Living in Asia, I've never heard anyone around me call it boba, most of us call it bubble tea or pearl milk tea because they are translated from their mandarin names of 泡泡茶 or 珍珠奶茶. Also, taro milk tea is my favorite!
@Travis Yap I haven't heard of people calling it 泡泡茶 (or maybe I haven't paid much attention). I stay in Guangdong province and I often just hear 奶茶，珍珠奶茶， or 波霸奶茶。 Kind of cool to know other ways to call it xD.
keeps doesn’t many different ways of making extra complicated decisions must’ve been hard it’s expensive destruction toward approach except unorganized things that important edit question is do trying extra damage or something like that exactly how to get it extra much decision completely true we’re just trying to figure out the best solution and we don’t want the whole world to know about what we’re doing to it but it’s true edit spelling it all down i don’t want the people that don’t understand the word so it’s just a question of the extent
Yes, I’ve never heard anyone call it boba here in Toronto/Canada. It’s either bubble tea or pearl milk tea. Plus, “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip for hers. That’s how the name came about...LOL! 😂
Bubble Tea is the official term because it's a "direct" translation of "泡沫紅茶" (lit. foamy black tea", interchangeable with green tea, etc.). Reason is that the traditional way of making these drinks in Taiwan is that they shake it, and the foam/bubble appears from the agitation. The term Bubble Tea itself is not supposed to reference the pearls, it's literally just the tea. People just mistaken the "bubble" part as pearls/tapioca.
not a comment on them, but straws make up so little of pollution. Cigarette butts and beer can connectors kill more wildlife. Plus cups are a lot more plastic then straws. They're trying, but any plastic is bad, straws are such a small way big media is trying to make us think we're changing.
@@NinjaGamer820 bubble tea originated from Taiwan, where it was called 珍珠奶茶, which directly translates to pearl milk tea. The name bubble tea is derived from the original form of tea + tapioca, so I don't see why you think the name bubble tea isn't referring to pearls O_O
I always thought that boba is an American name for bubble tea. In NZ we call it bubble tea, but recently I hear more and more people call it boba (must be the effects of social media).
@@xcakepudding I was in Taiwan a couple of weeks ago. From my experience, the people there/ the menu generally refer to the tapioca milk tea beverage as "Pearl milk tea"... But at the end of the day it doesn't matter. All these names refer to the same thing and is up to personal preference.
It’s either bubble tea or pearl milk tea here in Toronto/Canada. Plus “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip...that was her nickname and how the name “boba” came about. 😂
What I learned about boba/bubble tea is that they are two different things. Bubble tea got it's name from the bubbles that form when it is shaken. Boba refers to the tapioca pearls that are an optional add on to bubble tea. Also, I was trained to make my pearls with longan honey AND brown sugar :) Dissolve them together in a hot water solution. Once the pearls are done cooking, put them into the solution after it has cooled down. Pearls should be tossed out after four hours, otherwise they get too mushy. Regarding the lids, I prefer sealed lids. If I am unable to shake my pearls into the tea, there tends to be a slight gooey layer on the bottom of the cup (no matter how much you rinse the pearls). This is especially true for the slushy kinds of drinks. If you can't shake the pearls into the drink, they sit at the bottom and clump together. My go to bubble tea is lychee green tea with aloe jellies. So refreshing!
One day I want to do a lunch break with Wong Fu. I feel like we would have a good time talking about life. That's on my bucket list. Anyway, boba is great. I enjoy it
aH i live near the Texas border and we called boba "boba" but when I moved to Houston they referred to the actual boba as "tap" like short for tapioca but they call drink itself "boba" !!! but i agree with Wes's topping rules !! (like if a place is known to have bad tap, then i order egg pudding) !!!
Escapade Ting It’s also either bubble tea or pearl milk tea here in Toronto/Canada. Plus “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip...that was her nickname and how the name “boba” came about. 😂
MyAwkwardAzn Same here in Toronto. It’s either bubble tea or pearl milk tea. Plus “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip...that was her nickname and how the name “boba” came about. 😂
In Guangzhou China, we just call it 奶茶 (nai cha) in general. We often say 奶茶 instead of boba or bubble tea because that's the base of the drink and then you can customized it. We don't called it very specifically boba or bubble tea because sometimes people don't really add boba but other toppings as a replacement. ___ When ordering boba in China often goes like this ___ For example: - Ice: more ice or less ice (regular) - Sugar: 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100% (regular) - Toping: 珍珠 tapioca (smaller boba balls), 波霸 tapioca (bigger boba balls), 红豆 red bean, 椰果 chewy jelly from fermented coconut water, 仙草 grass jelly, or 混珠 for a mixed of all topping. But if you want to be more specific of calling boba tea, we called it 珍珠奶茶 (zhenzhunaicha) or 波霸奶茶 (bobanaicha).
