Boba


	What is 'Boba'



		Other common names include pearl tea, black pearl tea or boba, the name used in Taiwan, where the drink originated. Boba is delicious, sweet and refreshing, with a striking appearance. For this reason, it is always served in a clear glass. But to neophytes, the drink might look, and taste, odd. The dark tapioca balls, slightly smaller than marbles, stay in the bottom of the glass, creating a layered effect. The liquid part alone, usually a combination of black or green tea, regular milk and a clear, unflavored fruit syrup (for sweetness), is innocuous enough.
It tastes like one of those popular iced coffee drinks you can find at any corner coffee house these days. But those balls at the bottom of the glass... At first they are weird. You suck them through an appropriately jumbo straw, along with the cold, sweetened tea. They arrive in your mouth, slick and slightly gelatinous. And then you bite into one, or maybe several, because it is hard to control how many come through the straw. Hmmm. Chewy, but not too chewy--somewhere between a gummy candy and a marshmallow--with a subtle sweetness. Suddenly you want more. Drink as food. Thus begins the addiction