1 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: Hello, I'm welcome the favor protection of iHeart Radio. I'm 2 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: Any Reese and I'm Lauren foc Obam. And today we're 3 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: talking about bubble tea. Yeah. Oh, the craving, the craving, yeah, yeah, 4 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: I bubble tea is something that I crave approximately like 5 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: twice a week. Um, it's a textural thing. Gummy textures 6 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: are my very favorite. And uh so it's just oh 7 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: it's and it's creamy and sweet and nice. Yeah, it's 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: very refreshing in light but still sweet at the same time. 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I too love bubble tea. Um. Tarot 10 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: is my very favorite. Yeah, and I I remember very 11 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: vividly the first time I had it. I was in 12 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: high school and at the time, again I know, I 13 00:00:57,520 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: said it all the time. I grew up in a 14 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: really smell town. So you had to go play is 15 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: to get these kinds of things. And so we had 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: to drive an hour away to the mall. And not 17 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: like there was another mall that was forty minutes away 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: that wouldn't have any bubble tea. You gotta all the 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,479 Speaker 1: one that an hour away. And I was so delighted, 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,039 Speaker 1: and I went with a good friend of mine who 21 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,199 Speaker 1: was Frump Taiwan and she was my my guide into 22 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: trying flavors that were new to me, like taro. So 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: like without her, I'm sure I probably would have eventually 24 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: tried it. But she was like, you know, you need 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: to try these things that I weren't sure what they were, 26 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: and I trusted her and she was right, that's wonderful. 27 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: Um gosh. My my first bubble tea experience was in 28 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: college that the sushi restaurant opened up that had bubble 29 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: tea as well, and uh and I was like, what 30 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: are these beautiful, brightly colored things that come in these 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: cool cups. I need to try all of them? And 32 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: I did and uh yeah yeah, um I when I 33 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: was in China, I tried a lot. I tried to 34 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: end in Japan and um, we're going to talk about this, 35 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: but there's just something for me that was so fun 36 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: and colorful about Yeah, like popping that straw in there. Yeah, 37 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: those differences and textures. Yeah. Yeah, it's like a drinking 38 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,519 Speaker 1: a snack at the same time. I love it. I 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: do too well. Unfortunately, the reason this was on my 40 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: mind because there is a tapioca shortage, so there's been 41 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: a lot of headlines and news about how that's going 42 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: to impact bubble t um. Yes, and more about that 43 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:39,239 Speaker 1: a little bit later on. Yes, um, but hey, National 44 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: bubble t Day is April, so that's coming up. Are 45 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: we on top of something for once? Accidentally? Take it? 46 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 1: I will do? Um. Well, I guess let's get to 47 00:02:54,400 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: talk question. Bubble tea. What is it? Well, bubble tea 48 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: is a category of sweet beverages. They can range pretty 49 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: widely in components and flavors. Actual tea does not have 50 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: to be involved. It's sort of a modern parallel to 51 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: the kind of drinks you can get from like old 52 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: timey soda and ice cream parlors. These just like highly 53 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: customizable treats of varying levels of fancifulness. Yes, yes, and 54 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: we have a cold places in Atlanta for sure. You 55 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: just options galore. Yeah, it's beautifully overwhelming, very colorful usually inside. 56 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: Oh yeah. The the baseline, though, I guess you could say, 57 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: is like a like a cold black tea, like a 58 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: good strong black tea, mixed with lots of sweetener and 59 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: creamer of some kind um, served over ice, along with 60 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: a textural component. Um. Again, baseline, These chewy balls of 61 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: sweetened tapioca, Papioca being a type of powdered starch that's 62 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: extracted from cassava, which is this very starchy root plant. 63 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: You can use tapioca as a thickener to make all 64 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: sorts of like chewy stuff, like little little balls. Yeah. 65 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: The drink comes in these clear plastic cups with this 66 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: like thin cellophane type lid that's sealed on top that 67 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: you break through with a pointed straw, and the straws 68 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,799 Speaker 1: typically extra wide to accommodate the tapioca or other additions. 