My first experience with a Boba shop was in college in Denver (2005). A friend wanted to go to Lollicup after studying and it changed my life. Pretty much there every weekend. My go-to order is either a Lavender Slush or Matcha Snow~
I LOVE BOBA!! Favorite lunch break episode 😍 I related to everything that was said, it's hilarious! I've called it all three ways at one point in life dependant on where I was living. I first had when I was living in Hawaii early 2000's and they called it pearls or bubble. But I soon adopted the term boba, even when I don't get the boba like Jen said! I'm glad to hear that it's not weird to say "getting boba" regardless of getting the actual boba 😂 and I'm like Wes with the no jellies with milk 😌
I'm asian american but don't live in california or a state with a big boba culture, so watching this definitely taught me some new things. I was not aware that boba was this complex! Also, phil has a point about boba shops being places where Asian American culture can foster. Reminds me of an academic article I read about it for a class
hi! i'm from Taiwan. I actually call them pearls in general. but if the tea shop have both larger and smaller ones then we'll call the larger ones boba and the smaller ones pearl :) some tea shop even have drinks with mixed sized boba!
I went to BPMF because a Taiwanese friend recommended it to me. Had I known it was a Wong Fu production, literally, I would have flipped out. But now I’m just at home silently gushing over the natural ingredient-boba I had a month ago. I loved it! We had the Mayo tofu with cheese and tater tots, and I told one of the employees as we were leaving that it was “surprisingly good,” and he gave me a rather puzzled look. I had meant it as a compliment.
When I was late teens, early 20s, Lollicup, Tapioca Express, and Tea Station was the thing. Our parents opened boba places. Now, your generation are tea house owners. Late/old millennials are "old" and the old school of boba culture. You guys are NOT "old." 🤣 Lots of werk werk werk ahead of you. Keep up the great work and good luck on your journey. 💪🏻👍🏻
hello mwf, wanted to see if you agree - the bubble tea with milk at the shop is 3.50 to 4.50 for a small - hot or cold :) and, the real tea with milk in our bao bakeries are one dollar! crazy right. never does it feel right to drink that there. elle for pearl mango tea
wow in Cali they have such fancy ass boba drinks. I've never heard of putting pudding or red bean in the drink. We're basic here in NC we got jelly, tapioca, and popping boba
I also save my stamp cards rewards for special days but they always ended up unusable... It was either the shops no longer honoring such rewards or the shops closed down for good 😅😭
I grew up with calling it pearls and the first time having it was in elementary school in around 1st grade. My dad order it with pearls and I remember disliking it but I never told my dad that I didn’t like them cause I thought he would stop buying the drinks for me so I spent years of drinking them with the pearls. Now I just drink/eat them without much thought
I mean on the east coast we do call it milk tea or bubble tea the most but I learned about it first from the internet so i called it boba. theres literally only 2 places with boba where i live both are recent, one is a restaurant and the other is only open on weekends.
One time I went to a boba shop and they misheard me and gave me “3 boba” on my order sticker. Never understood what sort of person would have an order like that. But now I know.... IT’S BC OF THE PHILS OF THE WORLD 😂
Definitely grew up calling it pearl milk tea too, haha! It was a direct translation from Mandarin for my family. Also, my mind was blown when I went back to Taiwan--there is a size difference between "pearls" and "boba" :O
Boba! I first got boba at the first lollicup in my town too, it was so cool~ and I definitely became obsessed with anything slushed because of it. I've graduated now to milk teas... my fave toppings are agar boba, and recently I tried a rose milk tea with lychee jelly and that was bomb! ♡♡♡
I’m from SF Bay Area suburb and I’m with Wes. I learned it as pearl milk tea in the 90s. Now I call it Boba. I’m a traditionalist. Only milk tea with boba and very low sweetness.
Even though "boba" and "bubble tea" are largely used interchangeably now, they're not technically the same thing. "Boba" is the actual tapioca balls itself (also called pearls). "Bubble tea" is the tea, and the "bubble" is not the pearl; it's the aeration, because traditionally "bubble tea" is a "pulled tea."
Chris, get mini boba. I had the same problem with drinking too fast and mini boba helps you slow down. Phil, get agar boba! That's the new trend now and it's one of my favorites because it's healthier, similar texture to traditional boba, and doesn't get hard if you drink slow!!! (And yes, fuck popping boba!)
