Ode to the Bubble tea

It's not very often I get a bubble drink. Mostly due to availability; though there is one (maybe two) places near where I live that does sell them (yet their's is not really good). I have to travel 1.5 hours (to and back) to get a real bubble tea. For those that don't know what a bubble tea is, well it is a unhealthy smoothie (unhealthy for the most part, due to artificial flavors and sugars, unless they make with real fruit/juice), usually green or black tea, cream, and a choice of juice and/or blended crushed ice. The picture (as well as more information) is from Wikipedia; but essentially this is what most bubble drinks look like, especially in Asia, or places that stick to this portable plastic style. The round black things on the bottom are the tapioca balls, pearls, or bubbles, that you suck through the abnormally large straw and chew. You can have (if the establishment offers) different things to put into the drink, like crushed coconut jelly (I know by the Chinese name yeguo 野果, though it is also known as nata de coco), which is supposed to be healthier than the tapioca. Though typically unhealthy, it is still very popular in Asia, and with many Asians and Asian oriented people in non-Asian regions.
Yesterday, I had my first bubble drink since... I guess it was five months ago; that is so long for a bubble tea fix. I had (yesterday) a passion fruit smoothie with tapioca pearls; my wife had black tea with papaya flavor and tapioca pearls... it was a minute of blissful heaven.
You can make your own, which is always a healthier and better (depending on your effort and the materials you use). Like I said, bubble teas are essentially smoothies with (or without tea) with tapioca pearls (WuFuYuan - Tapioca Pearl (Black) - Net Wt. 8.8 Oz.).
My favorite flavors are, passion fruit (smoothie), taro (smoothie), green tea (without or with passion fruit or lychee juice) and cream (hot and cold), and honeydew melon (smoothie).