69 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: It's often given a solid shake before being poured or 70 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: or handed over in order to create a little bit 71 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: of a of a foam, like a like a bubble 72 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,280 Speaker 1: foam on top. M hmm, but my goodness, creamy black 73 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: tea is only the start um lots of other creamy flavors, 74 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: and these are called milk teas, whether they include tea 75 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: or not. So you've got like green milk tea, coffee 76 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,480 Speaker 1: milk tea, Macha milk tea. Uh, fruity bases like strawberry 77 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: milk tea or taro milk tea, coconut milk tea. Herbal 78 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: bases like peppermint milk tea. The creamy base can be 79 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: milk or cream or soy milk or yogurt or non 80 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: dairy creamer or sweetened condensed milk. There are non creamy 81 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: varieties any type of iced tea or two sine or 82 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: fruit flavor that you can imagine ginger or hybiscus or 83 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: lemonade to all of these flavor syrups can be added, 84 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,799 Speaker 1: from simple honey to fruit flavors like maybe like chee 85 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: or mango, to um like cafe type flavors like caramel 86 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: or hazelnut or chocolate. It can be blended into a slushy, 87 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: sometimes with a frozen fruit to make like a smoothie 88 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: type variation with a berries or bananas or avocados. It 89 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: can be served hot. It doesn't have to be called 90 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: I I once got a hot one and I was 91 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: not expecting it. I didn't know that was the thing, 92 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 1: and I was like, whoa, but it was very good. 93 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: So I've never had a I've never had a warm one, 94 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: but oh now I want to try one anyway. Yeah, 95 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: and okay, and so then we get to the addends. 96 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: Hoof uh, those aforementioned tapioca balls called boba or pear 97 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: rolls um. They can either come in like a neutral 98 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: brown sugar flavor and color, or a variety of other 99 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: colors and mild flavors, and either like soft chewy or 100 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: chewy chewy. Think like the range of like a soft 101 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,919 Speaker 1: gummy bear to like a hard gummy bear. I'm thinking 102 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: of like Chewbacca. He's either at home with this family, 103 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: soft chewy or chewy chewy trying to rip your arms off. Yeah, yeah, 104 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: like screaming and terrifying. Yes, you still at that softness, 105 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: Oh sure, yeah, Yeah, he's not going to eat all 106 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: the porks, not all of them. It's gonna feel bad 107 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: after the first seven or eight. I think that's a 108 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:52,600 Speaker 1: good parallel to what we're talking about here. Uh and 109 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: and and uh. Other than tapioca, yeah, there's um. There's 110 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: gelatins called jellies um, either in cubes or a slush 111 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 1: um there. They're softer than boba, but but still yeah, 112 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,679 Speaker 1: I have a little bit of that jelly sort of texture. 113 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: These can come in all sorts of flavors, from like 114 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: a mild aloe or or grass flavor to um by 115 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: grass it usually means just like kind of herbally like 116 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: sort of minty to bright fruit flavors like pineapple or 117 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: passion fruit to something bitter sweet like coffee. Uh. There's 118 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: also custards, which are sometimes called puddings UM. And these 119 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: are again highly jelled in cubes or a slush UM 120 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: just plain creamy or flavored with fruit or anything. You 121 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,559 Speaker 1: can get these flavored liquid filled gels fears that pop 122 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: in your mouth. They're called popping boba or popping pearls. 123 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: I hate these. I just despise them. I've never had 124 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: one that didn't taste like cancer to me, and I'm like, 125 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: why is this and what is this texture? I hate 126 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: it anyway. Uh, you can also get um sweet red 127 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: beans or cheese seeds. They're just infinite variants. UM. They 128 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: capitalize on different trends at the time. There's cheese tea 129 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: cold foam on top. You can get them in cocktail format, 130 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: all sorts of stuff. Yeah wow, And the results perhaps 131 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: obviously vary, but but yeah, it's a It's a drink 132 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: that's often got a strong visual component and a strong 133 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: textural component. It's sort of yeah, a drink and a 134 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: snack at the same time. They are often served in 135 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:39,839 Speaker 1: specialty shops. UM. Sometimes alongside other desserts and baked goods 136 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: and beverages, but can also be found um in the 137 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: US anyway, in various types of Asian restaurants. I've encountered 138 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: them personally, most often in Vietnamese places, but that's anecdotal evidence. 139 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: You can find the ingredients and and make them at home. Yes, 140 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: I found many recipes while searching this episode. Oh yeah, yeah, 141 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: I believe I have a like half used bag of 142 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: boba somewhere in my pantry. Well, there's a boba fit 143 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: pun in. Here's will Oh no, this one. Here's my 144 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:25,839 Speaker 1: important question, Lauren. Yes, bubble te pizza. I like that. 145 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: That's your whole question. That's it. I think it gets 146 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: the point across it does it does? Okay? Yeah? So 147 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: um uh. In twenty nineteen, both Dominoes and Pizza Huts 148 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: Taiwan branches um came out with these limited edition bubble 149 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: Tea inspired dessert pizzas. Both involved classic brown sugar boba. 150 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: I'm not sure about the Pizza Hut one, but the 151 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: Domino's one was pretty well documented. Um. It was a 152 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: thin crust cheese pizza that was topped with with black 153 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: boba pearls some balls of white mochi and like a 154 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: drizzle of honey. Uh No, sauce kind of did like 155 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,959 Speaker 1: that sweet and savory thing. Apparently it was real good. 156 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,959 Speaker 1: