Boba in Japan

Boba in Japan

I've been searching Tokyo for some decent Boba tea (zen zhu nai cha) for 3 years now and I've finally found some. It's just off Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. If you walk down Takeshita Dori almost all the way to Meiji Dori there is a little side area on the right with about 25 very small, hardly more than a window, shops. It's inside there called HelloTea. Order a milk tea and make sure you ask for tapioca to complete it. 330 yen.

Seriously, Boba is huge in L.A. and from what I understand, S.F, N.Y., Hawaii, H.K. and of course places like Taiwan where it's originally from. It's probably super fattening but I love it, I crave it, and I've missed it since I came to Japan. There are lots of places for it in L.A, for example Relaxtation and Boba World and probably my favorite Tapioca Express but here in Japan it seems relatively rare and even when I did find it here it was just awful. I had tried around 11 different places and they were all yuck. Some of them were so bad I couldn't even drink more than a couple of sips before throwing them away

Even sadder, the absolute worst one I ever had was in Chuukagai (the Chinatown of Japan)

I even tried making it once back in L.A. I headed over to the Monterey Park area, found some of the balls uncooked in a supermarket there. They had no instructions. I tried boiling them for 30 minutes. Nope, not enough time and they came out bland. I tried 1 hour with some brown sugar but no luck still. I found out later you have to boil them for 4 hours!!!!! My Taiwanese friend made them for me in her suihanki (rice cooker). Unfortunately I still don't know what kind of tea to use, what kind of things to add to it or exactly how to cook the balls. I do still have 100 fat straws though which I picked up in Kappabashi.

Now I've finally found salvation. Unfortunately, looking at the small stand and lack of customers I'm guessing Boba just doesn't fit the Japanese palette. Either that or they need to be a lot more agressive in promoting it. I'd better rush over there and get my fix as often as possible just incase they don't last long.

As that site about Boba says

This drink is addictive. If you've had a good one before then you know what we're talking about.

Did I say that I CRAVE it?

Comments:

Vancouver yes, Amsterdam no [ e ]

Yum Yum! In Vancouver, where I'm from, we call it bubble tea. I found a place here in Amsterdam that thinks they make bubble tea, but I tried it and.... yuck.

posted by anon_shaunJuly 21, 2003 at 5:50

confusing it even more [ e ]

Tapioca Express has something called "snow bubble". I think Snow bubble tea has small tapioca so you don't need one of those giant straws.

posted by greggmanJuly 21, 2003 at 6:19

Add Seattle [ e ]

I had it at a Thai place here that is now Pan Asian cuisine.

Being that it's summer, I see a lot of people walking around with probably gobstopper sized tapioca balls in theirs.

I have only had it once but it tasted too good to be low calorie!

posted by rakastaa21July 21, 2003 at 21:20

I Make My Own [ e ]

Along with making my own Sushi, I also make my own bubble tea. I prefer the "fruit smoothie" type over the traditional iced milk tea. I even do my own tapioca balls (both mamoth sized and small). I found an awesome Japanese grocery store that carries all sizes and colours of tapioca balls, as well as those jumbo fat straws. I get all my sushi ingredients there too (Nori, Shiitake's....so cheap, rice, Rice Vinegar, etc).

Oh, I'm from Toronto, Ontario in Canada

posted by anon_DaMaD1July 21, 2003 at 21:36

woah mama! [ e ]

330 yen is like a bit less than $3 right? In Taiwan I get it for less than a buck. And, I agree, it is great stuff.

My students have asked me if you can find it in America. I'll have to tell them you can. And I'll also tell them it's called bubble tea, cuz I assumed it would be called pearl tea (as zhen zhu means pearl).

See ya!

posted by anon_noahOneyeAugust 11, 2003 at 21:25

bubble tea [ e ]

the name it depends on the store it seems. I've seen "Zhen zhu nai cha", "black pearl milk tea", "pearl milk tea", "milk tea", "boba", "boba tea", "momi tea". I've been told they call it Bubble tea in Vancouver but I thought bubble tea used much much smaller tapioca. Or maybe that's snow bubble tea?!?!

posted by greggmanAugust 12, 2003 at 10:07

Bubble Tea [ e ]

Apparently, Bubble Tea is VERY popular at a local mall here in Tennessee. I haven't tried it yet myself- it looks scary.

posted by ragdyanneAugust 19, 2003 at 20:44

Pres. and CEO of Lagura Enterprises Inc. [ e ]

Gregg:

I do not know what key I hit, but my Email was sent to you in incomplete form.

