Short Stuff: Boba Tea | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and Jerry's here. too Dave's here in Spirit uh way to go. Dave and this is short stuff I think I. said that's right and hey we want to. wish Dave well as he recovers from back. surgery yeah yep he made it out on the. other side and we're very happy for him. that's why I said way to go Dave that's. right I thought I didn't know if you. wanted to leave it unsaid either way I. think Dave's happy with it I he's like.

you guys can keep talking about me the. whole. episode uh all right well we're his. nickname is uh is is Dave. Boba well I'm not going to say his last. name because I don't want people to. bother him see we just call him the Boba. guy right I've never had Boba oh no no. and I need. to sure I think everybody needs to have. it at least once I had it once I decided. immediately I didn't like it oh okay I. like everything about it except for the. Boba that's what I didn't like I don't.

like that the the gelatinous gooey chewi. of it I'm I'm not crazy for and I can. totally see how somebody would go nuts. for it MH but I also see how somebody. like me just is turned off by it. immediately well I don't want to try it. as much because gelatinous is never a. word I seek out for my mouth so you can. get boba te without the Boba and I'm. sure the purists will be like shut up. you can't call it Boba you still can. everybody settle down you just ask for.

it without the Boba and it you will love. it Chuck it's very sweet and tasty and. there's all sorts of neat flavors that. they can put into it and it won't have. gelatinous. spheres going down your gullet because. you accidentally forgot to chew they're. going to say all right well I'll make. you one but you're not getting one of. those big fat. straws they do they give you the big fat. straw anyway so you go through it really. quick uh all right so we're talking. about boba tea or bubble tea and that is. something that the you know I'm kind of. a dummy the first time I saw that I was.

like what in the world is going on in. that cup uh because you know you see. what looks like a regular drink but then. you see all these little uh round pearls. inside of a cup and I didn't know what. it was uh until I looked into it more. back then and now I know because of this. that that is a Taiwanese tea and it is. there are a couple of different. competing stories on how this came about. because there are two rival te shops uh.

in Taiwan from the 1980s that each say. no my person is the one who did this. first yeah each one claims um creation. of boba initially and what's weird is. they the stories are separated by just a. year so the first one is um hanin t-o in. tyan Taiwan and their founder Tu sonho. um The Story Goes that in. 1986 uh two uh found tepoca B s on sale.

at the market and said I'm going to add. these to my milk tea like just had this. thought random thought and from that. boaa was born because basically boba tea. is just tapioca balls added to milk tea. right uh the other story is remarkably. similar uh this is the the tea house. that is a rival of the other called uh. Chun Shu Tang I'm not sure if that's. correct or not I'm doing my best uh and. they said no in. 1987 we had a a 20-year-old woman.

working here Nam uh ly Su hu who had. this uh tapioca pudding uh it's called. fin fenan in Taiwan and she just dumped. it in her tea and drank it and that's. where it started yeah what's weird is. everybody separated themselves from miss. Lynn immediately because they thought. she was super weird and yet she may have. invented Boba right so either way uh. we'll probably never know who's the. actual first person or the first t- shop.

uh but it was a big hit in Taiwan uh. eventually came over to the United. States in the '90s starting uh where. else on the west coast in California. mainly uh generally in Taiwanese. communities at the time and then you. know kind of started becoming mainstream. and I feel like in the 2000s it really. really broke out as like kind of the hot. thing for hipsters to do yeah I was. going to say there's 100% chance that it. was Proto emo kids who brought it out of. the Taiwanese communities into American.

culture look at this everybody so um the. you can't really talk about boba tea. unless you talk about milk tea because. that's kind of the basis of it and Boba. te is really new from the 80s milk te is. not that old considering how old Taiwan. is uh it was just in the 1940s that a. bartender named Chang fan shoe got out. of the bartending game but still could. not get the cocktail shaker out of his. hand and started mixing up teas hand.

shaken milk teas um that would kind of. froth and have bubbles so it became. bubble tea milk tea um and that this. went along for several decades people. went crazy for milk tea and then. eventually somebody thought either um. tuho or. linu thought to add tapioca pudding. balls that's right uh so you've got milk. you've got the ice you've got black tea. and you got those tapioca pearls they. are all kinds of variations now.

different kinds of tea different kinds. of milks uh non-mil you know things like. you know cashew milk and stuff like that. almond milk and then if you go to one of. these you know uh boba tea places and in. some large urban center you're going to. have all kinds of uh fun and crazy. variations and flavors and toppings and. things like that yep so I say we take a. break and we'll come back and tell. everybody a little more about. boba.

