[MUSIC - Luscious Jackson: Citysong]

Kousha Navidar: This is All Of It. I'm Kousha Navidar, in for Alison Stewart. It's Thursday, which means we have another Food for Thought segment ready for you. This time, we dive into the delicious world of bubble tea or Boba. You may have tried Boba yourself. It's a popular iced tea drink consumed with a thick straw, but what makes this drink iconic are the small tapioca pearls floating in the drink. Each slurp comes with a few of these chewy tapioca balls, and it makes for a great dessert or a sweet pick-me-up drink.

The drink originated in Taiwan during the 1980s, but it wasn't until the 2010s when bubble tea reached its peak popularity in the US. Now, Boba shops are all over the country, including right here in New York. If you walk around Flushing, St. Mark's, or Manhattan's Chinatown, you're probably going to run into a few people sipping bubble tea out of those big straws. I am probably one of them that you will run into. To learn more about where to get the best bubble tea in the city, we're joined by Gabe Bergado, staff editor at The Infatuation, which is the restaurant recommendation site. Gabe, hi. Thanks for joining us.

Gabe Bergado: Thanks so much for having me. How are you doing?

Kousha Navidar: Good, thanks. I am so excited to talk about Boba tea. Listeners, do you have a favorite bubble tea or Boba tea shop in the city? What's your go-to order? Have you traveled to Taiwan to taste the original bubble tea? What do you like about tapioca balls? Tell us your thoughts. Call or text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC, or message us on Instagram or X. Our handle is @AllOfItWNYC. Okay, Gabe, so what does classic bubble tea look like?

Gabe Bergado: Well, as you mentioned, it's originally from Taiwan. The oldest drink kind of was a mixture of hot black tea with some condensed milk and maybe a sweetener like honey and then the tapioca pearls. Nowadays, there's all different kinds drinks. There's the classic milk tea that you can get with the Boba. There's sort of more slushies or smoothies you can get. Then there's like classic iced teas. Really, there's just so many options, especially here in New York, for the different drinks and even the different kinds of Boba as well.

Like I mentioned, there's the pearls, but now, people make the pearls with brown sugar. There's even exploding Boba now that has juice inside of it. It's really cool to see all the variations that are out there now.

Kousha Navidar: Is there a difference between bubble tea and Boba?

Gabe Bergado: Not really. They're kind of used interchangeably. I feel like Boba-- I'm from southern California, and I always called it Boba. I feel like it's much more popular to use that term there. In New York, I've seen bubble tea a lot more often, but they're kind of just used interchangeably.

Kousha Navidar: Okay, what does Boba mean? I've always wondered that.

Gabe Bergado: Boba, I think there's kind of a lot of different takes on where the term Boba came from, whether it was how the translation sounded, kind of just from slang as well. I think there's a lot of differet sources, and I can't really speak to necessarily where exactly the Boba word comes from, but I've eaten a lot of Boba, so I can speak a little bit more to that.

Kousha Navidar: [chuckles] Well, for listeners, at least according to Reddit, our producer Aki just said, Boba is Cantonese for large balls. At least that's according to Reddit. Maybe we can work off of there. If somebody knows and wants to call and let us know, give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. Listeners, we're talking about the best Boba and bubble tea in New York City. We've already got a caller. Let's just dive in. Let's talk to Ezra in Brooklyn. Hey, Ezra. Welcome to the show.

Ezra: Hi.

Kousha Navidar: Hi. Ezra, where do you like to get Boba?

Ezra: I like to get Boba at smoothies in Brooklyn. Right by Millennium Brooklyn.

Kousha Navidar: Nice. What's your go-to order?

Ezra: It's mango Boba tea. It's really good.

Kousha Navidar: Nice. Thanks so much for that call. We really appreciate it. There's all different kinds of ways that you can get Boba tea or bubble tea. You can even get in smoothies, as Ezra was just saying. A signature part is those small, chewy tapioca balls or pearls. They're about the size of a blueberry. Gabe, can you tell us what those are, what they're made out of?

Gabe Bergado: Yes. They're made out of tapioca starch, which comes from cassava root. They boil the starch and then make a dough out of it and let them kind of cool off. Like I mentioned, now some people even add, things like brown sugar once they're cooked and they're cooling down to add a little next level of flavor. Honestly, they should feel kind of round in your mouth, slightly chewy, but soft. I like them to have a little bit of spring to it. Should not be mushy at all. You'll know bad Boba if you try it. We joke that we like to have our Boba al dente. You'll know when the Boba is right.

Kousha Navidar: We've got a text here that says, "My favorite Boba tea is the one I make with my friends try for the first time. They either love it or hate it, and I love to watch them try." Gabe, do you remember the first time that you tried Boba tea?

