It's not milk in a lot of cases but non-dairy creamer. After all if a large percentage of your target audience is lactose intolerant would you be using dairy? Taro flavor is probably my favorite although the color can be somewhat alarming to inexperienced individuals.

I'm not sure how the OP ended up with chocolate boba as that usually requires a special request vs. ending up with the standard variety which is really mostly tasteless.

Oh well, more for the rest of us!

Love it.

In BKK go to the basement of Paragon to the food court and see tea loaded with all kinds of yummy stuff.

You can also fire the pearls from a straw, makes for a tasty spitwad.

Well, I may stand to be corrected here.

Everybody but the OP seems to be a fan of Boba.

And some appear to be rabid fans.

I get the message about making sure you visit the right places.

Now I just need to figure out where the right place is located (TPE is out of the question for now ) and I might have to break down and try one.

Never thought of that, but you're right.

I love the bobas I've had, though I'll confess almost all have been powder-based. In fact I found out where to buy the powder and boba online and did so but can't get them to taste the same (guess it's all in the blender). My favorites are green tea, chai tea, and some hawaiian one (might be the previously-mentioned taro).

If you ever stop up in Anchorage, Alaska, head over to the mall downtown and on the food court level (4th floor IIRC), there's a place called Fruitland. Great boba teas (most are powder-based) - I always stop there as soon as I can after arriving and it's always one of the last stops I make before I leave. Love the stuff!

I was actually sitting in a conference room when the host of the meeting came in with the Boba. She placed the order...thus the chocolate.
It looks like I had a poorly prepared batch. The pearls were extremely slimy...which I have now learned is not normal. (Hey, I'm a guy that can eat boiled okra....so I know my slime !!!)
I loved the liquid part of the drink...it was just the pearls that I didn't agree with.

My assessment of bubble tea? Don't buy it in the United States

I visit my parents in Taipei now and then and always buy some there. A nice tall cup of it costs the equivalent of $1.02. That's right you heard right, a little over a buck.

Last I checked in my local mall in the RIC, bubble tea was hitting about $4.50. And it's not even that good.

In Taiwan I usually pay NT$25 for my boba nai cha. I love it!

Actually, there are quite a few places in the SF Bay area that sell the 16 oz size for ~$1. Unfortunately, the one that I liked raised the price to $2.50 unless you also purchased a lunch box from them. I've definitely have had boba tea here roughly equivalent to that found in Taiwan (except it can be up to 4x as expensive...). I bet LA and other cities with big Asian populations (RIC probably doesn't count ) also would have decent boba tea purveyors as well.

If you would, please listen to this Taiwanese here, you had the wrong pearls from the wrong shop. I've never heard of chocolate pearls myself.

As a general priniciple, these bubble tea pearls are made of tapioca. After cooked through in boiling water, they are coated in sugary water or syrup (hence the sweet taste). They are flavorless by themselves. Authentic pearls are fresh and very chewy. (a little bit like gummy bear candy, if you would, but much tastier). The flavors come from the drinks. Thus, you can have a variety of tea, coffee or juices that go with pearls when you order it.

It's still under debate whether the bubble drinks originated from Taiwan or Hong Kong. What I do know is years back, when the bubble drinks got so popular in Taiwan, they were imported and franchized to North America. So it's not surprising to find those boca places, such as CA or Toronto nowadays.

Americans are not that used to hot drinks with pearls. In Taiwan, pearls are served in cold drinks or shaving ice during summer and served hot in wintertime. For those who do have a sweet tooth, put Taiwan into one of your future MRs. You can miss all the other part of the world but not Taiwan. Great food & great people!! Of course, I am biased!

If you need to get a quick bubble fix before heading for Taiwan, my advice is to have it at the stores with Taiwanese owners, or where they serve authentic Taiwanese food. I heard some Vietnamese places have good pearls drinks too. Just don't try it at any Boba store, or you would probably end it up like our poor phillygold with bad taste (of pearls) in the mouth.

I've never liked the bubble (boba/tapioca/whatever) tea. Yes...I'm Chinese-American..

I often go to these places with my Asian friends to hang out, and they keep getting me to try different boba drinks. My friends have taken me to Lollicup as well as smaller chains and independent places in LA and Orange County, but I've just never really liked this drink. Like phillygold, I find the teas themselves fairly good, but the tapoica balls pretty gross.

I never go to these places unles my friends want to go, but I'll just order the tea without the tapoica balls.

this white boy loved it back in san diego ^

Had it in new york a few months ago.... could do some of those chewy balls sometime (wow that came out weird).

Cholula, your in Socal and you haven't ventured into one of those places? Well, if you're in my neck of the woods (LA/OC), PM me and I'll take you to one of them or direct you to one.

Some of them in Socal (the chains) are pretty consistent; Lollicup, Tapioca Express, and Tea Station.

Personally, I find Tea Station probably the best tasting. Most places also offer pretty good snacks too. It is true about the freshness; the fresh ones are just chewy and not slimy. Old ones tend to be slimy and hard. The ones that are dedicated to making the boba/tea are usually the ones with the freshest and most variety of flavors.

It really isn't as bad as some make it out to be.

Whoa - a few things to correct here:

1. Just because it's called "boba" does not mean you have to order it. I like the smoothie part (without milk) and order it as a smoothie. I love the tart plum flavor, and instead of tapioca balls (boba), I order lychee / pineapple jelly, which is much tastier imho.

2. I've never liked the junky smoothies like Jumba Juice, the "boba" style smoothies are far less filling and more refreshing. Jumba Juice smoothies feel like you're eating a meal, whereas a "boba" style smoothie is light and refreshing.

3. If you've never tried boba, ask for a sample of the tapioca balls. If you don't like it, no big deal, you will still love the smoothie part. I don't care for milk, so I get the smoothie (ice crush) without milk.

Man I love the bubble teas! My favorite flavor is the Taro! I get it wherever and whenever I can but I buy it at many stands and tea shops in HKG. They arent as goos as the "Motherland" of boba but dang good anyway!

I experienced my first Boba in LA's Chinatown on Chinese New Year's this year, and it was excellent. It had good flavor, and the price was right,at a dollar. It was weird to experience "sucking up" the tapioca pearls into my mouth, but really yummy.