Milk tea, fruit tea, whatever tea you crave - it’s all called one (or maybe two) names: Boba/Bubble Tea. In the past two decades, Boba spots have really taken a strong hold in Asian American communities and culture. They are our casual hang out spots, study meet ups, or post-meal dessert that most people can agree on.

Our First Encounters

Most people remember the days of when franchise chains like Tapioca Express or Quickly’s started dominating the boba scene, but there was a time when a few, local spots were already selling drinks. Back then, we might’ve only knew it as “tapioca pearls” or “pearl milk tea.” In the Bay Area, our Chinatowns and heavily populated Chinese areas like Chinatown or the Outer Sunset district of San Francisco had a few storefronts like Wonderful and Sweetheart Cafe selling drinks well before franchises. Growing up in the East Bay, boba spots were and is today, still slim pickings. We had Tapioca Expresses scattered throughout the region, but if you weren’t going into the City or Oakland, You most likely didn’t have boba until the later 2000s when Quickly started emerging.

What We Think of Boba Today

We’ve seen it all - the rise and fall of stores like Quickly’s, Tpumps, Teaway… etc. There has been so many stages of boba that we often reminisce about where storefronts used to be or what they changed into. Although some stores are still around, they definitely don’t have the buzz they once did. So that begs the question… where is boba culture heading towards? Well, we would have to separate the culture that exists in the States and overseas. Boba culture means something completely different in the motherlands. For us Asian Americans/Canadians, we believe there won’t be a shortage of shops anytime soon, but it will definitely move into the space of premium drinks. In ways, the stores have adapted from our childhood, adolescences, and now moving into our adulthood. Gone are the days of cheap, powdered drinks or syrups. The demand for fresh brewed teas, premium milk alternatives, and real fruit/sweeteners are here to stay.

Cultural Implications

Boba/bubble tea spots will, most likely, be engrained into our memories forever. Not only did Boba shops give Asian Americans a safe space to congregate and be ourselves, but has opened up our doors for other cultures to also enjoy and become the gateway to our communities. Although we make fun of them for always ordering Thai Teas or not understanding why we put beans in drinks as desserts, there’s a part of us that is still glad and happy other backgrounds and ethnicities are still trying it out.

As always, listen to the full episode to hear in-depth explanations and discussions!