源自台灣的飲料「珍珠奶茶」，不僅風行亞洲，近來在歐洲、北美、及澳洲等地也相當受歡迎，不過台南地方法院週四時判定，由於珍珠奶茶最初的食譜沒有申請專利，無法認定誰是珍珠奶茶始祖。

"Bubble tea" is just basically milk tea to which chewy tapioca balls, known as "pearls," are added. Anyone can make it using easily available ingredinets, according to a Tainan District Court ruling in a case brought by the owner of Tainan's Hanlin Tea Room, claiming that the tea house was the first to introduce the popular drink.

珍珠奶茶，充其量只是加了「珍珠」粉圓的奶茶，任何人都可結合日常各種食材，做出不同成份的飲料，但台南翰林茶坊負責人自認為係第一個推出珍珠奶茶的人，遂向台南地方法院提出訴訟。

The Tainan court ruled that "bubble tea was not patented" and that the flavor could be altered by adding different ingredints.

台南地方法院判定，「珍珠奶茶沒有申請專利」，也可經由添加各種成份來改變口味。

Tu Tsung-ho, owner of the Hanlin Tea Room, vowed to appeal the ruling.

翰林茶坊負責人塗宗興表示將提上訴。

The Tu family became embroiled in a legal battle with another Taiwaneswe teahouse, the Taichung-based Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House,in January this year after the owner of the latter, Liu Han-chieh, contended in a newsletter 2004 that his teahouse had made the world's first cup of bubble tea in 1987.

塗宗興在此案中的對手是「台中春水堂」茶坊，而雙方之所以會在今年一月時鬧上法庭，是因為二○○四年，春水堂負責人劉漢介在自家茶坊的茶訊中表示，春水堂早就在一九八七年時做出全世界第一杯珍珠奶茶。

Liu stated in the newsletter that many people, including his friend Tu Tsunghsing had visitd the teahouse to see how to make Bubble Tea and had carried the recipe back with them.

劉漢介在茶訊中說，當時他的朋友塗宗興也前來觀摩，並將奶茶配方帶回台南。

The Tu family argued that LIu's statement was misleading and that it had compromised the reputation of Hanlin Tea Room.

塗家認為劉漢介的這篇報導誤導消費者，嚴重損害他的名譽及翰林茶坊商譽。

Tu said the Hanlin Tea Room first made the drink using traditional white "fenyuan"(tapioca balls) but decided to use black ones three or four months after the beverage was first introduced to the public in 1986.

塗宗興說，翰林茶坊是第一個用傳統的白色「粉圓」做出珍珠奶茶，但在一九八六年正式推出三、四個月後，改為現今黑色的珍珠。

recipe

(n.)食譜

tapioca

(n.)蕃薯粉

pearl

(n.)珍珠

newsletter

(n.)通訊報