A Stare Down with My Boba

My Asian friends first introduced me to bubble tea, which they affectionately and probably more accurately call boba. With incredulous glances and much shaking of the head, they finally managed to push Alisha and I into a room of little furniture and much color, particularly loud flashes of orange and bright streaks or iridescent green. All of a sudden, time froze. Or at least so it seemed for every head in the little room was tilted so as to gain a better view of us outsiders. Women were seated primly, with crossed ankles and tall cups of liquid resting precariously on their knees. Men were sprawled on nearby sofas, treating themselves to either comics or a riveting game of cards, complete with outrageous bursts of what I perceive to be foul language and sudden gasps of delight, accompanied by tall cups of interesting colored liquid, of course. Pushed to the front of the counter, I stammered considerably, ready to put on my "Where am I? Who are you?" look, the one used during extremely difficult chemistry tests where I suddenly start thinking about atoms, and elements, and matter, and the meaning of life, and where dinosaurs came from, and what relativity is, and....and....where am I? Well, I didn't know what to order. Heck, I didn't even know what this place served other than tall cups of interesting colored liquid. So I muttered the only thing I was sure of, "Can I have something to drink?"

The petite Asian woman, with her indefatigable smile, paused long enough to consider this query then pointed to their vast menu that took up the entire expanse of wall behind us. "You pick drink? Show me." I was about to settle for a low profile, always safe chocolate chai when I decided to spring for the more exotic, the unknown. "Apple Rose Tea, please." "You want that with pearl?"
Pearl. I wasn't quite sure I would like to have pearls in my drink. White, milky orbs of calcium carbonate? Why would I want that? Coming to my aid, my friend hurriedly replied,"Yes. She will have pearls." I will?

Eagerly awaiting my apple-rose tea with...pearls, I stretched out, not failing to observe that Alisha and I were the only people of...a more brown hue. In fact, it seemed like most of the people who were here to enjoy their pearls and what not were mostly Asian, and I mean Asian in the not Indian or Pakistani way. It was interesting to see how the reacted to our presence...actually it was more weird than interesting. I was in their natural habitat, so it seemed. A watering hole of sorts. Where they came to socialize and relax, much like in a spa or coffee house, but this was so much more different. The vibe was young, fresh, energetic, and oh so cute! How had I never seen this place before?

When I got my drink, I sipped cautiously, for I finally realized that pearls were little black orbs that settled to the bottom of your drink and were imbibed through huge multi-colored straws. They looked like clear, little black eyes peering up at me from their home of shiny, beige liquid. From the intense neon packaging to the intimidating straw, this drink did not look appetizing in the least, but I manned up and gulped nonetheless. It was sweet, cold, smooth, with little marbles of delectable gumminess. It was delicious. I was thirsty for more...

Unfortunately, this one encounter began a tapioca craze in my household, starting with my sister and ending with my now reluctant dad. With shrieks of "TAP-OCA" every time we pass one of these fine establishments and constant arguments regarding the best flavor, our once chai dominated household has slowly expanded into the domain of fun, varying beverage options such as Jasmine Green Tea and Honey-Rose Milk Tea. After this first taste of the delights of this Taiwanese favorite, I can't help but marvel at the continuing intermingling of cultures and traditions that is occurring constantly nowadays. That's the moral of this post, of course. Just another lesson about acknowledging the benefits of sampling new cultures and praising the diversity that has taken the world by storm...But I can't help but mention again how much I crave the sweetness of another bubble tea. What do they put in the stuff? It's addictive!