Also Phil, offer in-house reusable cups and straws at your cafe. Some boba places use glass bottles for to go orders too but I always forget to bring my cup. Please offer discount for BYO (bring your own cup) and/or BYS (bring your own straw). Can you just hire me? 😂
We call it pearls. From the direct Chinese translation, Zhen Zu. For the original tapioca boba. Pearl Milk Tea or Brown Sugar Pearl Milk tea etc. Boba to us are the flavoured pearls. Like strawberry flavoured ‘pearls’. We call them strawberry boba. Or the flavoured popping pearls. We call those bobas too. Basically we only call the OG tapioca balls, pearls. (In Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Macau, Taiwan and Thailand). In summary, it’s more commonly known as pearl milk tea, milk teas or bubble tea. BMT! Bubble milk tea!
Weeeeeell in Taiwan we either say Boba or Zenzoo. Boba will always be the big tapioca pearls, whilst the zenzoo is either the small or big tapioca pearls. To be sure I get the big ones I’d say boba.
I agree with Jen on the sealed lids, shaking it and whatnot. But one time I got boba with my cousin and I shook it and he just bluntly told me, "you dont shake your boba" and I'm like ".... I just like watching my boba shake and float" and sometimes to help mix the drink more. And he also gave talked about how I shouldn't try certain places because they're not good. But I have diff fave drinks at diff boba shops and I like going to diff ones because of unique names and whatnot. Theres lost of boba snobs too
A little input here Where I am from, boba is the bigger tapioca balls in the milk tea, and pearl is the smaller equivalent. So boba milk tea and pearl milk tea are actually 2 very similar but different things. I am from Macau, and I think HK has them the same too.
We just call them "milk tea" in the Philippines. But I've seen milk tea shops making their own spin on either of the following variations of the word tea like "chai", "cha", "té", "tea", "tsaa" (in Filipino) and integrating them into their shop names. Most prominent are the overseas ones like Chatime and Gongcha. Locally we have Infinitea and Serenitea (and any noun in the English language that ends with "-ty" has that last syllable spelled into "tea").
When I visited China, I went to Coco’s to order a drink and asked for a “boba nai cha” and the cashier had nooooo idea what I was saying haha. He was like “boba shi shen me” *face palm* Guess he wasn’t from So-Cal hahaha
I'm from Hong Kong and yeah it's literally translated into pearl milk tea 😂 but otherwise it's bubble tea. Imho boba sounds like people trying to make it deliberately foreign and exotic, so I'm not a fan tbh...
First time I had bubble tea was middle or high school but I always just got a smoothie and never had the boba. It wasn’t until I moved out to California 2 years ago that I decided to try boba with coworkers and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I am from India and my first experience of boba was when i was visiting my brother last year(who works in lancing michigan). It was good experience. I also had honey bubble tea. It was fun.
I'm like Phil, I always ask for "less bubbles". In Canada we never say "Boba", but I've worked at at boba shop in Texas and the terminology is totally different 😂. Also, you should plug your cafe more, I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not. Congrats opening your own store, that's a huge development!
My first was suuuper late. I've lived on the East Coast for most of my life, so there wasn't any around. There were probably options in college, but everyone described it as milkshake-esque, and I don't like thick drinks. On a random outing after moving to Japan, I finally decided to just go ahead and try it. It was a tricked out one - ice cream, the pearls, cookies - the works. TBH, it tasted more like ice cream than anything lol. The pearls were pretty good. I've not had the kind you have there. Despite being on East Cost, I heard 'boba' before 'bubble tea'. I assumed 'boba' was '"orrect" and 'bubble tea' was a Western name. I'm pretty sure I looked it up, but you can get your point across either way I think.
I don’t really like regular boba but I love popping boba! Lol, it’s good because you get a burst of flavor. I also love roe on sushi so it’s like a similar except sweet
In Canada we call it bubble tea. I’m not a fan of flavoured powders, so my go to is anything with real ingredients, like: avocado, young coconut, red bean, or corn. Apparently, corn is not a common flavour, but I swear by it!
I live in the south on the east coast and most people call the drink or the act of getting boba "bubble tea" as in "lets go get some bubble tea!" But the tapioca that you get in the drink is called "boba" so typically I would say "I think I want some boba in my bubble tea." Hope that makes sense! Alsooo most of the bubble tea shops I've been to have not been associated with Asian-American culture so that is probably why there is some terminology difference...
Taiwanese here~ Well uh, in Chinese, boba is LITERALLY pearl milk tea. Pearl is the name for the squishy black blobs, and boba is the name for BIG pearls. So I mean, technically boba and bubble tea are both wrong I guess. Tastes good whatever it’s called though lol
You should make an app for the rewards card! Everyone can access it on their phones and it can keep track of all the drinks electronically. Gongcha is a company that has a good example for their bubble tea rewards application.