I'm open to it. I'm very I'm having trouble imagining 157 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: what that would taste like, but I'm open to it. Yeah, 158 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: I'm I'm trying to again, like I mean like it. 159 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 1: It sounds like a pretty basic sweet and savory pizza 160 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,559 Speaker 1: flavor wise, I'm trying to figure out the texture combination 161 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: and whether I would enjoy it. But yeah, I mean, 162 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: it's not unheard of to put boba in or on 163 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: sweet baked goods in Taiwan, you know, to to use 164 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: them either as a filling or as part of like 165 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: a sauce. So I don't know, Yeah, I don't know. Um, Well, 166 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:03,319 Speaker 1: follow up question, what about the nutrition? I don't know. 167 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,200 Speaker 1: It depends. I mean, you know, we we went through 168 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: a lot of options for how these things can be made. Um. 169 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: You know, they're they're often sugary. Tapioca is just a 170 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: just a starch um, so it's sugar on sugar. You know. 171 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: The creamers are often calorie dance with fats um. Most 172 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,000 Speaker 1: specialty shops can really customize for you if you're looking 173 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: to get something um with less fat or less sugar. 174 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: But you know, hey, it's a treat. Treats are nice. 175 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: Oh yes, yes, I'm hoping to treat myself to some 176 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: soon if the I know it should hypothetically be a 177 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: little bit easier ish on the East coast than the 178 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: West coast, but I'm not sure at any rate. Well, 179 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: look into it. We do have some numbers for you. 180 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: According to Allied Market Research, the value of the bubble 181 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,200 Speaker 1: tea market was one point i'm billion in twenty sixteen, 182 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: one point i'm billion dollars, and it's estimated it will 183 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: be a three point two billion dollars worth of sales 184 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: by three and four point three billion dollars worth of 185 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 1: sales by twenty seven. That does come from two different sources. 186 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,959 Speaker 1: So um, like those numbers come from two different predictions. 187 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: But a lot growing. Yeah, yeah, definitely growing and growing 188 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: pretty much worldwide from from what I understand. Um. My 189 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: next note here, okay, isn't a number, it's a letter. Um. 190 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: But apparently the Taiwanese descriptor for for the bouncy chewy 191 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: texture of boba is called q or q Q and 192 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: I didn't know that, and I love it. Yeah, yeah, 193 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 1: I saw that too. And also we should say there's 194 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: approximately I mean ten plus names of what people call yeah, 195 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: and apparently like it's boba pretty exclusively UM on the 196 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 1: West coast. Uh yeah. Yeah. The largest franchise chain in 197 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: the United States is called Kung Fu Ti Um. They 198 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: are the ones who originated the national Bubble t Day. 199 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,240 Speaker 1: They've got some two hundred and fifty locations right now 200 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: and have another franchise locations yeah, and have some seventy 201 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 1: that are due to open this year. Wow. They serve 202 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: sixty full types of drinks, which actually isn't that many 203 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,560 Speaker 1: for a bubble d place all things considered. I know, 204 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: I'm kind of like, oh, only sixty four And it's 205 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:48,079 Speaker 1: also not that not that many compared to UM some 206 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: other global chains. One of the leading franchises out of 207 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: Taiwan called Gong Cha has over a thousand franchises in 208 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: seventeen countries and yeah, like like, and he said growing 209 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: growing industry. In ten alone, orders of Bubble Tea were 210 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: up by three thou percent in the Southeast Asia market 211 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: three thousand yep I like triple checked the number of 212 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:25,040 Speaker 1: zeros in that and I was like, okay, all right, cool, well, yeah, 213 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: you know, it's a delight, it is. But but but 214 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: how did we get to here? That is a good 215 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: question and one that we will attempt to answer. But 216 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: first we are going to take a quick break for 217 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, 218 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: thank you. Okay. So history of milk tea different episodes, 219 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: Oh geez, yeah, yes, but very very very briefly, the 220 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: Chinese were drinking milk tea as far back as six 221 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: hundred and nine hundred c. E ish Um, and Europeans 222 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: recorded the Chinese drinking it in the seventeen century. After that, 223 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 1: the practice of adding milk to tea faded away for 224 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: a couple of centuries in China before the British repopularized 225 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: it there in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, by the mid 226 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: twentieth century, under Japanese control, cold tea drinks were gaining 227 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: popularity in Taiwan. Right so Chong fon Shu, who worked 228 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: at an easy Kaya in Taiwan during World War two, 229 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: um and that one that was under yes Japanese control. 