If you would, please listen to this Taiwanese here, you had the wrong pearls from the wrong shop. I've never heard of chocolate pearls myself.

As a general priniciple, these bubble tea pearls are made of tapioca. After cooked through in boiling water, they are coated in sugary water or syrup (hence the sweet taste). They are flavorless by themselves. Authentic pearls are fresh and very chewy. (a little bit like gummy bear candy, if you would, but much tastier). The flavors come from the drinks. Thus, you can have a variety of tea, coffee or juices that go with pearls when you order it.

It's still under debate whether the bubble drinks originated from Taiwan or Hong Kong. What I do know is years back, when the bubble drinks got so popular in Taiwan, they were imported and franchized to North America. So it's not surprising to find those boca places, such as CA or Toronto nowadays.

Americans are not that used to hot drinks with pearls. In Taiwan, pearls are served in cold drinks or shaving ice during summer and served hot in wintertime. For those who do have a sweet tooth, put Taiwan into one of your future MRs. You can miss all the other part of the world but not Taiwan. Great food & great people!! Of course, I am biased!

If you need to get a quick bubble fix before heading for Taiwan, my advice is to have it at the stores with Taiwanese owners, or where they serve authentic Taiwanese food. I heard some Vietnamese places have good pearls drinks too. Just don't try it at any Boba store, or you would probably end it up like our poor phillygold with bad taste (of pearls) in the mouth.