capst-winter-2021-Proof1-52REV - Flipbook - Page 12
G o o d e at s
By christina Tkacik Capital Style
The silk cherry tree inside Gong Cha, a tea shop in Arundel Mills. photos by karl m. ferron
From Taiwan to Anne Arundel
Shake things up with these 5 boba tea spots
Tiffany Hoang sits beneath a silk cherry tree inside Gong Cha,
the Arundel Mills tea shop she opened in 2019. Next to her is a
cup of boba tea.
Classically, boba tea has referred to milky tea with black
tapioca pearls at the bottom, which get sucked up through an
oversize straw. They’re soft and chewy, says Hoang, “like a gummy
bear.” There’s something a little bit addictive about it — it’s a
sweet snack and a beverage at the same time. “It makes you feel
happy,” says Hoang.
Also known as bubble tea, boba tea originated in Taiwan more
than a decade ago and has since spread across Asia, including to
Vietnam, where Hoang drank it as a teen.
Today, boba remains ubiquitous in Asia, where it’s particularly
popular among young people, who enjoy hanging out in boba
tea shops and sipping the beverage morning, noon and night. It’s
also made its way to the U.S., where younger generations of Asian
Americans and many others are enjoying the drink as an alternative to Starbucks.
In recent years, the variety of flavors and options has expanded
to include sparkling sodas, coffee drinks and more. They can
veer into intoxicatingly sweet combinations: just try the dalgona
brown sugar at Kokee Tea in Arundel Mills Mall, a riff on the
12 | fall 2021 | capitalstylemag.com
Tiffany Hoang’s store, Gong Cha, serves a variety of boba tea.
Classically, boba tea is milky tea with black tapioca pearls.