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Brace yourselves, bubble-tea lovers: The U.S. faces a boba shortage that may last months

heybebe

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Brace yourselves, bubble-tea lovers: The U.S. faces a boba shortage that may last months

Mike Murphy

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© Getty Images/iStockphoto

If you’re able to order a bubble tea today, you’d better savor it — it may be your last one for a while.

The nation is facing a boba crisis, as the massive shipping backlog on the West Coast is creating a shortage of both boba balls, imported from Taiwan, and tapioca starch, which is used to make the boba and largely comes from Thailand. Those in the booming bubble-tea business are warning customers that boba supplies will likely be depleted in the coming weeks, and it could take months for the supply to get back to normal.

“This is an industry-wide shortage,” the owners of Hayward, Calif.,-based U.S. Boba Co. — who also run the popular Boba Guys shops in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — said in an Instagram video last week. “Some boba shops are already out. Others will run out in the next few weeks. 99% of boba comes from overseas. … It will be in flux for several months until we get our next series of tapioca starch shipments.”

Boba shops have become hot destinations around the U.S. in recent years, serving the Taiwanese milk tea drink with pearls of chewy tapioca, called boba. A national survey after the pandemic lockdown last May found bubble tea was the most popular delivery item in California, Hawaii and Michigan, and the drink has been trendy in New York City for years.

The supply-chain blockage is affecting virtually every product that’s shipped to the U.S. from Asia. But the boba shortage is the product of “a perfect storm, really,” Oliver Yoon, vice president of sales and global marketing for Chicago-based supplier Boba Direct, told Business Insider. That’s because — with supplies almost exclusively coming from Asia — the boba business is especially susceptible to shipping delays, and it’s coming as the nation reopens and consumer spending is on the rise as people start visiting their favorite restaurants and shops again.

“In the next week or so, tapioca will be a luxury because no one is going to have it,” Tommy Huang, senior sales manager at Hayward, Calif., boba supplier Leadway International Inc. told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s going to take a long time to be able to say we will not have a shortage of tapioca.”

The shortage is expected to last months. A shipment that typically takes about a month to cross the Pacific, clear customs and leave the docks is now taking four to five months, the Boba Guys said in their video.

They asked bubble-tea customers around the country to be patient. “If you see [shops] run out of boba, don’t get mad. It’s not their fault,” they said. “Everyone is trying the hardest as they can.”


 

SfAplha3

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Damn I just found a shop near me too. Luckily I bought a pack of pearls from Amazon. If it comes to it I guess I'll be trying to make some from scratch. Boba is my weakness
 

GoneGirl2014

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Glad I know how to make my own. I just ordered some rainbow tapioca pearls from H-mart last week.
 

0ldS0ul

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This is terrifying news. I need to find my own stash before it’s too late.
 

HelloKitty811

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So this is why one of my local spots is already out of the mini boba and is being stingy with the regular size :unsure:
 

Triela

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I always wanted to learn how to make some tapioca pearls myself. I would be interested in using substitutes too.
 

highgemini

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I have a serious addiction to the red bean & matcha drink at my place. so this won't affect me....but I almost wish it did because I buy at least one a day. Up until recently it was 2 or more. I do not even want to know the amount of money I've literally pissed away. Phew. Gives me anxiety just thinking about it. Still gonna go after work tho lol.
 

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I usually get a different add-on, like red bean or egg pudding. They're a lot better than boba.
 

SexyLady

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Every time I have a boba I feel like it might be my last day on earth. There’s always at least one boba that’s too big for the straw so I have to w hard to get it up. Then before I know if the boba is shooting up the straw ready to choke me to death. I see my life flashing before my eyes as I use my tongue to try to stop the boba from lodging into my threat and killing me :rosedead

I can’t say I’m saddened by a boba shortage!
 

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