1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: there's Chuck and Jerry's here too, Dave's here and spirit 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: Way to go, Dave, and this is short stuff. 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 2: I think I said that's right, and hey, we want 5 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 2: to wish Dave well he recovers from back surgery. 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, yep, he made it out on the other side, 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: and we're very happy for him. That's why I said, 8 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: way to go, Dave. 9 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 2: That's right. I thought I didn't know if he wanted 10 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 2: to leave it unsaid either way. 11 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: I think Dave's happy with it, and he's like, you 12 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: guys can keep talking about me the whole episode. 13 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 2: All right, Well, where his nickname is Dave Boba TI, Well, 14 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 2: I'm not going to say his last name because I 15 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 2: don't want people to bother him. See, we just call 16 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: him the boba t guy. 17 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: Right. 18 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 2: I've never had boba t oh no no, and I 19 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 2: need to sure. 20 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: I think everybody needs to have it, at least once. 21 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: I had it once. I decided immediately I didn't like it. 22 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: Oh okay, I like everything about it except for the boba. 23 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: That's what I do like. I don't like that the 24 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: gelatinous gouey chewiness of it I'm not crazy for and 25 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: I can totally see how somebody would go nuts for it, 26 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: but I also see how somebody like me just is 27 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: turned off by it immediately. 28 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 2: Well, I don't want to try it as much because 29 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 2: gelatinous is never a word I seek out for my mouth. 30 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: So you can get boba tea without the boba, and 31 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: I'm sure the purists will be like, shut up, you 32 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: can't call it boba tea. You still can't. Everybody, settle down. 33 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: You just asked for it without the boba, and you 34 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: will love it. Chuck is very sweet and tasty, and 35 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: there's all sorts of neat flavors that they can put 36 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: into it, and it won't have gelatinous spears going down 37 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: your gullet because you accidentally forgot to chew. 38 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 2: They're gonna say, all right, we'll make you one, but 39 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 2: you're not getting one of those big fat straws they do. 40 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: They give you the big fat straw anyway, so you 41 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: go through it really quick. 42 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 2: All right, So we're talking about boba tea or bubble tea, 43 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 2: and that is something that you know, I'm kind of 44 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 2: a dummy the first time I say all that I 45 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 2: was like, what in the world is going on in 46 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 2: that cup? Because you know, you see what looks like 47 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 2: a regular drink, but then you see all these little 48 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 2: round pearls inside of a cup. And I didn't know 49 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 2: what it was until I looked into it more back then, 50 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 2: and now I know because of this that that is 51 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 2: a Taiwanese tea and it is. There are a couple 52 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 2: of different competing stories on how this came about, because 53 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 2: there are two rival tea shops in Taiwan from the 54 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 2: nineteen eighties that each say, no, my person is the 55 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 2: one who did this first. 56 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, each one claims creation of Boba T initially. And 57 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: what's weird is there the stories are separated by just 58 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: a year. So the first one is Handling Tea Room 59 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: in Tainan, Taiwan and their founder Two Sung Ho. The 60 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: story goes that in nineteen eighty six, two found tepioca 61 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: balls on sale at the market and said, I'm going 62 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: to add these to my milk tea, like just had 63 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: this thought, random thought, and from that Boba T was born, 64 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: because basically Boba Ti is just tapioca balls added to 65 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: milk tea. 66 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 2: Right. The other story is remarkably similar. This is the 67 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 2: tea house that is a rival of the other called 68 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: Chun Shu Tang. I'm not sure if that's correct or not. 69 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 2: I'm doing my best, and they said no. In nineteen 70 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:31,639 Speaker 2: eighty seven, we had a twenty year old woman working 71 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 2: here named Lynn su Hu who had this tapioca pudding 72 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 2: it's called Finnon in Taiwan, and she just dumped it 73 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 2: in her tea and drank it, and that's where it started. 74 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, what's weird is everybody separated themselves from miss Lynn 75 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: immediately because they thought she was super weird. And yet 76 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: she may have invented boba t. 77 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 2: Right, So either way, we'll probably never know who's the 78 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 2: actual first person the first tea shop. But it was 79 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 2: a big hit in Taiwan. Eventually came over to the 80 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 2: United States in the nineties, starting where else on the 81 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 2: West Coast in California, mainly generally in Taiwanese communities at 82 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 2: the time, and then you know kind of started becoming mainstream, 83 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 2: and I feel like in the two thousands it really 84 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 2: really broke out as like kind of the hot thing 85 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 2: for hipsters to do. 86 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say there's one hundred percent chance 87 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: that it was proto emo kids who brought it out 88 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: of the Taiwanese communities into American culture. Look at this, everybody, 89 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: So the you can't really talk about boba ta unless 90 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: you talk about milk tea, because that's kind of the 91 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: basis of it, and boba t's really new from the eighties. 92 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: Milk tea's not that old, considering how old Taiwan is. 93 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: It was just in the nineteen forties that a bartender 94 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: named Chang fan Chu got out of the bartending game 95 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: but still could not get the cocktail shaker out of 96 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: his hand and started mixing up teas handshaken milk teas 97 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: that would kind of froth and have bubbles, so it 98 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: became bubble tea milk tea, and that this went along 99 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 1: for several decades. People went crazy for milk tea, and 100 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: then eventually somebody thought, either to song Ho or Linceu Hui, 101 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: thought to add tapioca pudding balls. 102 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 2: That's right. So you've got milk, you've got the ice, 103 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 2: you've got black tea, and you've got those tapioca pearls. 