“Boba” is the popular term for the chewy black pearls found at the bottom of boba tea, or sometimes known as “bubble tea.” The increasingly popular boba tea is a combination of tea or water with creamer, flavoring and of course, the boba pearls. 

Boba is made from tapioca starch extracted from the root of cassava plants. Boba tea is a Taiwanese drink that originated in the 1980s and eventually made its way to U.S. in the 1990s, where it is increasingly becoming a commercialized exotic drink.  

In El Paso, boba tea is a common item in dessert shops such as Yogo Berry and Hana Banana. Yogo Berry, known for its frozen yogurt, offers boba tea in flavors such as honeydew, Japanese green tea, coconut, chai, and horchata. Hana Banana, known for its crepes, also offers a similar selection of flavors on its menu.  

Local Vietnamese restaurants like Pho Tre Bien also offer a variety of boba tea flavors like Jasmine green tea, mango, coffee, “taro” and more. 

According to Kitchn, taro is a nutrient rich root that “comes from the taro plant, which is native to Southeast Asia and India and is a staple in diets there as well as Africa, China, the Caribbean, and Hawaii.” 

Kinley’s Tea House, located in the GECU building on Oregon street, is within arm’s reach for UTEP students who are right next door.  

“I think it’s a comfortable setting for people to enjoy and study along with a drink and a noodle bowl; a lot of people come here, many who are students,” said Zachariah Garibay, Kinley’s employee and marketing junior at UTEP. 

Ice & Pan, a locally owned family business, opened its doors only a few years ago in the far eastside of El Paso. Its menu consists of dessert options such as its bubble waffle, rolled ice-cream and boba tea. 

“We do offer exotic flavors, too, like our taro milk tea and our Thai tea, which we brew here and that is something that you are not going to typically see in other places because they always have the powder version. But we always make fresh teas, every morning using traditional recipes,” said employee Jocelynn Ceballos. “We are more traditional. We’re not like modernized stores with the fancy marble tops and the exotic colors and themes. Our bosses built this counter, they put everything together from their own two hands and it gives it more of a ‘home’ feel.” 

Ceballos said that the store makes its tapioca pearls from scratch with their own recipe. She also mentioned that their honeydew milk tea is their most popular boba drink to date. 

“It was first recommended to me by a coworker and I kept going back because they were fast at making them and not over sweetened like other places,” said Briana Ugarte, an Ice & Pan customer and UTEP mechanical engineering senior.  

Located in the Montecillo area near Mesa street is Teapioca Lounge, a business that primarily focuses on boba tea which opened in January.  

“In my opinion I do consider us a top boba tea spot in El Paso,” said Edgar Segura, a Teapioca manager. “The reason is because a lot of people tell us what makes our boba stand out is that it is very chewy and at a perfect consistency, other places cook it too much and it can be too hard or can be easily diminished. You can add the boba to any drink – slushies, smoothies and teas.” 

Segura said Teapioca’s most popular flavors are taro for the cream blast teas, strawberry-banana for the smoothies and green-apple for the slushies. 

“They have variety of flavors, they have something for everyone, and the atmosphere of the place, you can take the kids and have them play in the play pen, especially the Montecillo area which you can go for a walk and check out other places around the location” said customer Calvin Bell, 29. 

Jaqueline Martinez may be reached at [email protected]