Boba Gone Mainstream?

Stuff I wrote last year.

Sunday 8/10/2003, Sunny, 90+ (?)

I have noticed the trend that some coffee shops starting offering flavored iced tea shakes or smoothie.

Take Starbucks for example, they have Tazo Berry and Tazo Citrus on the menu, which I enjoy a lot (without the cream). Last Saturday, we went to Dietrich Coffee in Hillcrest before heading Trader Joe's for grocery. I saw their posters of new Tea Latte (ice blended drinks), which came in Green Tea, Mango, and Star Fruit flavors. So I asked the clerk how they were prepared. Basically, it's tea flavor mix (powder) with water and ice blended. Since it's called "latte," I asked the clerk if it contained any dairy. He's sure of the Green Tea one for it was to be made with milk (or soy milk upon request); however, the other 2 he could only guess that did have some milk powder in the mix.

Later, we went to Fashion Valley Mall shopping, in the food court, there's a D*Lush beverage place (they called themselves D*Lux Beverage Joint). I couldn't remember what was at the same location before. For all I know, it could always have been D*Lush. Anyway, it looked like a new business to me.

What caught my eye about this place? To be precise, it was what caught my ear. They blasted dance music that everyone in the Food Court could hear. We were very thirsty and I thought we could get something from D*Lush. As we approached, we realized it was packed with teens. The clerks were teens; the sample people were teens. And they behaved as if it had been a party.

Then I checked out the menu, delightedly to discover that boba (tapioca pearls) were on the menu, � la carte.

(Hey, I could add penny-sized tapioca balls to any drink I wanted. Hmm... that's a thought.)

Frankly, I was intimidated by the crowds, music, and the enthusiasms of the sample tasting youngsters. Half way scanning through the menu, I was ready to split. I didn't need a three-dollar-glittering beverage that badly. Iced Tea from Starbucks 10-feet away would be just fine.