If you’re new to Berkeley, you’ve probably noticed a community obsession with boba.
Boba, also known as “bubble tea” is a sweet tapioca drink typically accompanied by a tea. The tapioca balls that sit at the bottom of the drink make for a chewy dessert to sip and chew on.
With 14 boba stores within a two block radius of the campus, the popular drink that started as trend looks like it’s here to stay. We’ve mapped a comprehensive list of boba stores near the campus:
The Trend
Aaron Pan, the founder of SweetHeart Café, recalled the start of his business. Pan started his first shop in Oakland Chinatown in 1996, a time he says in Mandarin, when few Americans knew of the drink. But now, he says that it is the biggest hit of Asian drinks. As it became integrated into mainstream culture in the Bay, tea shops are adapting to the local tastes, flavors, preferences, and American trends, such as Plentea’s Nutella Milk Tea.
This week, we interviewed the tea baristas and company founders of the popular and classic chains, Sweetheart Cafe and ShareTea to understand the trend and specialties of their stores. Then, we went behind the scenes of Plentea, Berkeley’s newest boba store, for an exclusive preview of how their see how their picture perfect drinks are made.
Boba Feature: Plentea
Jason Bouatavanh, the general manager of Plentea Berkeley, emphasizes Plentea’s appeal in quality and Instagram-able aesthetic.
Plentea’s signature glass milk jars are instantly perfect for social media sharing and are also a friendlier option to the non recyclable plastics most other stores use.
Bouatavanh also takes note that most customers don’t realize that Plentea’s tea comes from the oldest and most traditional tea plantations on the Jingmai mountains of China and high mountains of Taiwan.
Plentea’s specialty, Bouatavanh says, is that it uses only organic and natural brewed tea — no premixed powders with chemicals, preservatives, and milk powders.
Sharetea is another popular, flavor-packed option for students at Cal, as it is right across the street from MLK and Eshleman and has the stamp of approval from many boba consumers. The global tea chain frequently holds fundraisers for campus clubs and offers dozens of choices, with new drinks, flavors, and toppings released seasonally. For example, Sharetea offers special jelly ice, and Hong Kong styled tea. Hong Kong styled tea is different than the traditional Taiwanese tea in that it is very bitter, and uses less milk.
“What’s special to me is the ice jelly,” said Lily Sharetea’s manager.
“It doesn’t have any colors or flavors it is just for chewing and it makes the drink more than just a drink. The ice jelly is mixed with the drink so it still has the milky flavor.”
Pricing and Popularity
A cup typically runs anywhere from $2.50 to $5.00, depending on which store you visit.
Here is the breakdown of 4 of the closest boba spots on the Southside of campus. They are all within a one block radius and are listed in order from lowest to the highest price.
With price in mind, we also asked 35 Cal Students what their favorite boba spots were. SweetHeart, Sharetea, and Plentea ranked in the top 3*.
Whichever of the 14 stores you choose, no store is “the best”. Try them all with your friends and decide for yourself which is your favorite. Then leave a comment below with your favorite boba stops for your fellow bears.
*We acknowledge that 35 students is far too small of a sample size to conduct a survey with a high confidence interval. The representation of Berkeley’s favorite spots may not be accurate.
A Multimedia Assignment Piece for Journalism 110 by: Melika Panbehchi, Elinell Bolosan, Kelly Chang, and Christie Aguilar
*Special thanks to Jason Bouatavanh of Plentea for his generosity in time and behind-the-counter access.*