Gabe Bergado: I do, yes. Like I mentioned, I'm from Southern California, and that's kind of where a lot of Taiwanese immigrants settled and kind of brought Boba. I've been drinking Boba since I was probably seven. I remember, taking my Razor scooter out on the town to get Boba.

Kousha Navidar: Razor scooter. Throwback. [chuckles]

Gabe Bergado: I love that text because I went to school in the Midwest, and I took a lot of my friends from Ohio and Iowa to go get Boba for the first time, and it was so fun to watch their reaction.

Kousha Navidar: Do you remember what the flavor was, the first one that you had?

Gabe Bergado: I think I went with a mango slushy situation the first time I had Boba. Again, I was so young, and that's always a go-to still. I love trying the different milk teas, and a lot of different spots have different specialties or different kinds of drinks. It always just kind of depends on also what I'm feeling for the day, what time of day, is it hot, is it cold?

Kousha Navidar: It's interesting because you and Ezra seem to have the same order because he also does mango slushies at smoothies in Park Slope, so that's interesting. Let's go over some of your favorite spots. Your team at The Infatuation released a list earlier this month with some of their favorites. Let's talk about one on the list. Xing Fu Tang in Flushing, you listed it as the perfect Boba spot for beginners, right?

Gabe Bergado: Yes, it's a great spot. There's a location in Flushing, but there's also a lot of locations all over the city now. There's even one across the street from The Infatuation office. Sometimes after work, I'll go get one. I think they just are a really classic spa, and they have a lot of different flavors. I would definitely highly recommend going with a milk tea situation if you're a newbie, but also if you are someone who likes fruity, they have a lot of different flavors as well, on ice and whatnot.

I think they even have different flavors of Boba as well, which is, if you're interested in trying those, it's kind of an easy spot to try different flavors, not only of the drinks, but the Boba themselves as well.

Kousha Navidar: I can imagine that for a beginner, it can be intimidating trying to navigate all of the options. What makes Xing Fu Tang particularly good for beginners, and how would you suggest folks approach their first Boba tea order?

Gabe Bergado: Yes, I think what's really nice is that they just are very approachable. I think a lot of places can be a little overwhelming, but I mean, they have all the-- I think the best way if you feel a little overwhelmed, this is how we kind of approach any review at The Infatuation, is to look at the menu beforehand and see what you might like. If you're someone who drinks matcha, Xing Fu Tang also has a matcha Boba milk tea drink. If you're someone who likes Thai iced tea, they have a Thai milk tea situation.

I really like their sesame milk. I'm a big fan of sesame, the sesame flavor and sesame milk latte. That's great. I think just going with something that you might be interested in is a great way to try it, but I'm also always just so for trying a classic milk tea situation.

Kousha Navidar: Can you tell us the origins of Xing Fu Tang? Their catchphrase written on their website says, "Taiwan number 1." Tell us what's up with that.

Gabe Bergado: Actually, I'm not entirely sure on the history of them, but I think they are originally based in Taiwan, and they're one of these experts at Boba that have popped up in New York especially. Like I said, it's great that they have their Flushing location to have options in that community. There's also tons of spots right off that seven stop for Boba. You can walk all around the street corner. I think there's probably 10 spots you can get Boba, but then there's even one, the Hudson Yards mall now. I just think they're just well known for having a lot of great Boba options.

Kousha Navidar: We've got a text here I'd love to read. It says, "I love Boba tea, especially with brown sugar. My go-to spot is on Debutea on Thompson Street in the village. My question is, can you drink Boba tea hot? Thanks. Cindy in the West Village." What do you think?

Gabe Bergado: Actually, like I mentioned, the original drink was a black tea that was a Taiwanese black tea that was served hot but cooled down and sweetened it and sweetened with condensed milk and maybe some honey. There's definitely a lot of Boba drinks that do come warm. There are a couple spots in the city where you can find them served warm. Some places we even ask, do you want to or clarify, do you want your drink iced or hot? We definitely recommend with the cooler season coming up to maybe try it if you haven't.

Kousha Navidar: Listeners, we're talking to Gabe Bergado, the staff editor at The Infatuation. We're talking about the best Boba and bubble tea in New York City. If you have a favorite bubble tea or Boba tea shop in the city, give us a call. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. Let's go to Jesse in Manhattan. Hey, Jesse, welcome to the show.

Jesse: Hi. When I was growing up, it was always referred to as the Cantonese name was zhēnzhū nǎichá which means pearl milk tea. Pearl referring to the bubbles. I think Boba is not from Cantonese because they speak Minnan in Taiwan, like the dialect is not Cantonese. From what I've heard-- Sorry, go ahead.

Kousha Navidar: No, no, please go ahead.

Jesse: From what I heard, one of the Boba was a slang term for big breasts or something like that.

