History to sip on:

How Boba Became A College Staple

Around UCLA, the sound of straws popping into a fresh cup of boba tea fills the air. With boba shops lining every avenue, the drink has become a Westwood staple.

The phenomenon is a perfect example of a boba corner, explained Angel Trazo, a doctoral student in cultural studies at UC Davis. Just as gas stations tend to cluster in one place, boba stores follow a similar trend. Trazo said she first noticed this pattern in San Jose while attending middle school in the early 2000s.

written by KATY NICHOLAS illustrated and designed by TARA DESAI

“Now, it’s even more – there’s such a big explosion,” she said.

Trazo, who graduated from UCLA in 2020 with her master’s degree and wrote her thesis on boba’s relationship with Asian American youth, said that where college students gather, boba shops follow.

Westwood Village alone boasts six boba shops, surpassing the number of ice cream shops and grocery stores. Other colleges have seen similar trends, with boba shops around UC Berkeley even inspiring a line of merchandise. But the question remains: How did one drink come to dominate college towns?

Boba doesn’t take long to make, but its explosive entrance into American society has taken decades to brew.

According to Food and Wine magazine, boba emerged in Taiwan in the 1980s, although the exact year and precise location are contested. By combining Taiwanese milk tea, tapioca pearls and shaved ice into one cup, the drink’s creators had a winning recipe.

Trazo said making boba in the United States began as an avenue for many Asian American immigrants in the late ‘90s to start small businesses. These businesses not only provided a source of income but also served as a safe haven for Asian Americans. She added that