What's your typical boba/bubble tea order?!
More Wong Fu oolong milk tea with light ice and 50% sugar
茉香奶茶／奶绿 (what they call it in China)/green milk tea with pudding and 70% sugar and more ice. I HATE pearls 😭 it's just too chewy
hot oolong milk tea with tapioca or taro slush
I'm going to get crazy comments but I'll just say it, I like jasmine milk tea with lychee jelly and pearls 😂😂😂
I'm just a regular wintermelon milk tea 100% sugar and regular boba type of guy
Living in Asia, I've never heard anyone around me call it boba, most of us call it bubble tea or pearl milk tea because they are translated from their mandarin names of 泡泡茶 or 珍珠奶茶. Also, taro milk tea is my favorite!
We just call it 奶茶 xD。
But in mandarin is 珍珠奶茶 (zhen zhu nai cha) or 波霸奶茶 ( bo ba nai cha).
@Travis Yap I haven't heard of people calling it 泡泡茶 (or maybe I haven't paid much attention). I stay in Guangdong province and I often just hear 奶茶，珍珠奶茶， or 波霸奶茶。 Kind of cool to know other ways to call it xD.
@@ElvisCFWang I'm from SE Asia, and we call them "pearls".
keeps doesn’t many different ways of making extra complicated decisions must’ve been hard it’s expensive destruction toward approach except unorganized things that important edit question is do trying extra damage or something like that exactly how to get it extra much decision completely true we’re just trying to figure out the best solution and we don’t want the whole world to know about what we’re doing to it but it’s true edit spelling it all down i don’t want the people that don’t understand the word so it’s just a question of the extent
Congrats Phil for opening your own cafe! Logo looks cool
They're the first four 'alphabets' of a spelling/typing system used almost exclusively in Taiwan, where bubble tea is from 😊🇹🇼
@@BlueGlow26 yes!!! taiwan ftw!!!!
team bubble tea ALWAYS ✊🏼
thought I'd see you here HAHA #teamboba 😤
Ugh yea can u just say boba bubble is such a fucking thrown off word for it.
Noo bubble tea boba is just ew
@@Anonym-wz6mm bubble tea is literally the original name ☺️
As an over-thinker, i love hearing people have in depth conversations about stuff that doesn't matter haha
doeSNT MATTER????????
It seems like California calls it "boba" while the other 99.5% of the world calls it "bubble tea" 😅
AGREED. Only when I moved to California did I start saying boba. It was always milk tea back home.
we use bubble tea & boba interchangelbly here in ny. bubble tea is the formal name & boba is kind of like a nickname.
Where are you guys from?
We use boba and bubble tea interchangeably here in Houston, TX. Depends on the people, I think. Not the region.
In Australia its Bubble Tea or PMT nation wide. No one calls it boba.
We say bubble tea in Canada! It’s sooo weird hearing boba lol
omg yesss!
in Toronto we call it either bubble tea or boba, interchangably
@@lululativia I'm from Toronto and no one I've ever encountered says boba lol
I'm in Vancouver and NO ONE says boba. Totally agreed.
Yes, I’ve never heard anyone call it boba here in Toronto/Canada. It’s either bubble tea or pearl milk tea. Plus, “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip for hers. That’s how the name came about...LOL! 😂
Bubble Tea is the official term because it's a "direct" translation of "泡沫紅茶" (lit. foamy black tea", interchangeable with green tea, etc.).
Reason is that the traditional way of making these drinks in Taiwan is that they shake it, and the foam/bubble appears from the agitation.
The term Bubble Tea itself is not supposed to reference the pearls, it's literally just the tea. People just mistaken the "bubble" part as pearls/tapioca.
"I'm still alive" - Jenn
Biggest mood EVER
respect to wong fu for the metal straws and not using plastic ones!
not a comment on them, but straws make up so little of pollution. Cigarette butts and beer can connectors kill more wildlife. Plus cups are a lot more plastic then straws. They're trying, but any plastic is bad, straws are such a small way big media is trying to make us think we're changing.
this is me peaking y'all. lunch break about boba 😍😍😍
recommendation on reusable boba straw(s)?
@@nhan123 mines from green turtle co! it has a pointed tip so you can stab the sealed lids perfectly! lots of cute colors too
You were so happy during this episode. I can tell you could talk about boba for days!!
Grass/Herbal jelly with milk teas is amazing!
I'M GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE IN 4 HOURS TODAY!!!
CONGRATS! SO PROUD 😍
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!
CONGRATS!!!!