Kousha Navidar: Interesting. Jesse, thank you so much for clarifying that. We really appreciate it. It seems like there's a lot of different ways that Boba can show up in our lives. We appreciate that, Jesse. Let's go to Michael in Manhattan. Hey, Michael, welcome to the show.

Michael: Hi. Long time, second time. How you doing?

Kousha Navidar: Welcome back.

Michael: Thanks. I have two sons, 2 and 17. They love Boba. Everywhere we travel around the US, we were just in LA a couple of weeks ago, we go down to St. Mark's all the time to the corner of St. Mark's in second for that Taiwanese place that they say that they're the best Boba in the world, but I hate Boba.

Kousha Navidar: Ooh, a hater.

Michael: Noba, because those pearls, they get in the way of delicious milk tea, mango tea. It's all delicious. As soon as I get one of those tapioca balls blocking the straw in the back of my throat, I'm like, "Why are these balls in my drink?"

Kousha Navidar: Please, please, Gabe, go ahead. Response to Michael.

Gabe Bergado: Michael brings up a great point. Not everyone loves a tapioca ball, but a lot of Boba spots also have a variety of different toppings or add ins. Michael, have you ever tried, like maybe lychee jelly or some other sort of add in?

Kousha Navidar: Well, let's see if we can get Michael back on the line because I think that we just took him off the board, but Michael, hey, are you there?

Michael: Yes, I'm here. I love lychee, so I will look for that. That's great. If I known, like the last caller said that Boba might mean big breast, I might change my mind.

Kousha Navidar: [chuckles] Okay, Michael, thank you so much. We really appreciate that. We are talking about Boba tea in New York City. We're here with Gabe Bergado, the staff editor at The Infatuation, and we are taking all different calls. If you love Boba tea, if you maybe have never tried it before, if you might not be a fan of it and you're looking for ways to maybe make it better for what you want, give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. We're talking about maybe alternatives to the tapioca balls. Let's go to Sidney in North America, New York. Hey, Sidney, welcome to the show.

Sidney: Hi.

Kousha Navidar: Hi.

Speaker 7: Tell them how you like your Boba.

Sidney: I usually get the tapioca pearls, but I also get dragon fruit popping Boba and lychee jelly. I get a ton of different toppings. I heard earlier somebody call them exploding Boba. Fun fact, they're also, a lot of the time, called popping Boba.

Kousha Navidar: Very interesting. Sidney, can I ask how old you are?

Sidney: I'm 12.

Kousha Navidar: Awesome. Love having you on the show. Thanks so much for calling. Tell me, what is your go-to order when you go into a Boba tea shop? What's the flavor and what's your topping?

Sidney: Okay, so I usually get a mango milk tea with tapioca pearls, dragon fruit popping Boba and lychee jelly.

Kousha Navidar: You had that in your back pocket, Sidney, that you are a veteran of it. I just want to point out, mango seems to be a very popular flavor among our Boba lovers out there. Sidney, thank you so much for calling. Thanks for hanging out with us. We appreciate you listening. Gabe, it sounds like there's a lot of other toppings that people can put into bubble tea. Another popular topping is cheese foam, which sounds pretty interesting. What is that? What kind of cheese do they use?

Gabe Bergado: It's not the typical kind of-- It's no cheddar cheese or is it maybe cheddar cheese? Actually, I'm not quite sure how they make it, but I mean, in a lot of different-- I'm Filipino, and we have this dessert called ensyamada that uses a cheese that is sweet. Think of it more of like a cream cheese situation. It adds a nice little texture to the top of a drink and a little bit of a tartness that you do get with cheese. It's been really fun to see as one of the big trends in Boba drinks. I feel like that the cheese foam over the last four years has been kind of popular.

I mentioned, obviously, the brown sugar Boba. It's cool seeing all these different add ins that also get a moment in the spotlight. One of my favorite spots, actually, is Tea Makers. I go to the one in Koreatown, and they have cheese foam as well. If you're interested in trying it, I would definitely suggest it. What's great is that Boba is pretty affordable. Your drink's going to be under $10. It's always great to try a new drink, even if you're a little apprehensive because it's not a huge investment. Best case scenario, you try something new and you really like it.

Kousha Navidar: Let's play a quick game before we run out of too much time because there are so many different versions of Boba tea that you can get out there. We're going to play a game called date, friend, and fight. I'm going to give you, Gabe, three Boba toppings, and you'll have to choose which one you're dating, which one you're befriending, and which one you're fighting. Sound good?

Gabe Bergado: Sounds great.

Kousha Navidar: Okay, let's go for it. The three options are tapioca pearls, lychee jelly, and cheese foam. Which one are you dating? Which one are you befriending? Which one are you fighting?

