“Did you know that boba is from Taiwan?” my husband asked, looking up from his phone where he was most likely reading something about Taiwan in preparation for our trip that we took this summer.
I looked at him incredulously. “Yeah, I do know. You know, since those are my people.” Of course I don’t know everything about Taiwanese food, but boba is something my sisters and I have been enjoying for decades. And my husband has been too since he’s become part of our family.
It’s been interesting to see how boba’s popularity has spread over the years. It used to be something that we could only find in our area or other neighborhoods with a significant Chinese/Taiwanese population. (My town is currently 51% Asian.) But these days I see shops that carry varieties of the sugary concoction with the little brown pearls all over the place, even in areas with few, if any, Chinese/Taiwanese folks.
A few weeks ago I drove by a Jack in the Box with a sign similar to the one below. And before that a friend dropped off a gift of boba that she found at Costco. Boba has truly made its way into American culture!
A few years ago on a trip to Cabo San Lucas, I spotted this stand. Apparently its popularity has made it south of the border as well.
Last summer we went to Chun Shui Tang, one of the two places that claim to be the originator of the boba tea drink.
Have you tried boba? What’s your favorite drink? Mine is a classic coffee milk tea or an almond milk tea.
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