CONGRATS! I’m at my first step of graduating cuz I’m graduating from High school tomorrow!!! GOOD LUCK DOING ADULT THINGSSS
FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
is Ted ever gonna come back to be on a short? maybe...anytime soon? everytime i hear the "MOREEE" on More Wong Fu intros I miss him
Also I’m with Jenn -- what’s the point of getting bubble tea without the bubbles?? Then it’s just tea! You can get that anywhere 😨
It's not called bubble tea because of the pearls
@@NinjaGamer820 bubble tea originated from Taiwan, where it was called 珍珠奶茶, which directly translates to pearl milk tea. The name bubble tea is derived from the original form of tea + tapioca, so I don't see why you think the name bubble tea isn't referring to pearls O_O
Although I agree you can make milk tea anywhere, milk + tea + sugar level ratio is important too!
Nah, tea at starbucks or whatever coffee shop is not the same as milk tea from a boba place
Wait a minute, this isn’t Boba Break.
Careholders know 😉
We say bubble tea or pearl milk tea in Australia too! People only started calling it boba recently because of social media
12:30 Wes and Jen relating on a spiritual level 😄
I always thought that boba is an American name for bubble tea.
In NZ we call it bubble tea, but recently I hear more and more people call it boba (must be the effects of social media).
Star Lord the effects of subtle asian traits
In taiwanese, “boba” is the real way you say it.
@@xcakepudding I was in Taiwan a couple of weeks ago. From my experience, the people there/ the menu generally refer to the tapioca milk tea beverage as "Pearl milk tea"...
But at the end of the day it doesn't matter. All these names refer to the same thing and is up to personal preference.
It’s either bubble tea or pearl milk tea here in Toronto/Canada. Plus “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip...that was her nickname and how the name “boba” came about. 😂
Me: Tries to decrease boba tea intake cause empty calories.
Also me: But it's boba
What I learned about boba/bubble tea is that they are two different things. Bubble tea got it's name from the bubbles that form when it is shaken. Boba refers to the tapioca pearls that are an optional add on to bubble tea. Also, I was trained to make my pearls with longan honey AND brown sugar :) Dissolve them together in a hot water solution. Once the pearls are done cooking, put them into the solution after it has cooled down. Pearls should be tossed out after four hours, otherwise they get too mushy.
Regarding the lids, I prefer sealed lids. If I am unable to shake my pearls into the tea, there tends to be a slight gooey layer on the bottom of the cup (no matter how much you rinse the pearls). This is especially true for the slushy kinds of drinks. If you can't shake the pearls into the drink, they sit at the bottom and clump together.
My go to bubble tea is lychee green tea with aloe jellies. So refreshing!
One day I want to do a lunch break with Wong Fu. I feel like we would have a good time talking about life. That's on my bucket list.
Anyway, boba is great. I enjoy it
+1 for pearl milk tea! The OG Fantasia in Cupertino, CA used that nomenclature and it stuck with me since.
PMT 4EVA!
Yooooooo that was my first boba place!
Oklahoma and Texas, we call it "boba" !
I live in Texas and I grew up saying bubble tea.
I began saying boba in recent years as the drink became more mainstream with non asians.
I didn't choose the boba life...
The boba life chose me. 🥤
isn't this just Phil getting data for his new cafe? 😅
Katy B Genius!
aH i live near the Texas border and we called boba "boba" but when I moved to Houston they referred to the actual boba as "tap" like short for tapioca but they call drink itself "boba" !!! but i agree with Wes's topping rules !! (like if a place is known to have bad tap, then i order egg pudding) !!!
I thought today was gonna be a “spilling the tea”...bubble tea... video. But y’all are above that stuff 😉
the only tea we spill is milk tea 😂
@@morewongfu the way it should be
It's called "bubble tea" in Singapore too. Haha. :D
Boba sound more like a direct translation(?)/literal pronunciation from Taiwanese 波霸(bo ba)奶茶
Escapade Ting It’s also either bubble tea or pearl milk tea here in Toronto/Canada. Plus “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip...that was her nickname and how the name “boba” came about. 😂
@@wctoronto Haha yup yup! That's a very old slang for big boobs. Hmm, come to think of it, I wonder why it is used to name bubble tea in the end.
“Boba” is a Cantonese word which means “big boobs”, it’s not Taiwanese Hokkien.
From Alberta, Canada. We call it Bubble Tea. I dont think Ive heard anyone here call it Boba
MyAwkwardAzn Same here in Toronto. It’s either bubble tea or pearl milk tea. Plus “boba” is slang for “big boobs” in reference to ‘80s/‘90s Hong Kong actress, Amy Yip...that was her nickname and how the name “boba” came about. 😂
@@wctoronto Really!?! I didnt know that. That's interesting.
