When young people at the very center of Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos, snap photos of pastel-layered milk tea for Instagram, they are partaking in a global trend that originated in Taiwan four decades ago. Indeed, bubble tea studded with chewy tapioca pearls (珍珠奶茶) is more than just a fashionable drink. Far from it, the beverage has evolved into one of Taiwan’s most visible cultural exports, symbolizing how local innovation can achieve global influence. Over the years since its creation in 1986 at the Chun Shui Tang Teahouse (春水堂人文茶館) by Lin Hsiu Hui (林秀慧), bubble tea has become a packaged cultural export with growing supply chains, brand networks, and training seminars—all measured by hard economic data. Today, as boba cafés open in Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg, Taiwan’s food culture footprint is gradually expanding across the tapestries of Africa—demonstrating Taiwan’s capacity for soft power, particularly among Gen Z youth.