Fresh Watermelon Green Tea, left, Ube Creme Brulee, right, and vanilla ice cream with brown sugar boba Thursday, May 23, 2024 at Daboba. The shop makes their own boba tea and uses natural ingredients.
Interior decoration Thursday, May 23, 2024, at Daboba. The shop makes their own boba tea and uses natural ingredients. Bubble tea has been a staple in Asia since the ‘80s, but its popularity is exploding stateside. The often technicolored Taiwan-born drink is made with a hot or cold tea base combined with milk, fruit or fruit juices and finished with “bubbles” or “bobas” — soft and chewy tapioca pearls that sit at the bottom.
“It’s great if wants to do it as an acknowledgment to the Asian-American culture, but if it’s just to save their business, I don’t know if it’s the best approach,” she added. “We don’t do popping boba because it’s not traditional,” Richter said. “I feel like Starbucks is mocking that tradition and jumping on the trend in a bad way. People shouldn’t be judging boba based on what Starbucks is making because it’s just pure sugar. There’s such an art to cooking boba and brewing high-quality tea.”
As for Starbucks’ take on the trend, the Yuans couldn’t believe it at first and speculated it was an attempt to boost business during trying times. “They’re jumping on what they think is a temporary fad, but this is our livelihood,” she said.Die Die Must Try has a smaller menu with Singapore specials, like coconut pandan with boba. Ben Chow, his wife and his parents opened Die Die Must Try in Cherry Creek North, after spending two decades in Singapore, where boba is very common.