MyAwkwardAzn Yup, you could Google it. There was also a recent video on Facebook created about the history.
i live in calgary and i've never heard anyone call it bubble tea unless they were white lol
@@junkinavi The classic Edmonton vs Calgary. Haha. I've never heard it called Boba. Like ever. lol.
In Guangzhou China, we just call it 奶茶 (nai cha) in general. We often say 奶茶 instead of boba or bubble tea because that's the base of the drink and then you can customized it. We don't called it very specifically boba or bubble tea because sometimes people don't really add boba but other toppings as a replacement.
___ When ordering boba in China often goes like this ___
For example:
- Ice: more ice or less ice (regular)
- Sugar: 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100% (regular)
- Toping: 珍珠 tapioca (smaller boba balls), 波霸 tapioca (bigger boba balls), 红豆 red bean, 椰果 chewy jelly from fermented coconut water, 仙草 grass jelly, or 混珠 for a mixed of all topping.
But if you want to be more specific of calling boba tea, we called it 珍珠奶茶 (zhenzhunaicha) or 波霸奶茶 (bobanaicha).
My first experience with a Boba shop was in college in Denver (2005). A friend wanted to go to Lollicup after studying and it changed my life. Pretty much there every weekend. My go-to order is either a Lavender Slush or Matcha Snow~
yess! i agree that jelly toppings only go with clear drinks and boba/egg pudding is with milky drinks! (from SoCal!)
Yeee, strawberry snowbubble was my 1st ever boba drink. And yes, boba.
I LOVE BOBA!! Favorite lunch break episode 😍 I related to everything that was said, it's hilarious! I've called it all three ways at one point in life dependant on where I was living. I first had when I was living in Hawaii early 2000's and they called it pearls or bubble. But I soon adopted the term boba, even when I don't get the boba like Jen said! I'm glad to hear that it's not weird to say "getting boba" regardless of getting the actual boba 😂 and I'm like Wes with the no jellies with milk 😌
I'm asian american but don't live in california or a state with a big boba culture, so watching this definitely taught me some new things. I was not aware that boba was this complex! Also, phil has a point about boba shops being places where Asian American culture can foster. Reminds me of an academic article I read about it for a class
Some good stuff!! Especially Jenn's honey boba tea.
I'm eating the mapo tofu tots and drinking your boba right now while watching this lol. it's so goodddd.
Red Date Longan Milk Tea with coconut jelly! 😍
Hmm anybody prefer Hong Kong milk tea? That’s my favorite; but it isn’t always easy to find good ones
Yes!! I'm from there and it's so hard to replicate, but you can get pretty close by using three black tea bags and evaporated milk for one cup of tea.
hi! i'm from Taiwan. I actually call them pearls in general. but if the tea shop have both larger and smaller ones then we'll call the larger ones boba and the smaller ones pearl :) some tea shop even have drinks with mixed sized boba!
I'm also from FL and didn't grow up with boba either! I was surprised to find out about it when I moved to Cali
Jen has come out of her shell so much. Beautiful inside and out.
I went to BPMF because a Taiwanese friend recommended it to me. Had I known it was a Wong Fu production, literally, I would have flipped out. But now I’m just at home silently gushing over the natural ingredient-boba I had a month ago. I loved it! We had the Mayo tofu with cheese and tater tots, and I told one of the employees as we were leaving that it was “surprisingly good,” and he gave me a rather puzzled look. I had meant it as a compliment.
When I saw the BPMF the other Lunch Break, I was like "Ooooh! BPMF! That's a creative title!"
Didn't know that was Phil's. CONGRATULATIONS!
12:30 Jen and Wes share the same brain cell 😂😍
When I was late teens, early 20s, Lollicup, Tapioca Express, and Tea Station was the thing. Our parents opened boba places. Now, your generation are tea house owners. Late/old millennials are "old" and the old school of boba culture. You guys are NOT "old." 🤣 Lots of werk werk werk ahead of you. Keep up the great work and good luck on your journey. 💪🏻👍🏻
back in the days, everyone got the Quickly's green apple slush with boba for 99 cents. mini boba! i mainly get boba to drink my milk tea slower.