I like to know more about you because you can act like my promotional guy for My Franchise Business to open several Boba outlets in Japan.

I do not know whether my boba is the best but definitely it tastes better than the boba of some boba outlets in Orange County CA.

Reading some of your stories gives me the impression that you are the guy I am looking for: energetic, knowledgeable, understanding, experienced and the like.

If you are interested in my proposal, please email me asap.

Thanks for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards, henry

posted by HenryHanSeptember 14, 2003 at 12:15

Bubble Tea in Raleigh, NC [ e ]

One of the major coffee shops (Cup-a-Joe) in Raleigh sells bubble tea but it's awful! In Cary, NC, though, about 10 mins from NCSU is Grand Asia Market. It's a Chinese supermarket, but in the back is a food stand that has bubble tea. It's the best I've ever had; better than NYC!!

posted by KyleKOctober 2, 2003 at 14:04

[ e ]

We just got back from our trip to Japan and found a place in Akihabara that sells boba tea! I can't remember for the life of me what the name of the place was, but it looks like it's part of a franchise originating from Taiwan. They make a decent boba jasmine milk tea, but if you want it cold, you'll have to tell them that because I don't think it's indicated on their menu. This place is on the main drag of Akihabara (not far from the Mos Burger, I think). Fairly large storefront.

Happy drinking!

posted by bunnyOctober 18, 2003 at 3:05

thanks [ e ]

Thanks, that place just opened about a month or 2 ago. I've been once or twice. It's not bad. I would be surprised if it lasted though. I've never seen it be croweded and rent on the street front has to be pretty high. I guess I'd better go as much as possible before it closes

posted by greggmanOctober 18, 2003 at 7:55

boba in akihabara [ e ]

It's an "Easy Way" stand. You can see their homepage at

http://www.boba.jp

I just had their boba a few nights ago, and it was good. Almost too good, in fact.

Just essentially head down the west side of Chuo-dori (left side of the street as you're facing toward Ueno) and you'll come up on it. It's just past Trader2, if you're down with that kind of place.

I will try this HelloTea when I'm in Harajuku this week.

Serendipitous, it is: you're Google's top result on "'boba in japan.'" Cherish that status, man. Cherish it.

In closing, you ever had Tea Spirit in LA? Are you down with Au79?

posted by timOctober 20, 2003 at 15:13

pearl lady [ e ]

in Shinjuku 3 chome, under Kanidoraku one block from Lion/Dubliners.

posted by dmaOctober 21, 2003 at 0:07

boba teaaaaaa [ e ]

me tooo i love boba tea (also known as bubble tea in singapore). But over a year, many boba shops have closed due to bad business ..big name like Happy cup have closed and only one left is Cool Station and their peral sux. But i get a good boba drink from near my office for just 1 dollar and no extra charge for pearls ;0

My fave flavour is honeydew and bandung and also blueberry

posted by ViagraJanuary 6, 2004 at 19:50

Mmm! [ e ]

Unfortunately the only Boba tea I can get is at my local Asian Mart. So I'm not sure if it's good or not but it is pretty fun to try the different flavors. ^^

posted by BriFebruary 23, 2004 at 13:53

[ e ]

Well, if they have Boba in Tenn, then why not have Boba in Anchorage Alaska. It's only available on Saturdays at Charlie's Bakery. The bakery is owned and run by a chinese family. Wasn't thrilled with the tea.

I would love to try the Macha flavored boba.

Ja ne.

posted by sugarpopMay 8, 2004 at 9:40

good stuff [ e ]

i love this stuff!!!they have a place in long beach, called "lollicup". their boba is excellent.they have all kinds of teas and smoothies that accompany the boba...it's on pacific and spring st.

posted by juniyaMay 22, 2004 at 2:18

how to make..kind of.. [ e ]

It's basically Black Tea + Milk...

but it's quite common for most places to use Black Tea + a hint of Barley Tea + Milk and of course the bobas...

have fun.....it's quite tricky to get the right combo...

