F I R S TP R E V504NEXTLAST

Bubble Tea, The Next Big Thing
Unless your town has a fair-sized Asian community you probably haven't seen one of these... but you will soon enough. Bubble Tea, also known as Pearl Tea or Boba Tea, originated in Taiwan in the 80s and has become very popular in Asia. This sweet treat has been growing in popularity in the U.S. since the 90s. These milk or fruit flavored teas come in dozens of varieties (green tea shown above) and feature black gummy balls made of tapioca sitting at the bottom. The tea usually is served with a fat straw which allows you to suck up the tapioca 'pearls' along with the tea. In San Francisco Bubble Teas are available almost everywhere and two new franchises, Quickly and Lollicup are hoping to spread this drink craze nationwide.
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