Where did boba tea come from?

Created in Taiwan in the late ‘80s, boba culture stems from Taiwan’s rich history of tea cultivation and appreciation. Teas from the island (especially oolong and black cultivars) are prized as some of the best in the world, and in Taiwan and many parts of East Asia, social gatherings at home and in traditional tea houses have made tea drinking an integral part of life. Traditionally, tea drinking could stretch into hours-long affairs where the conversation and community was valued as much as the drink itself.

Around the globe and right here in Minneapolis, boba tea has become a modern tea culture of its own. Especially popular among the university crowd, you can still find tea lovers treating a trip for boba as a chance to connect over a cup.

How to order Boba Tea

Another key to boba tea’s popularity lies in the choose-your-own-adventure vibe the drink offers. With all the variations available on tea shop menus, from different tea bases and flavor syrups to milks and add-in ingredients, there are literally endless ways to customize your cup. For the uninitiated, here’s a primer on the choices you may have to wade through before you order.

Every cup of boba begins with a scoop of some chewy delight:

• Tapioca pearls: Unmistakably chewy with a hard to describe texture all their own — in Chinese the springy consistency is known as QQ — tapioca balls are a true delight. Boba tea will typically be served with a straw wide enough to let you sip the pearls along with the tea and chew the pearls to your heart’s content.
• Popping pearls/popping boba: Similar in shape to tapioca pearls, “popping” boba are spherical flavored juice contained within a delightfully squishy shell that pops in your mouth when you bite down on them. If you’ve ever watched a chef experiment with molecular gastronomy on the Food Network, the idea is the same here. It’s science! Delicious science.
• Flavored jellies: Many tea shops give you the option of swapping boba pearls for softer flavored jellies. Made with coconut meat (which gives a texture slightly thicker than the gelatin used in jell-o desserts) these jellies come in a wide range of flavors, like coffee, green apple, mango, lychee, or rainbow. You’ll even see some jellies in shapes like hearts, stars, or dolphins!
• Red bean: Made from sweetened adzuki beans, this sweet, earthy topping is typically added in addition to tapioca pearls or blended into the milk base for a textural treat.
• Egg pudding/custard: Sweet and lusciously creamy, several shops offer egg custard as a textural add-in instead of (or in addition to) boba pearls. You may also see other pudding flavors, like mango.

Then comes the tea! Many boba shops offer different tea bases (think black, green, Thai, jasmine, oolong, and chai) as well as a whole host of flavors. Some popular flavors include coconut, avocado, taro, jackfruit, mango, kiwi, honeydew, strawberry, guava, passion fruit.

You’re not done with choices quite yet, because you’ll also need to choose between milk and fruit tea, level of sweetness, and at many tea shops, temperature! Classic boba tea is cold (served with lots of ice), but you can also find hot and blended varieties. (And though it’s often referred to as milk tea, many tea shops actually use non-dairy cream options, like soy or oat milk.)

Ready to order? Here are a few locally owned tea houses in Minneapolis for your boba tea cravings.

Mu Mu Tea

Two blocks from the UMN campus, this minimalist Dinkytown tea shop specializes in traditional bubble milk tea, tea macchiatos, and made-to-order Taiwaneese wheel cakes, delicious round cakes loaded with a variety of fillings from matcha red bean to peanut mochi.

Waffle Bar

This Uptown dessert and tea shop has been shaking up fruit teas, milk teas, smoothies, and specialty drinks like the Coco Loco with basil seeds, crystal pearls, aloe vera, and lychee since 2018. To go with your sip, dig into Hong Kong-style bubble waffles topped with sweet or savory toppings (think ice cream and chocolate chip cookies or fried chicken with spicy harissa BBQ).

Sencha Tea Bar

With three locations in the Twin Cities (including a shop inside the Mall of America), this tea shop specializes in loose leaf teas from around the world along with a loooong list of “Flavor it Your Way” options — brewed, iced, or blended tea shakes with a variety of flavors and additions. Tapioca pearls are made fresh every day, and seasonal specials can help avoid that too-many-choices panic.

Ichigo Tokyo Crepe

While Ichigo’s boba tea menu isn’t as wildly expansive as others on this list, it’s the only place you can pair a refreshing milk tea with handheld, Tokyo-style crepes and Japanese souffle pancakes. (Fun fact: this colorful spot began as a weekly two-person pop-up inside a coffee shop in North Minneapolis.)

Coconut Whisk Cafe

If you're looking for gluten-free and vegan boba tea, then Coconut Whisk is the place to go. They use dairy free milk in their classic and fun flavors as well as a house-made plant based Mylk Cloud™, designed to resemble the Taiwanese "cheese tea" craze. Try the Jade Dragon, made from organic matcha, fresh strawberries, boba pearls, oat milk and topped with the aforementioned Mylk Cloud. If you're digging the taste, get some Boba in a Bottle and save a drink for later. They also have the best vegan Vietnamese coffee (made with coconut-based sweetened condensed milk) in the city.

Beyond the local tea shops, you’ll also find a few tried-and-true international chains noted for popularizing boba in the states.

Chatime

The largest teahouse franchise in the world — selling over 100 million cups of bubble tea every year — Chatime has several locations in the Twin Cities, including in Dinkytown and local malls (including the Mall of America). You’ll find boba teas like Salted Caramel Hojicha and Nutella plus fruit teas, tea lattes, and Fruit QQs with a chewy topping combo of boba pearls and coconut jelly.