230 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: In um he opened a tea shop where the specialty 231 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: was this tea that was handshaken in cocktail shakers. Later 232 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 1: machines were used. It was called foam tea and it 233 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: was this really smooth, bubbly beverage. This drink benefited from 234 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: a growing acceptance of cool drinks and also drinks for 235 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: pleasure in Taiwan. Yeah yeah, after the end of the war, um, 236 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 1: stuff like this was becoming more popular. The history of 237 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: cassava is also a whole different episode, um, and one 238 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: that gave me a very minor panic attack during the 239 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: last few minutes before we stepped into record. But okay, 240 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: so um so. Spanish and Portuguese colonizers brought it from 241 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: South America to um to the Philippines starting in the 242 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds. The Dutch brought it to Indonesia in the 243 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: seventeen hundreds and by the like late eighteen hundreds, and 244 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: it spread throughout much of Asia. It was originally a 245 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: sustenance crop, developed into an income crop, and eventually a 246 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: market for these showy tapioca starch dessert products developed. Yes, 247 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,439 Speaker 1: and that fit right in alongside other desserts that had 248 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: similar textures in flavor profiles in this region. Yes, okay, 249 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:17,399 Speaker 1: but so putting all of these together. Yes, Most people 250 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: pin the origins of bubble t to Taiwan in the 251 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:26,640 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, so pretty recent. At the time, milk tea 252 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,360 Speaker 1: was already popular there and the practice of drinking it 253 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:35,199 Speaker 1: was widespread throughout East Asia. Simultaneously, people enjoyed desserts like 254 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: shaved ice and tapioca balls, especially during the summer. The 255 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 1: story goes that an enterprising food stall owner got the 256 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: idea to combine all three of these things, beginning with 257 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: a layer of tapioca balls, topped with shaved ice and 258 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,919 Speaker 1: then finished with milk tea. People called it boba, a 259 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,679 Speaker 1: slang word for breast because of the shape of the 260 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: tapioca bology up never put that together um and perhaps 261 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: particularly in reference to Hong Kong actress Amy Yip, whose 262 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 1: nickname was Boba our champion of the breast. Uh. Yes, 263 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: and the bubble and bubble tea actually refers to the 264 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,360 Speaker 1: layer bubbles on top, or at least that's what some 265 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: articles claim was the original intent, because some do say 266 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: it is the bubbles the tapioca, but people said it's 267 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: actually it's actually that foam t thing that we were 268 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: talking about from and fifties. Yeah, right, right right, um. 269 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: Some of these stories specifically credit lu Hanschi, the owner 270 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: of the t shop chun Shui Tong. They credit him 271 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: with this whole being the enterprising food stall person behind it, 272 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 1: an idea that he got after enjoying chilled coffee in Japan. 273 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: But the boba came into play when employee at this 274 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: food stall who's also the product manager named Lynt Hue, 275 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,919 Speaker 1: added tapioca balls to her iced tea. And there's a 276 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,240 Speaker 1: lot of really fun stories, including interviews with her where 277 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: she says she was bored, like at a meeting and 278 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,199 Speaker 1: I was just really looking for a way to spice 279 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:18,959 Speaker 1: upper day. And then she was like, holy crap, this 280 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: is good. Try this, and then everyone tried it and 281 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 1: everyone was like, holy crap, that is good. Yeah, yes yes. 282 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,400 Speaker 1: On the other hand, others site too song pose han 283 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 1: Line Teahouse where his creation was called Pearl Green Tea. 284 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: And two was an entrepreneur and an artist and also 285 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:40,679 Speaker 1: majorly in debt and looking for a way to get 286 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 1: out of it. In he decided to get in on 287 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 1: this te trends that was happening, um, but was looking 288 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: for a way to stand out among all these other competitors. 289 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: According to him, he got the idea of adding tapioca 290 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,680 Speaker 1: balls after seeing them at a night market and being 291 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: reminded of desserts from his childhood. The white tapioca balls 292 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 1: and the green tea, which is what he used first, 293 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: reminded him of his mother's pearls. It's the name. Later 294 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 1: he tried the larger black tapioca balls, which required working 295 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 1: with factories to commission larger straws, because before that people 296 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: would just use spoons to scoop them out to claims. 297 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:30,399 Speaker 1: The popularity of his pearl tea got him out of debt. Yeah, yeah, 298 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: and there was right, there was simultaneously this um, this 299 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:37,640 Speaker 1: big economic boom in Taiwan at the time, and uh 300 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 1: and yeah, growing popularity of of these yeah, just like 301 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 1: fun iced beverages. Yeah yeah. Yeah. As boba grew in popularity, 302 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: it evolved as more and more food stalls and restaurants 303 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: put their own spins on it, adding fruit powders and 304 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: syrups to make fruit boba. It didn't really use real 305 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: fruit because it didn't last long. Um. And then ingredients 306 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: and flavors like red beans, almond, jelly grass, jelly egg pudding, 307 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: those kinds of things. The milk was largely swapped out 308 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: for a non dairy creamer to also increased shelf life, 309 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: which made the resulting beverage sweeter and creamier. Boba was 310 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: particularly popular amongst young folks who would hang out with 311 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: friends at boba shops. American eight programs introduced powdered creamer 312 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: in Taiwan during the Cold War. So, like so many 313 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,160 Speaker 1: things we talked about, you see this confluence of cultures 314 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: and flavors and history really coming together to create this thing. 