hello mwf, wanted to see if you agree - the bubble tea with milk at the shop is 3.50 to 4.50 for a small - hot or cold :) and, the real tea with milk in our bao bakeries are one dollar! crazy right. never does it feel right to drink that there. elle for pearl mango tea
wow in Cali they have such fancy ass boba drinks. I've never heard of putting pudding or red bean in the drink. We're basic here in NC we got jelly, tapioca, and popping boba
First time seeing two people using reusable straws!!!! Yay
In the UK we use both bubble and boba tea! But popping boba is super popular like people sometimes only have popping boba without the tapioca pearls
I also save my stamp cards rewards for special days but they always ended up unusable... It was either the shops no longer honoring such rewards or the shops closed down for good 😅😭
I grew up with calling it pearls and the first time having it was in elementary school in around 1st grade. My dad order it with pearls and I remember disliking it but I never told my dad that I didn’t like them cause I thought he would stop buying the drinks for me so I spent years of drinking them with the pearls. Now I just drink/eat them without much thought
As a Taiwanese living in Taiwan. It is so great to hear how American Chinese experience the bubble milk tea culture.
I mean on the east coast we do call it milk tea or bubble tea the most but I learned about it first from the internet so i called it boba. theres literally only 2 places with boba where i live both are recent, one is a restaurant and the other is only open on weekends.
Loving the lights, settings, and colours.
I also call it “Pearl Milk Tea” or like “Pearl” too Wes. Though I’m not a big fan milk tea, but I really love the pearls.
One time I went to a boba shop and they misheard me and gave me “3 boba” on my order sticker. Never understood what sort of person would have an order like that. But now I know.... IT’S BC OF THE PHILS OF THE WORLD 😂
Definitely grew up calling it pearl milk tea too, haha! It was a direct translation from Mandarin for my family. Also, my mind was blown when I went back to Taiwan--there is a size difference between "pearls" and "boba" :O
OMG YES! Totally agree with Wes and Chris about the mini boba!
Boba! I first got boba at the first lollicup in my town too, it was so cool~ and I definitely became obsessed with anything slushed because of it. I've graduated now to milk teas... my fave toppings are agar boba, and recently I tried a rose milk tea with lychee jelly and that was bomb! ♡♡♡
I’m from SF Bay Area suburb and I’m with Wes. I learned it as pearl milk tea in the 90s. Now I call it Boba. I’m a traditionalist. Only milk tea with boba and very low sweetness.
Even though "boba" and "bubble tea" are largely used interchangeably now, they're not technically the same thing. "Boba" is the actual tapioca balls itself (also called pearls). "Bubble tea" is the tea, and the "bubble" is not the pearl; it's the aeration, because traditionally "bubble tea" is a "pulled tea."
Chris, get mini boba. I had the same problem with drinking too fast and mini boba helps you slow down.
Phil, get agar boba! That's the new trend now and it's one of my favorites because it's healthier, similar texture to traditional boba, and doesn't get hard if you drink slow!!! (And yes, fuck popping boba!)
Also Phil, offer in-house reusable cups and straws at your cafe. Some boba places use glass bottles for to go orders too but I always forget to bring my cup. Please offer discount for BYO (bring your own cup) and/or BYS (bring your own straw).
Can you just hire me? 😂
We call it pearls. From the direct Chinese translation, Zhen Zu.
For the original tapioca boba.
Pearl Milk Tea or Brown Sugar Pearl Milk tea etc.
Boba to us are the flavoured pearls. Like strawberry flavoured ‘pearls’. We call them strawberry boba. Or the flavoured popping pearls. We call those bobas too.
Basically we only call the OG tapioca balls, pearls.
(In Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Macau, Taiwan and Thailand).
In summary, it’s more commonly known as pearl milk tea, milk teas or bubble tea.
BMT! Bubble milk tea!
Weeeeeell in Taiwan we either say Boba or Zenzoo. Boba will always be the big tapioca pearls, whilst the zenzoo is either the small or big tapioca pearls. To be sure I get the big ones I’d say boba.
I agree with Jen on the sealed lids, shaking it and whatnot. But one time I got boba with my cousin and I shook it and he just bluntly told me, "you dont shake your boba" and I'm like ".... I just like watching my boba shake and float" and sometimes to help mix the drink more. And he also gave talked about how I shouldn't try certain places because they're not good. But I have diff fave drinks at diff boba shops and I like going to diff ones because of unique names and whatnot. Theres lost of boba snobs too
It's ok I won't judge you LOL
A little input here
Where I am from, boba is the bigger tapioca balls in the milk tea, and pearl is the smaller equivalent. So boba milk tea and pearl milk tea are actually 2 very similar but different things. I am from Macau, and I think HK has them the same too.
Oh, and Boba and a phonetic translation
I didn't have boba till 2008, but I had taho #filipinosknow!
