Taiwan-imported tapioca milk tea makes its way stateside

A popular import from Taiwan, bubble tea is a mix of tea, milk, sugar and giant black tapioca balls served cold, usually in a clear cup. An added delight are gummy balls the size of small marbles sucked up, with a little effort, through an extra wide straw.

And for now, the fad is spanning generations.

"I love the boba," said Pamela Faulkner, of Venice, who discovered the drink several months ago by way of her 13-year-old son.

"My son turns everyone on to it. He loves it so much I have to bring him after school every day. It's the only way to get him to do his homework," she said while picking up a cup for herself at Relaxtation in West Los Angeles.

Salesman David Tan said he and his co-workers go out for boba about four times a week.

"It's something you crave when you're thirsty," said the self-professed boba aficionado while sitting outside Lollicup in San Gabriel.

The craze began in Taiwan during the early '90s and made its way throughout Asian countries. The United States was the next step. For years, boba milk tea was familiar to Asian-American communities. Now, it seems to be expanding nationwide with tea shops debuting the drink in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle and New York.

"You can see more and more stores opening in the Bay Area," said Andy Jiang, a manager at The Sweet House, which specializes in tapioca milk tea. He opened a second San Francisco store this year, but said competition is fierce, with three tapioca milk tea shops on the same street.

Vendors hope to market it as a relatively healthy alternative to soft drinks or coffee. Jimmy Huang, who owns Tea Station in San Gabriel, believes the market is already brewing.

The 42-year-old tea merchant envisions opening between 50 and 100 tea shops in the United States over the next 10 years. His family, which runs the Taiwan Ten Ren Group, already operates more than 100 tea shops in Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Canada and Australia.

"Everybody is talking about natural and health food. Well, tea is a natural plant and it's proven to lower health risks," Huang said.

But boba can be a hit or miss with American tastebuds. Chang said when Hillary Rodham Clinton tried a peppermint-flavored boba at a Beverly Hills fundraiser in May, she wasn't such a fan.