315 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: In the nineties, as more Taiwanese immigrants arrived in the 316 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: United States, many settling in California and around l A 317 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: specifically UM and then you also you have this growing 318 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: trend of cafe culture. Helped along white places like Starbucks, 319 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: boba took off in the United States UM the first 320 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 1: dedicated boba shops started opening, most owned and operated by 321 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,879 Speaker 1: Taiwanese folks. Is also coincided with a wave of Asian 322 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: pop culture exports arriving to the US, like anime and 323 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: K pop. Some Chinese restaurants offered small styrophone cups of 324 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: inexpensive boba, often as part of a meal, sort of 325 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,640 Speaker 1: like here's you're done with your meal, I'll have this 326 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: thing which I have encountered. I'd forgotten about that until 327 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 1: we were researching this, but I've gotten that a couple 328 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 1: of restaurants where I was like, oh, yeah, I'm a 329 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: little surprised. Yeah, I've gotten that at um at a 330 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,920 Speaker 1: couple of Malaysian restaurants. Sometimes like a like a little 331 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,879 Speaker 1: shave ice sort of thing at the shave dice. I 332 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: guess shave ice is the Hawaiian version. Yes, that was 333 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,959 Speaker 1: some crossed wires in my head. It happens to all 334 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: of us. Lauren um Towards the end of the first 335 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: decade of the two thousands. In the early tens, more 336 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 1: and more specialty boba shops started opening across the US US, 337 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: offering a wide range of options including real milk um 338 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: allowing for this really customizable and often colorful product very instagrammable, 339 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:15,800 Speaker 1: which also helped popularize it even more. Places like the 340 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: Boba Guys also helped bubble t really take off in 341 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: the US UM and beginning inve Google trends data shows 342 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: an increase in searches for bubble tea and Boba te 343 00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:31,159 Speaker 1: According to numbers from four Square, the amount of boba 344 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: shops increased by over three times from to nineteen, from 345 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 1: eight eight four shops to two thousand, nine hundred and 346 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:44,200 Speaker 1: eight shops. And those are just places using their technology. Yeah. Yeah, 347 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:47,439 Speaker 1: many of these shops are being opened by first or 348 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: second generation Asian Americans, and it's worth pointing out to 349 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: that wild some instances boba has been Americanized, and many 350 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,400 Speaker 1: it hasn't, and in fact adapts to Asian trends like cheese, 351 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: foam tea. However, I thought this was interesting. In twelve, 352 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: several McDonald's across Germany offered boba for a limited time. 353 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: Huh yeah, yeah, oh man, I ton't I don't. I 354 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 1: totally want my I mean I don't want to go 355 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,679 Speaker 1: to McDonald's particularly, but like, yeah, if they had a 356 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: boba option in there, wonderfully terrifyingly delicious ice cream desserts. 357 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: I was had a blizzard with boba come on or 358 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: whatever they call it there anyway, Yeah, the Germany aspect 359 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: is kind of what threw me when I was reading 360 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: about that. Uh, not that they don't like boba there, 361 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: I just kind of like Germany, all right, And an 362 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: ultimately failed attempt to convince the public that I proposed 363 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: weapon hard turn really wasn't that expensive. The Taiwanese government 364 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,679 Speaker 1: released these flyers claiming that if the public skipped a 365 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: glass of milk tea a week for fifteen years, the 366 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 1: weapon would be paid for, and he had that backfired. 367 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: The media nicknamed it, uh the quote bubble t for 368 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: arms incident. Wow. People were not that Yeah, They're like 369 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:18,880 Speaker 1: a how dare you? And be how dare you? Yeah. 370 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: The Fun Brothers released the song Bobo Life, and which 371 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: they later followed up with Bubble Life Two Pearls Gone Wild? 372 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:34,400 Speaker 1: Okay mm hmmm uh. In the first photos of boba 373 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 1: pizza from independent shops in Taiwan started surfacing. I gotta 374 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 1: look these up. See. When I was reading about it, it 375 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: it was just a cartoon of a piece of pizza, 376 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,160 Speaker 1: and so I was like, is it just like pizza 377 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 1: with tap yoka on it? But what you're describing I'm 378 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: much more on board with. So check that out. It 379 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: looks strange. Uh, it looks like it's just like a 380 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: I don't know, like those those really dark brown sugar 381 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,040 Speaker 1: boba aren't something that I expect to see with melted 382 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,960 Speaker 1: cheese on top of them. So I'm kind of like 383 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: b but I think, yeah, we'll have to do some investigating. 