Boba Drinks

By Jeffrey Ressner

PRODUCT Boba, a smoothie-type drink with chewy tapioca pieces in it

HOW IT STARTED First popular in Taiwan, migrated to Canada and spread to trendy spots on the West Coast

JUDGMENT CALL Disconcerting at first, but better than a boring Frappuccino

Usually when you find something solid and chewy in your drink, it's time to call for the waiter. But that's what boba drinks are all about. They're a concoction of either tea or juice combined with milk, fruit syrup, ice and--the surprise--small marbles of tapioca. More than one person has likened drinking boba to finding a Gummi Bear in your smoothie. But these drinks, in flavors like sour plum and kumquat-lemon and sipped through an extra-wide straw, are the latest fad beverage on the West Coast.

Boba, a.k.a. "black pearl" or "bubble" tea, originated in Taiwan nearly two decades ago and soon spread to nearby countries, including mainland China, Singapore and the Philippines. It traveled to North America via the large Asian community in Vancouver, then migrated to Chinatown areas in New York and other U.S. cities before popping up at trendy college campuses in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Now boba is served in Southern California cafes like Boba World and Cha for Tea, which plans to open its first New York City location later this year.

--By Jeffrey Ressner