Gabe Bergado: Okay, I'm going to befriend the tapioca pearls because I don't want to date them, because what if something happens? I want to have tapioca pearls there constantly. I want to know they're going to be there for me no matter what drama. I think I'm going to go fight the cheese foam.

Kousha Navidar: Oh, okay.

Gabe Bergado: Although that does sound messy. Just because I think it is a polarizing topping sometimes. That cheese foam kind of can be off putting sometimes, but usually, it works out. Again, it's like a delicious little change from routine. Then I really like jelly, so I'm down to date a jelly.

Kousha Navidar: Down to date a jelly. I just got to point out, I love your reasoning behind why you want to befriend tapioca. That was a really heartfelt, lovely look at the support that tapioca can offer you in your life. I love that. Let's go to one more caller before we run out of time. This is Alessandra in Brooklyn. Hey, Alessandra, sounds like you want to shout out a shop in Park Slope, right?

Alessandra: Absolutely. Hanco's is the most incredible place. Their bubble tea is off the charts. It's so comfortable. It's very easy to order. You don't have to be nervous or whatever. I've been going there for 10 years, and I will tell you that, everybody, it's worth making the trip. It's in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful.

Alessandra: 7th Avenue in 10th street, I think.

Kousha Navidar: Alessandra, thank you. Go ahead, Gabe. Go ahead.

Gabe Bergado: They serve Vietnamese sandwiches, right?

Kousha Navidar: Oh, can we get Alessandra back on there? Sorry, Alessandra, go ahead.

Alessandra: They give you a card. When you get your-- your 10th tea is free, so that's always fun. I get a lot of those free teas because I drink a lot of it.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. Alessandra, thank you so much. Gabe, you were saying that they give out Vietnamese sandwiches as well at that location?

Gabe Bergado: Well, I think it's like a Vietnamese restaurant, and they have banh mi, but it's a spot where they also have Boba, which is also really cool too because there's a lot of restaurants that maybe Boba is not their specialty, but it's on the menu. That actually is when I mentioned that, I took my midwestern friends to try Boba for the first time, and where we got Boba was the [unintelligible 00:19:09] not even an actual Boba place. It's an exciting thing to sit down for dinner and find out that Boba is also on the menu.

Kousha Navidar: We got another text that says, "I live on Long Island, so I go to Kung Fu Tea in Lynbrook, where I get a mocha espresso Boba." That's Steve from Lynbrook. Steve, thanks for that. We got to wrap up. I really want to know, Gabe, what is a Boba topping or flavor that hasn't been done yet that you want someone to try?

Gabe Bergado: Oh, that hasn't been done yet. Let's see. That is such an interesting question. I'm always down for innovation. Even though I said that I would fight cheese foam, I'm like, let's try some other foams, maybe-- Let's see. I really like Micheladas, and so maybe a spicy foam on a mango situation might be good. Yes, let's try something spicy.

Kousha Navidar: Something spicy. I want to point out we're getting a couple texts talking about the health of the diet that has a lot of Boba tea in it. It's possible that Boba tea has a ton of sugar in it as well. Are there ways that you can make Boba tea healthier for yourself, or is it really just like a once-in-a-while treat?

Gabe Bergado: Oh, no, absolutely. A lot of Boba places will let you-- I mentioned this earlier, but there's a lot of customization that can happen at Boba shops. A lot of places will even ask you what you want the sugar level to be. I mean, as a kid, I was used to getting 100% sugar, but my usual go to is actually 30% because I like to have more of the milk tea flavor, but you can even get it at zero. I know our editor in chief at The Infatuation. That's her go to order. Also, some places will use sugar substitutes for some of their Boba drinks.

Kousha Navidar: We've got another text here. It says, "The Boba flavor I first tried about 30 years ago was almond milk tea. It is still one of my favorites, but it seems to have disappeared from a lot of menus. Anyone know a good almond milk tea in Manhattan?" Gabe, I want to try to be as helpful as possible to listeners. Does any place come to mind for you that folks could go?

Gabe Bergado: Not immediately. That speaks more to the optics of almond milk. I've been to plenty of places where they do offer oat milk. I actually would maybe look at I Milky. They might still have almond milk as an option. I'm pretty sure they have other milk substitutes like oat milk, but almond might be available as well.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. Last question for you. If you could only try one bubble tea flavor for the rest of your life, what would it be? Is it mango? I feel like mango is the answer, but what is it for you?

Gabe Bergado: I think just to go back to my roots. Yes, let's keep it a mango slash with Boba.

Kousha Navidar: New York City loves mango. Gabe, thank you so much. We were joined by Gabe Bergado from The Infatuation to talk about where to get the best bubble tea in the city. Gabe, thanks so much. Happy Boba tea time for you.

Gabe Bergado: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

 

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