384 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: I think absolutely hard to get here, but I I 385 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: believe in this. In Seen journalists, Carrissa Way wrote an 386 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: article for l A Weekly describing the youth culture of 387 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,160 Speaker 1: Asian Americans living in l A and Boba's role in it. 388 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: Quote as a Taiwanese American kid growing up in the 389 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: early two thousands and the San Gabriel Valley, the concoction 390 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,640 Speaker 1: was an integral part of my social life, going on 391 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: to call Boba shops quote our sacred gathering grounds. That 392 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,439 Speaker 1: same year, The New York Times ran a piece on 393 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 1: the trendiness of bubble Tea, which was an article that 394 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,119 Speaker 1: called out by the Asian American community for using words 395 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: like exotic and blobs for tech Baioka balls, among other things, 396 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 1: which the author addressed in a follow up article. Yeah, 397 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: economic and cultural figures awaited in on Boba too, speculating 398 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,919 Speaker 1: at the rise of bubble tea in the US correlated 399 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 1: to the rise of Chinese economic and cultural power. There's 400 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:26,679 Speaker 1: even a term Boba liberalism, referring to mainstream Asian American liberalism. 401 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: I'm telling you, researching this, there were so many deep, 402 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 1: deep takes that are so worthwhile, and I recommend finding them. Yeah, 403 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,600 Speaker 1: I'll try to remember to link them on Twitter or 404 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,199 Speaker 1: something like that. Yeah, a lot of the pieces I 405 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: read were these really beautiful and sometimes really painful looks 406 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: at the Asian American experience in this nostalgia of bubble 407 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: tea and how it acted as something more than food, 408 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,639 Speaker 1: a piece of identity, but then also examining the problems 409 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 1: within that. Yeah. Yeah, so it's I love it. It's yeah, 410 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,040 Speaker 1: not a reminder of like, oh food is it means 411 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: so much and there's all of these we're talking about, 412 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:15,120 Speaker 1: like the rise of China economically. Yeah, yeah, I mean, 413 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 1: you know, like like I like like saying the sentence 414 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:24,119 Speaker 1: like poignant think piece about boba t is like mildly ridiculous, 415 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:26,879 Speaker 1: but but it's also very much not And ye know 416 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: that's why I like this show. Annie me too. I 417 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,160 Speaker 1: also like that sometimes we get to talk about litigation 418 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:41,480 Speaker 1: because it was a tenure litigation over bubble t in Taiwan. 419 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,720 Speaker 1: It started in two thousand nine and did not come 420 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: to an end until twenty nineteen, when the court determined 421 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 1: that any shopper person can make boba I was reading 422 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: an article from Taiwan with Google translates, so some of 423 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,520 Speaker 1: it I was like, I'm not sure, but it sounds 424 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:00,360 Speaker 1: like it was those restaurants we were talking. Came out 425 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: earlier saying I know it was us, that only us, 426 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: and then it was very funny. There's a coat in 427 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: there that's like, we take our boba very seriously and 428 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 1: we're competitive, but we're still friends. Good. I'm glad to 429 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 1: hear that. Goodness wonderful and emoji news. The boba emoji 430 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:30,840 Speaker 1: debuted in very important Yeah. Also in during the first 431 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 1: mandatory COVID nineteen shutdown in Singapore, um bubble tea shops 432 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 1: saw lines five times as long as usual the night before. Wow, 433 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: they were like they were like eleven nine everyone has 434 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 1: to shut down, and like people's like last wish was 435 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: to go get Lauren. You know, I don't want to 436 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: hammer this home too much, but you really need to 437 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: watch the Star Wars Holiday Special because there's a scene. 438 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: There's a scene with be Arthur. She sings a song 439 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: or she's trying to get people to leave the bar 440 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: because the Empire shut the bar down, and she's like 441 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: you've gotta go, and no one will go and she's 442 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:19,840 Speaker 1: like one more round now, one more Uh that is 443 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 1: see this is so okay, okay, one okay, Actually hold on, 444 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 1: I'm going to finish out this outline and I'm going 445 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 1: to come back to be Arthur. So um, as we 446 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: mentioned at the top, yes, right now, there is this 447 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 1: looming boba shortage in the United States because there's this 448 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: huge bottleneck in the oceanic shipping industry into California due 449 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:49,640 Speaker 1: to a bunch of factors. It's it's increases in UM 450 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 1: both shipping demand and also all of these different supply 451 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: chain issues thanks to COVID nineteen, like there have been 452 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: a backlog of some thirty ships stuck outside l A 453 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: Sports every day this year and uh and then as 454 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: things are quietly starting to open up again, there's even 455 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: more demand from businesses like bubble tea shops. A lot 456 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: of US shops do import ready made boba from Taiwan 457 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: or make their own from tapioca starch often also imported 458 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: from Taiwan or neighboring areas like a Thailand. But simultaneously, 459 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 1: there have been droughts in some of those areas like Taiwan, 460 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,520 Speaker 1: thanks again climate change. So so there are these like 461 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:38,000 Speaker 1: government regulations on water use, which is tightening supply even further. 