I would recomend buying some black tea from 99 Ranch Market, or whatever asian market you can find (since u mentioned the LA area, i'm assuming u found a 99 ranch) The type i would recomend comes in a Brown Can, which shows a sillohoute of the barley/wheat on the can. The other type you might find is a Black Tea can which looks like ur staring at a clear glass cup of black tea ( i highly DO NOT recomend this )

If you do find the brown can, it already has a mix of the barley tea, black tea, and sugar,, just add the milk and ur boba, then u're all set.

this is the closest i've been able to get to the taste of Lollicop.

posted by JeffChangDecember 1, 2004 at 1:44

Bubble Tea [ e ]

I tried to make bubble tea once....it was soooooo bad. I decided to melt a coconut popsickle and add it to green tea. For your sake...do not ever try that.

posted by AngelaJanuary 26, 2005 at 3:24

Bubble Tea in Greensboro, NC. [ e ]

I tried bubble tea for the first time a couple days ago and had to go back for more the next day! I am definately addicted! The restaurant is a nice vegetarian place called Boba House on Tate street right next to UNCG in Greensboro. The teas were vegan as well, which was great for me, and they were fabulous. You could get them with tapioca pearls, choobee, or coconut jelly. There were also many different flavors, and the more exotic the flavor, the better it seemed to be, so be brave! Go to www.bobahouse.com for their menu; the food was great!

posted by PersephoneFanthrikaMarch 20, 2006 at 16:00

Bubble tea from Dippin' Dots [ e ]

I own Dippin' Dots in Hawaii, so I can help in some ways. Key is in how you make the balls. We use a large boiler, holds about 2-3 gallons of water. Bring water to boil (about 20-30 min). Put in a 2-3 cups of the hard dry tapioca balls (we buy them in bulk, but you can buy small packs at local stores or in chinatown). The key is to keep stirring while they boil. It takes about an hour to fully boil. But there are 3 stages to the boiling: 1st stage (20 min) the balls go straight to the bottom and clump. Very important to stir constantly so that the balls don't stick to the bottom or clump up. We use a large wooden spoon, so that it has a more natural taste. Using a metal spoon or stirrer will result in a "metalic" taste, weird. 2nd stage (20 min) the balls start to float. You can take a break here because now they don't stick to the bottom (although they still stick to each other). Stir a little, but not really necessary. 3rd stage (final 20 min) you'll see that the balls are now turning deep brown or black (preferred). But because the balls were hard (almost powder) from the beginning, you'll get this brown guck that starts to coat the top. You must keep stirring so this sticky stuff doesn't clump up the balls. After an hour, try one of the balls, you're looking for a chewy, but not powdery, not hard, but chewy consistency (of course, put the ball in cold/ice water before trying!). Once it is chewy, stop the fire, then run the balls in cold water. Again stirring is important, and make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. Strain out all the water, make sure that the balls are cool to the touch 1st!! We use brown sugar, and put in about 1 cup. Stir the brown sugar. The sugar give the balls flavor, and it also keeps the balls from sticking to each other.

As for the "tea" itself, we use the powder & concentrate. We blend ours with ice because it's faster than shaking it. So it's more "margarita" or smoothie style rather than the normal "tea" style. But we blend it with some ice. Pour on top of 1/2 cup of balls and use that big straw.

Enjoy!!

posted by catchMarch 23, 2006 at 16:59

Is it still there off Takeshita Dori? [ e ]

I was just down this street a couple of days ago, but didn't notice the stand there. Back in LA now, but will be back in Tokyo in 2 weeks, and need to get my fix. Please advise if I should try looking for it on Takeshita Dori or elsewhere. Thanks!

posted by AshNovember 23, 2006 at 2:39

[ e ]

No, there's no boba on Takeshita dori anymore. There's Easy Way in Akihabara in the Yodobashi Camera building.

posted by greggmanNovember 23, 2006 at 4:38

directions to Easy Way for those who don't know where to find the Yodabashi building... [ e ]

I just wanted to clarify the directions to Easy Way (since there was some erroneous directions somewhere posted above about it being on the west side of chuo-dori)

When you get off at the Akihabara JR station, exit the CENTRAL GATE.

Turn left (north) and then cross the street to your right.

The Yodabashi building is right in front of you--and if you continue forward after the crosswalk, into the walk of shops, you will see Easy Way in the shops on the right side.

They have small (280 yen), medium, and large drinks.

posted by kathyFebruary 22, 2007 at 18:15

Fat Straw in Nashville [ e ]

Best bubble tea anywhere. Check it out.

posted by SSJune 29, 2008 at 9:17

Love Boba! [ e ]

Over here in Riverside we call it Boba! And there is a Tapioca Express that is super NASTY off of Blaine. The one i prefer and HIGHLY suggest is Boba Cafe which is next door to Fat Burger off of University and Iowa close to UCR. Their tapioca is to die for! and you can go get a crepe next door while you enjoy your Boba tea! They have tons of flavors to choose from, awesome snacks, and a great meal selection.
ENJOY!

posted by ChristieOctober 14, 2008 at 23:58