Sarah Selzer
Senior Reporter
On any given afternoon people of all ages brave a line that begins outside the doors of bubble tea shops to purchase a cold, frothy drink filled with gummy “pearls” sitting on the bottom of a plastic chalice.
Bubble tea stores popped up in the American market around 10 years ago, and have grown into trending establishments around San Francisco.
“All the different flavors of tea can be overwhelming the first time you try bubble tea,” sophomore Stella Smith Werner said. “The tea adds a refreshing flavor in addition to the boba that make the drink as unique as it is.”
Most stores allow customers to select up to five flavors of tea such as milk tea, papaya, mango, passion fruit, coconut and taro along with different chewy tapiocas for each drink.
“Bubble tea’s addictive traits come from its uniquely tasting boba balls and the various amounts of regular and milk tea you can pair it with,” freshman Masha Kozlov said. “Between popping boba, regular boba and lichi, there are so many alternatives to choose from no matter what bubble tea store you go to. ”
Stores such as Tpumps, TeaWay and Honeyberry are accessible throughout the city, mainly in the Inner Sunset.
“I go to Quickly’s because their stores are located almost everywhere in San Francisco,” junior Paloma Palmer said. “But Boba Guys, which is located in the Mission, is my favorite store because you can tell their product isn’t as artificially flavored as others.”
Prices range for bubble tea depending on its quality and the store it’s from. Tpumps sells a 16- ounce cup for $2.75, and a 20- ounce cup for $3.75, whereas at Quickly’s a 16- ounce cup is $2.50.
“No matter which store you go to, I think that bubble tea has become a great addition to the food culture of San Francisco,” Palmer said. “I hope that more bubble tea stores will open up in the future because of how popular it has become.”