462 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: Also that so as canal backup did not help. No, no, 463 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: so uh back to be Arthur. Okay ready, I just 464 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: I just need to note that you might be thinking 465 00:31:54,720 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: to yourself, why was b Arthur singing in a are 466 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: in the Star Wars special? Uh huh. The answer is 467 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:11,520 Speaker 1: that she, as a pretty young thing um was doing 468 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,520 Speaker 1: this like big run of the three penny opera on 469 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: Broadway at the time. So so she was this kind 470 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 1: of like big star of the stage. And so they 471 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:29,960 Speaker 1: were like clearly like hey, or she had been relatively recently, 472 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,280 Speaker 1: so they were like, hey, come on, come do that 473 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 1: thing that you do, be Arthur, which is saying kind 474 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:40,280 Speaker 1: of raunch ally she did. There you go saying she did. 475 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: I mean, that's probably that's gotta be. My favorite part 476 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: is close. It's gotta be. And also she's got a 477 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,400 Speaker 1: great attu. This guy is being really rude to her 478 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: and she handles him so well, she just shuts it down. 479 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: I think it's excellent. And then she got this unruly 480 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:02,120 Speaker 1: bar and tattooed. She gets them all out. I'm telling you, 481 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 1: Be Arthur, be Arthur. Y'all. Y'all, that's a shirt that 482 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:15,320 Speaker 1: we need. Oh goodness. Well that is what we have 483 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: to say about Bubble Tea, and I guess also be 484 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:27,800 Speaker 1: Arthur for now. For now, we do have some listener 485 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: mail for you, well we do, but first we have 486 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 1: one more quick break for a word from our sponsor. 487 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,800 Speaker 1: And we're back. Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you. And 488 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: we're back with males like bubble bubble um. So we 489 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: got so many emails about root beer, which we're very 490 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 1: excited to share in the coming episodes. And Lauren, you 491 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,360 Speaker 1: were just saying you you tried your root beer. Yeah, yeah, 492 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 1: I had gotten a bottle of Jones Cola root beer. Um. 493 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: Uh in like while we were reading, while we were 494 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:18,760 Speaker 1: doing the reading for that episode, um, and I drank 495 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,719 Speaker 1: it over the weekend and it was heck and delightful. Uh. 496 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,279 Speaker 1: Not a sponsor, just an observation. Um. And but as 497 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 1: I was drinking, and I was like, oh, yeah, no, 498 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,160 Speaker 1: this kind of does remind me of like Vick's vapor 499 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:34,360 Speaker 1: rub a little bit. Oh and okay, because I feel 500 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 1: like that's normally would be a negative thing. But it 501 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 1: was just a note. It was it was like like 502 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,200 Speaker 1: an association I had never really made before. And I 503 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 1: was like, oh no, I get I get why people 504 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:49,200 Speaker 1: would say that, like sure, okay, not even off putting 505 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:51,719 Speaker 1: a way, like I mean, it's it's a soda pop, 506 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,880 Speaker 1: it's very it's it's very sweet as there's a lot 507 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:00,280 Speaker 1: of vanilla to it. So I don't know anyway. Well, 508 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:02,839 Speaker 1: I mean I have yet to try it. I will 509 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:07,880 Speaker 1: tell you We've gotten a lot of takes on either side, 510 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:16,960 Speaker 1: but perhaps more negative opinions. All right. I then the 511 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:19,799 Speaker 1: next time that we do an exchange of items, I'm 512 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:22,560 Speaker 1: gonna get you some root beer. Okay, I'm gonna keep 513 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: it open mind, okay, but your your take on your 514 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:33,720 Speaker 1: experience is a good segue and to Andy's letter, Andy wrote, 515 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:36,360 Speaker 1: I just wanted to confirm that rut beer reminds me 516 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,239 Speaker 1: of a topical muscle cream that I grew up with 517 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:43,440 Speaker 1: in Australia, Danko Rube. I hope that's how it's pronounced. 518 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:45,319 Speaker 1: I tried to look it up and I couldn't find it. 519 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:47,600 Speaker 1: It could be Donco rub, but I like Danko rub, 520 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:54,400 Speaker 1: so that's what I'm going with. H Andy continues, I 521 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:56,440 Speaker 1: grew up in Australia, but I've lived in Canada for 522 00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 1: the past nine years. My Canadian husband loves ruteby. On 523 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,759 Speaker 1: a visit to Australia, he hurt his back and my 524 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:05,360 Speaker 1: friend gave him some Danko Rube. As I was rubbing 525 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,879 Speaker 1: it onto his back, he mentioned it smelled just like 526 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:12,239 Speaker 1: root beer, which I had been telling him for years. 527 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:15,920 Speaker 1: He was so stoked to smell like his favorite soda, 528 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,400 Speaker 1: root beer and dr Pepper didn't last very long in Australia. 