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As bubble tea consumers heavily increase, so does the demand for boba. Over the past few years, the popularity of boba has risen drastically. However, boba lovers may need to slow their consumption of it as restaurant owners are having trouble getting their hands on the popular drink topping.
Boba, which originated from Taiwan in the 1980s, are small black pearls made of tapioca starch and known for its sweet, chewy delicacy. They are found in a large variety of drinks such as milk teas, fruit teas, and smoothies.
Many boba tea shop owners order and receive their shipments from Taiwan. However, a massive shipping jam on the West Coast caused huge delays in shipments for owners. The shipping delays were also partially caused by the Ever Given cargo ship that blocked the Suez Canal last month.
As many businesses are reopening again after struggling with the pandemic, boba shop owners are worrying about their business because their most popular topping may not be available for months. Many boba consumers worry about not being able to add boba into drinks anymore.
“I feel like some drinks will never be the same,” Ryan Pham, a student at Encinal High School, said.
Oliver Yoon, vice president of sales and global marketing for the supplier Boba Direct, said the scarcity is months in the making due to a a lack of workers to offload shipments.
"There's been a huge influx of containers coming from overseas due to e-commerce, just due to the consumer spending, and unfortunately, there's not enough people to assist in getting these containers out of the vessel," said Yoon.
In the meantime, people can add other toppings into their drink. Boba shops offer large varieties of toppings such as crystal boba, different fruit jellies, aloe vera, and grass jelly.
However, according to some boba shop owners, consumers are not to worry as many owners order their boba shipments months in advance and store them in warehouses. Worst case scenario, owners wouldn’t carry boba for a couple days, but it wouldn’t be long term.
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