[Music]. so Chuck I feel like you should take the. fact of the podcast what Boba means in. the first. place has it something to do with Dolly. Parton kind of wasn't it about boobs. yeah Boba is Taiwanese slang for boob so.

these are they're basically saying this. tea has a bunch of little boobs floating. around in it and that's stuck still yeah. still because most people don't know. what Boba means I guess so uh well we. should talk about those bobas uh which. is the tapioca and I wasn't even sure I. mean maybe I've had tapioca pudding but. it's a word I had heard and I don't. think I ever fully knew what even. tapioca was right uh but tapioca or Boba. is tapioca that's uh it's a starch.

apparently um extracted from cassava. root but it can also be extract. extracted from other things right yeah. so cavaro is from South America but it. grows really well in Asia too southeast. Asia and in particular the um Maritime. southeast Asia brunai Indonesia Malaysia. Philippines Singapore and East Tour poor. West teore gets left out of everything. is there a West teamour I don't think so. okay I hope not now that I said that but.

they were making these pearls these. tapioca pearls not out of tapioca but. out of rice or Palm Hearts the point is. you're using a starch it's it's a ball. of starch essentially it's almost. nutrient free heavy in calories but if. you prepare them just right when you add. them to the bubble tea if you like that. consistency you're in heaven because. they're chewy they're mushy they're. weird um and they're gelatinous chewy. like compare it to like a a a gummy bear.

or as they say in Germany gomy Bon um is. that really what they call it in Germany. oh yeah okay uh it's less chewy but it's. it's in a different way um can you. compare it to. anything have you had bubble. tea you got me cuz for about a half a. beat I was like I don't think I have I. can't I can't I can't um okay no no I I.

can imagine taking a ball of really. sticky wet rice and mashing it until. there's no space between the individual. grains of rice and then chewing. that okay that's the kind of the closest. I can come up with it's very starchy and. sticky and it can stick to your teeth a. little bit it's um it's nothing good if. you ask me but again I'm not I'm not. yucking anybody's yum I don't care if. you like it or not that's fine I it's.

just not for me all right well I just. have to try it for myself I guess uh if. you're making tapioca pearls yourself uh. you buy them dry uh apparently you boil. them for 30 minutes and then cool them. for 30 minutes and it sounds like to. really get that disgusting consistency. just right right that you hate uh it's. fairly specific like if you boil them. too long it's going to be too squishy. and maybe too sticky and if you don't do. it enough they're you can't chew them. they're too hard so it sounds like you.

got to kind of hit that sweet spot yes. exactly um so there you can make your. own Boba te now right that's all it. takes I I guess so and then you know you. make your your shake up your drink and. then you add your tapioca pearls and. you've got your own Boba te yeah and I. think there was a food and wine article. about Boba te and they said that there's. a a word in Chinese for the perfect. consistency of boba it's QQ like the. letter Q the letter q and it means chewy.

mhm so wow we just came up with two. Chinese slang words Taiwanese and a. Chinese slang word mhm um and now you. know what Boba is all about and if you. haven't tried it go out and try it it's. definitely worth trying it's not so. disgusting that you're you're going to. just throw up or anything like that. although they have come up with some. that are really dancing right there on. the edge what like the flavors yeah the. one that got me it was mentioned in the. Seattle Times post about Boba te that um.

there's a a salted cheese topping that. essentially has the the consistency of. like a really flimsy cheesecake but it's. very salty it's made from powdered. cheese that sounds good to me on its own. on its own yes this is floating on top. of a very sweet milky tea. drink that's that's a weird combo for me. that is a weird combo I do like milk in. my. hot tea so like in my black tea or my.

breakfast tea so you know I could see me. liking the tea for sure yeah if you ever. go to one of these places and they have. a taro or a dirty Taro get that just. tell them to hold the Boba or get two. get one without the Boba so you can. enjoy that one and get one with the Boba. so you can try it at least once all. right I'll I'll try it out okay well. since Chuck said he's going to try it. out everybody that means short stuff is. out stuff you should know is a C of. iHeart radio for more podcasts iHeart.

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