529 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:22,839 Speaker 1: I remember it for a few years as a kid, 530 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:28,840 Speaker 1: but I also remember people using sodas as dares um soda. 531 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,239 Speaker 1: Side note. In Australia we call Sprite lemonade, which makes 532 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: no sense since it's a limited lime flavored soda. I 533 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,800 Speaker 1: didn't know that until my first visit to the USA, 534 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,600 Speaker 1: and when the drink came to the table as lemonade, 535 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 1: I was pretty confused. My American friends had to explain 536 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:53,040 Speaker 1: it to me. Oh yeah, yeah, I this is so 537 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,000 Speaker 1: interesting to me. That's like different sodas in different countries. 538 00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:59,719 Speaker 1: I do think Sprite I well, one day we'll do 539 00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:02,279 Speaker 1: an so I'm sure, but they've kind of I'm not 540 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:07,319 Speaker 1: sure that they have rightfully benefited from their um kind 541 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:12,680 Speaker 1: of reputation as being the healthier, the healthy soda, the lemonade, 542 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 1: the lemonade. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Also, it's very funny to 543 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:23,040 Speaker 1: me that your husband was thrilled to smell like his 544 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:25,680 Speaker 1: favorite soda. That reminds me of like going to Claire's 545 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 1: and you could get like the Coca Cola flavored chapstick. Yeah. Meanwhile, 546 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,319 Speaker 1: Shale wrote, I just listened to this and you asked 547 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,080 Speaker 1: if root beer was unpopular outside of the US. I 548 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,879 Speaker 1: live in Canada and I love root beer. I've even 549 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,840 Speaker 1: tried brewing it myself. My favorite kind of pop. So 550 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 1: we've got Canada, seems yeah. I think I think Canada 551 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:58,960 Speaker 1: is on board along with the United States. Okay, or 552 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:01,600 Speaker 1: at least just as on board as the United States is, 553 00:38:04,520 --> 00:38:09,680 Speaker 1: which apparently varies. Um. But Michael wrote, I want to 554 00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:13,719 Speaker 1: share my root beer making story. I homebrewed and october 555 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: Fest for my wedding to give away. It's a favor. 556 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:18,399 Speaker 1: Our wedding was fault themed. Um. I figured a root 557 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,759 Speaker 1: beer was a good kid alternative for the couple of 558 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,840 Speaker 1: kids that would be present. Nothing fancy root beer flavoring 559 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 1: and yeast sugar water bottled up like I do the 560 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:28,560 Speaker 1: beer and glass bottles, put them in the basement to 561 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:31,239 Speaker 1: my parents house. Went over one day a few weeks 562 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:33,399 Speaker 1: before the wedding to label the bottles, which we did. 563 00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:36,160 Speaker 1: Stacked the cases of beer and such in the corner 564 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:39,120 Speaker 1: of the dining room, and we drove home. Halfway home, 565 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:43,120 Speaker 1: I remember the exact intersection, my mother calls and a 566 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:47,560 Speaker 1: huff because there are exploding bottles in her dining room 567 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:53,319 Speaker 1: and it's covered in glass and root beer. Oops, I 568 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,520 Speaker 1: am no longer allowed to make soda at my parents house. 569 00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,359 Speaker 1: They put the rest of the case outside and said 570 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:04,200 Speaker 1: it sounded like gunshots. Every little bit another one would explode. 571 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:11,919 Speaker 1: At least this didn't happen at the wedding. Yeah. Ah, 572 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,840 Speaker 1: this reminds me of the stories about champagne, about sparkling 573 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,440 Speaker 1: wine um exploding so frequently in the early days of 574 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:25,960 Speaker 1: sparkling wine. Yeah, our pineapples exploding. We've got some You 575 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:28,560 Speaker 1: listeners have had some experiences when it comes to the 576 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:35,439 Speaker 1: exploding food food. Yeah, y'all have gosh, yes, hazardous out there. 577 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,200 Speaker 1: I know. I'm very glad that no one's yet I've 578 00:39:39,239 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 1: been seriously injured in these, Yes, Yeah, fingers crossed. Y'all. Yes, 579 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,320 Speaker 1: absolutely exploding root beer and I will say just a teaser. 580 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,000 Speaker 1: Michael is not the only one who wrote in about 581 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:55,359 Speaker 1: exploding root beer. So you have those letters to look 582 00:39:55,400 --> 00:40:01,360 Speaker 1: forward to. Listeners. Great, Yes, we really really appreciate you 583 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:04,480 Speaker 1: all answering the call we asked about root Beard, your 584 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: thoughts about it? You you came, if you are rescue 585 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:14,839 Speaker 1: you answered, we we love it, We love it mm hmm. 586 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:17,759 Speaker 1: Thanks to all of those listeners for writing in. If 587 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:19,879 Speaker 1: you would like to write to as you can, our 588 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,799 Speaker 1: email is Hello at savor pod dot com. We're also 589 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,640 Speaker 1: on social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, 590 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:28,680 Speaker 1: and Instagram at savor pod, and we do hope to 591 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:31,360 Speaker 1: hear from you. Savor is a production of I Heart Radio. 592 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:33,680 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, you can visit the 593 00:40:33,719 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 594 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:39,160 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our super 595 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:42,360 Speaker 1: producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, 596 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,040 Speaker 1: and we hope that lots more good things are coming 597 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:44,439 Speaker 1: your way.