Opening a Boba shop
 

for those of you that know what this is, what are your thoughts? good business to get in?

Boba as in the Asian drink?

yup

i'm opening my head with a can opener

I think it's a good idea. Those drinks are yummy. We have one here in Chinatown called Volcano Ice. Do you have a lot of Asians where you live?

The following is an excerpt from an LA Times article that contains a good explanation of the entire boba phenomenon...

Crazy for That Tapioca Tea
A new addiction: iced tea with gummy balls in it.
By: LESLEE KOMAIKO
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Crazy for That Tapioca Tea

Other common names include pearl tea, black pearl tea or boba, the name used in Taiwan, where the drink originated. Boba is delicious, sweet and refreshing, with a striking appearance. For this reason, it is always served in a clear glass. But to neophytes, the drink might look, and taste, odd.


The dark tapioca balls, slightly smaller than marbles, stay in the bottom of the glass, creating a layered effect. The liquid part alone, usually a combination of black or green tea, regular milk and a clear, unflavored fruit syrup (for sweetness), is innocuous enough. It tastes like one of those popular iced coffee drinks you can find at any corner coffee house these days. But those balls at the bottom of the glass....


At first they are weird. You suck them through an appropriately jumbo straw, along with the cold, sweetened tea. They arrive in your mouth, slick and slightly gelatinous. And then you bite into one, or maybe several, because it is hard to control how many come through the straw. Hmmm. Chewy, but not too chewy--somewhere between a gummy candy and a marshmallow--with a subtle sweetness. Suddenly you want more. Drink as food. Thus begins the addiction.


From CNN.com
Tapioca milk tea creating waves as fun coffee alternative

November 27, 2000
Web posted at: 8:57 AM EST (1357 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chai latte is so five minutes ago compared to this drink.

Zen-conscious Southern California -- the first to adopt lifestyle trends like feng shui and meditation -- is now welcoming another Asian fad: bubble tea.

Also known as boba milk tea or tapioca milk tea, the drink is showing up at tea shops across Los Angeles and Orange counties, with similar success in San Francisco, New York and elsewhere. Its backers think they may have stumbled onto a fun-to-drink alternative to coffee.

A popular import from Taiwan, the frothy beverage is a mix of tea, milk, sugar and giant black tapioca balls served hot or cold. The gummy rounds the size of small marbles are sucked up, with a little effort, through an extra wide straw.

"I love the boba," said Pamela Faulkner of Venice, whose 13-year-old son introduced her to the drink several months ago.

"My son 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.

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."

The craze began in Taiwan during the early '90s and made its way throughout Asia. The United States was the next stop, 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, 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.

"Everybody is talking about natural and health food. Well, tea is a natural plant and it's proven to lower health risks," said Jimmy Huang, who envisions opening between 50 and 100 tea shops in the United States over the next 10 years.

His family already operates more than 100 tea shops in Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Canada and Australia.

But boba isn't for everyone, Huang said.

"It's 50-50. If they try it and like it, they will love it. The others think it's strange -- why do you have to eat something when you drink?" Huang said.

Other entrepreneurs are more optimistic, particularly in Southern California, home to one of the nation's largest Asian-American communities.

"I think people are looking for something else than Starbucks," said Relaxtation manager Alex Mojovic.

yummm, me love boba! :thumbsup

mmmm.... boba....

Its a fad. Build it quick, franchise it, get a lot of franchisees. THen sell it.

Dam i thought it was a booby shop

Never heard of it but I for damn sure would like to see what it tastes like.

There is a place that advertises tapioca tea next to my favorite korean bbq place in Las Vegas.

Now I gotta go try that shit... i thought it sounded pretty sick when I first heard of it

Fads like this piss me off. Drank chai for years, and thought it was stupid when it blew up into some insane pop culture phenomenon. At least its died down, same thing will happen with bubble tea. I've tried it, they have a ton of Bubble Tea shops in Chinatown...it was decent. Nothing to write home about though.