Boba

Tom doesn't like the boba pearls in bubble tea.

I miss going on after-school boba runs.

I like Boba Fett and the Hutts.

You drink boba by sucking the balls.

I love boba but can only drink it every now and then since there aren't many nearby boba places. Probably for the better since I have a slow metabolism and gain weight easily!

High school student Vivian Chau, like most Asian-American youngsters, loves a drink called boba, a sweet milk tea with jellied tapioca balls. Boba can be found in cafes around San Francisco, but Vivian says it is not sold in supermarkets. So she came up with the idea of a company called Jelly It! to make a ready-to-drink bottled tea mixed with jelly. She admits the idea is a gamble.

Boba cafes are supported by people from throughout Asia who live in southern California. Lina Yaore, an Indonesian-American, likes to socialize at boba cafes with her Indonesian friends.

Oliver Wang says the current generation of Asian-Americans grew up seeing more Asian faces on television locally and through satellite. He says Asians are no longer stereotypes. And now they can see how other Asians like to be seen, like in the music video “Boba Life,” created by comedians The Fung Brothers.

Boba cafes have become a sign of a cultural movement among Americanized Asians who are still connected with their ethnic identity, but proud to be Asian American.

Boba tea is a popular drink across the United States.