last summer, i discovered boba teas. fortunately it was just when they were hitting it big in pittsburgh-area asian restaurants, so i had a lot of places to find them.

a "boba", or "bubble tea", or "pearl tapioca drink" is a flavored tea or fruit drink that is served with a big fat straw. the "bubbles" or "boba" or "pearl tapiocas" are soft, larger-than-tapioca-pudding-tapioca, black spheres that you suck through the straw, and then chew on (like really soft licorice). kenny describes drinking a boba tea as "disturbing." he hasn't connnected with his feminine side yet.

in my humble opinion, the best place to get them is at Lulu's Noodles in Oakland. a close second is The Rose Tea Cafe in Squirrel Hill. and recently, i really liked the one i got from the Orient Express, also in Oakland.

i drank so many of them last summer that it was very odd to me in late september when i was sipping one that made me queasy. like i'm-about-to-hurl queasy. then i found out i was pregnant, and i couldn't stomach the thought of a boba drink for the past 6 or so months. finally, last week, i stopped into the Rose Tea Cafe and ordered one. I was so out of practice. I forgot which ones I loved and which ones to avoid. I bought a "honey tea" which is essentially an iced tea with boba. blech. half way through the drink i realized it was the milk teas that i like and not the regular black teas on ice.

so then kenny stopped on his way home from work yesterday and brought me home my favorite almond milk tea boba. it was heaven. and apparently quite embarassing to him. he covered it up with a to-go menu while he was on the bus, and informed a passer-by that it was "for his wife and NOT, absolutely NOT for him." again...that feminine side thing he hasn't connected with yet.

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