier “Lin Hsiu Hui”, the teahouse's product development manager, randomly poured her “fen yuan” into the iced tea drink during a corporate meeting in 1988. The beverage was well received at the meeting, leading to its inclusion on the menu. It ultimately became the franchise's top-selling product.

The drink became popular in most parts of East and Southeast Asia during the 1990s, especially Vietnam. In Malaysia, the number of brands selling the beverage has grown to over 50 approximately. The drink is well received by foreign consumers in North America, specifically around areas with high populations of Chinese and Taiwanese expatriates (people). However, In the San Francisco Bay Area of California, “tapioca pearls” is very popular and is consumed by many consumers from various backgrounds. 

“Bubble tea” has a very large presence in the Bay Area, which is populated by many of those from Chinese and Vietnamese backgrounds.