Brown sugar vs Tiger Sugar boba

Short answer: they're the same drink family. "Brown sugar boba" is the style; Tiger Sugar is the brand that made it famous.

Walk into most shops and you'll see "brown sugar boba milk" on the menu, and somewhere online you'll see Tiger Sugar. They're closely related, and the difference is style versus brand.

What brown sugar boba is

Pearls are cooked and soaked in dark, caramelized brown sugar syrup, then poured with milk, often with little or no tea. The syrup streaks the inside of the cup. It tastes deep and molasses-like, and it's on the heavier, sweeter end.

What Tiger Sugar is

Tiger Sugar is a Taiwanese chain that popularized the tiger-stripe look and the brown sugar boba milk format. Its drink is one well-known version of the style, not a separate category.

What you'll actually taste

Recipes vary by shop in how dark and bitter the caramel is, how soft the pearls are, and whether any tea is included. Some add a cream top. Two brown sugar drinks from different shops can taste noticeably different.

How to order it well

• Ask whether the syrup is cooked fresh that day.
• It's usually dairy milk, so ask for oat if you need non-dairy.
• Drink it soon so the pearls stay soft and chewy.
• If molasses is too strong for you, ask for less sweet.

Have a boba question we should answer? Email hello@bobanight.com.