Nice nice
Same hahahaha My first drink with “boba/pearl” was from Zagu HAHAHAHAHA
@@krizshamariemateo3311 HAHAHA this one Zagu is the OG here
@@kpacubo. Before pearl milk tea, there was Zagu HAHAHHAHAHA And before Zagu there was the OG taho HAHAHAHAH
@@krizshamariemateo3311 bahahaha youre right
We just call them "milk tea" in the Philippines. But I've seen milk tea shops making their own spin on either of the following variations of the word tea like "chai", "cha", "té", "tea", "tsaa" (in Filipino) and integrating them into their shop names. Most prominent are the overseas ones like Chatime and Gongcha. Locally we have Infinitea and Serenitea (and any noun in the English language that ends with "-ty" has that last syllable spelled into "tea").
When I visited China, I went to Coco’s to order a drink and asked for a “boba nai cha” and the cashier had nooooo idea what I was saying haha. He was like “boba shi shen me” *face palm* Guess he wasn’t from So-Cal hahaha
I'm from Hong Kong and yeah it's literally translated into pearl milk tea 😂 but otherwise it's bubble tea. Imho boba sounds like people trying to make it deliberately foreign and exotic, so I'm not a fan tbh...
First time I had bubble tea was middle or high school but I always just got a smoothie and never had the boba. It wasn’t until I moved out to California 2 years ago that I decided to try boba with coworkers and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Wes I get the pearl milk tea translation! Zhun zui lai cha is boba in canto and the zhun zui translates to pearl.
in 626, majority of people say Boba. Like Phil, I'm not that into Boba so now I order tea with no topping.
I am from India and my first experience of boba was when i was visiting my brother last year(who works in lancing michigan). It was good experience. I also had honey bubble tea. It was fun.
Bubble tea down here in Australia. Also, love the new Q&A segment. :)
Love how you guys are using reusable metal straws! :) 🌱
YESSS PHIL! I agree so much with the pearls getting in the way of your drink 😂 imma ask for a few pearls next time 😅
12:27 = Me every time I want boba. Jen gets me.
You should make a short where Rick becomes self aware of his misogynistic ways
I wanna knowwww their usual bubble order!!!
I'm like Phil, I always ask for "less bubbles". In Canada we never say "Boba", but I've worked at at boba shop in Texas and the terminology is totally different 😂. Also, you should plug your cafe more, I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not. Congrats opening your own store, that's a huge development!
Way to represent the East coast, Chris. Bubble tea all the way!
My first was suuuper late. I've lived on the East Coast for most of my life, so there wasn't any around. There were probably options in college, but everyone described it as milkshake-esque, and I don't like thick drinks. On a random outing after moving to Japan, I finally decided to just go ahead and try it. It was a tricked out one - ice cream, the pearls, cookies - the works. TBH, it tasted more like ice cream than anything lol. The pearls were pretty good. I've not had the kind you have there. Despite being on East Cost, I heard 'boba' before 'bubble tea'. I assumed 'boba' was '"orrect" and 'bubble tea' was a Western name. I'm pretty sure I looked it up, but you can get your point across either way I think.
I feel you, Phil, about the mini boba.
I so loved this boba talk!!!
I don’t really like regular boba but I love popping boba! Lol, it’s good because you get a burst of flavor. I also love roe on sushi so it’s like a similar except sweet
in canto its 珍珠奶茶 (pearl milk tea)! it took me forever to realize bubble tea/boba and pearl were all referring to the same drink ^^'
In Canada we call it bubble tea.
I’m not a fan of flavoured powders, so my go to is anything with real ingredients, like: avocado, young coconut, red bean, or corn. Apparently, corn is not a common flavour, but I swear by it!
Open one in NYC!!!
I live in the south on the east coast and most people call the drink or the act of getting boba "bubble tea" as in "lets go get some bubble tea!" But the tapioca that you get in the drink is called "boba" so typically I would say "I think I want some boba in my bubble tea." Hope that makes sense! Alsooo most of the bubble tea shops I've been to have not been associated with Asian-American culture so that is probably why there is some terminology difference...
Taiwanese here~
Well uh, in Chinese, boba is LITERALLY pearl milk tea. Pearl is the name for the squishy black blobs, and boba is the name for BIG pearls. So I mean, technically boba and bubble tea are both wrong I guess. Tastes good whatever it’s called though lol
You should make an app for the rewards card! Everyone can access it on their phones and it can keep track of all the drinks electronically. Gongcha is a company that has a good example for their bubble tea rewards application.
so relatable i cant
Totally on board with Phil about milk tea with '5' bobas! Hahah
Lol, boba is awesome. It was around monterey park since early 90's
I feel like only Americans call it boba because in Canada we call it bubble tea!
I’m from the Northeast. We call it “bubble tea”. I’ll stay calling it “bubble tea”.