104 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 2: There are all kinds of variations now, different kinds of tea, 105 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 2: different kinds of milks, non milks, you know, things like 106 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 2: you know, cashew milk and stuff like that, almond milk. 107 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 2: And then if you go to one of these, you know, 108 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 2: boba tea places in some large urban center, you're gonna 109 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 2: have all kinds of fun and crazy variations and flavors 110 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 2: and toppings and things like that. 111 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: Yep. So I say, we take a break and we'll 112 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: come back and tell everybody a little bit more about 113 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: boba tea. So, Chuck, I feel like you should take 114 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 1: the fact of the podcast. What boba means in the 115 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: first place. 116 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 2: Is it something to do with Dolly Parton? 117 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: Kind of? 118 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: Wasn't it about boobs? 119 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: Yeah? Boba is Taiwanese slang for boob, So they're basically saying, 120 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: this tea has a bunch of little boobs floating around 121 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:34,919 Speaker 1: in it. 122 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:36,039 Speaker 2: And that stuck. 123 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: Still yeah, still, because most people don't know what boba means. 124 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 2: I guess, so well, we should talk about those bobas. 125 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 2: Which is the tapioca And I wasn't even sure. I mean, 126 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 2: maybe I've had tapioca pudding, but it's a word I 127 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 2: had heard, and I don't think I ever fully knew 128 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 2: what even tapioca was, right, but tapioca or boba is tapioca. 129 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 2: That's it's a starch apparently extracted from cassava root, but 130 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 2: it can also be extracted from other things. 131 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, so kassava rus from South America, but it 132 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: grows really well in Asia to Southeast Asia, and in 133 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: particular the maritime Southeast Asia Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, 134 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: and East Timor. Poor West Timor gets left out of everything. 135 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 2: Is there a West Timor? 136 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: I don't think so. Okay, I hope not now that 137 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: I said that. But they were making these pearls, these 138 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: tapioca pearls, not out of tapioca, but out of rice 139 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: or palm hearts. But the point is you're using a starch. 140 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: It's a ball of starch. Essentially. It's almost nutrient free, 141 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: heavy in calories. But if you prepare them just right, 142 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,320 Speaker 1: when you add them to the bubble tea, if you 143 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: like that consistency, you're in heaven. Because they're chewy, they're mushy, 144 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: they're weird, and they're gelatinous. 145 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 2: Chewy like compare to like a gummy bear or as 146 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 2: they say in Germany, Goomi Bellin. 147 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: Is it really what they call it in Germany. Yeah, okay, 148 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: it's less chewy, but it's it's in a different way. 149 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 2: Can you com bear to anything? 150 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: Have you had bubble tea? 151 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 2: You got me, because for about a half a beat, 152 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 2: I was like, I don't think I have. 153 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: I can't, I can't, I can't. Okay, okay, no, no, 154 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: I can't imagine taking a ball of really sticky wet 155 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: rice and mashing it until there's no space between the 156 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: individual grains of rice and then chewing that. M Okay, 157 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,559 Speaker 1: that's the kind of the closest I can come up with. 158 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: It's very starchy and sticky, and it can stick to 159 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: your teeth a little bit. It's it's nothing good if 160 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: you ask me. But again, I'm not. I'm not yucking 161 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: anybody's jum. I don't care if you like it or not. 162 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: It's fine, Yeah, it's it's just. 163 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 2: Not for me, all right, Well, I just have to 164 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 2: try it for myself. I guess if you're making tapioca 165 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 2: pearls yourself, you buy them dry. Apparently you boil them 166 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 2: for thirty minutes and then cool them for thirty minutes, 167 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 2: And it sounds like to really get that disgusting consistency 168 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 2: just right right that you hate. It's fairly specific, like 169 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 2: if you boil them too long, it's going to be 170 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 2: too squishy and maybe too sticky. And if you don't 171 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 2: do it enough there you can't chew them. They're too hard. 172 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 2: So it sounds like you gotta kind of hit that 173 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 2: sweet spot. 174 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, So there you can make your own boba 175 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: t now, right, that's all it takes. 176 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 2: I guess so. And then you know, you make your 177 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 2: your shake up your drink, and then you add your 178 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,719 Speaker 2: tapioka pearls and you've got your own boba tea. 179 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: Yeah. And I think there's a Food and Wine article 180 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: about bobat and they said that there's a word in 181 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: Chinese for the perfect consistency of boba qq, like the 182 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: letter que. The letter q it means chewy. So wow, 183 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: we just came up with two Chinese slang words, Taiwanese 184 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: and a Chinese slang word. And now you know what 185 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: boba t is all about. And if you haven't tried it, 186 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: go out and try it. It's definitely worth trying. It's 187 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: not so disgusting that you're you're gonna just throw up 188 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 1: or anything like that. Although they have come up with 189 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: some that are really dancing right there on the edge. Yeah, 190 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: the one that got me. It was mentioned in a 191 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: Seattle Times post about Boba te that there's a salted 192 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:38,320 Speaker 1: cheese topping that essentially has the consistency of like a 193 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: really flimsy cheesecake, but it's very salty. It's made from powdered. 194 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 2: Cheese that sounds good to me on its own. 195 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: On its own. Yes, this is floating on top of 196 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: a very sweet, milky tea drink. That's a weird combo 197 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: for me. 198 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 2: That is a weird combo. I do like a milk 199 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 2: in my hot tea, so like in my black tea 200 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 2: or my breakfast tea. So you know, I could see 201 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 2: me liking the tea for sure. 202 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: Yeah. If you ever go to one of these places 203 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: and they have a tarro or a dirty torro, get that, 204 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: just tell them to hold the boba or get two, 205 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: get one without the bobas so you can enjoy that 206 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:17,679 Speaker 1: one and get one with the boba, so you can 207 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: try it at least once. 208 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 2: All right, I'll try it out. 209 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 1: Okay, Well, since Chuck said he's going to try it 210 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: out everybody, I means short stuff is Stuff You Should 211 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 212 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,839 Speaker 2: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 213 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 2: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.