As the parties awaited the verdict , temperatures soared outside. Not that this would have surprised anyone. It was late July in Taipei. By noon, the thermometer hit ninety-seven degrees, with fifty-four percent humidity -- a perfect time for a tall serving of energizing boba, or bubble tea. Picture the boba. Sweet milky tea poured over cubes of ice, with a generous scoop of black tapioca pearls. Maybe you have a preference for the flavoring -- taro, lychee, even matcha? Wh

Nowadays, we associate Tibetans and Mongols with milk tea. But the Chinese once could not get enough of the stuff.

Who came up with the idea of mixing milk with black tea? If you think Europeans were the first to do this, think again.