A common debate among UW students is “Where is the best place to get boba/bubble tea?” There is such a variety of different boba shops even just in the University District, also known as the U District, that it can be overwhelming for new UW students and Seattle residents to know where to go.
This past weekend, to celebrate National Bubble Tea Day, the U District Partnership held a Seattle Boba Fest involving over 20 businesses. The event helped UW students, Seattle residents, and tourists learn more about all the best boba offerings in the U District. You could start your day by going to the U District Link Light Rail Station, where there was also a photo booth, and pick up a guide that was helpful for both those who are new to boba and regular boba consumers who might not know every boba shop.
If you don’t know what boba (also known as tapioca balls or pearls) is, it is a treat originating from Taiwan in the 1980s and eventually came to the US in the 1990s. They are little chewy spheres made from starch and brown sugar syrup, that can go into any drink. Boba is mostly tasteless, making it work well with all different flavors of tea (bubble tea is just another name for boba tea), fruit syrups, and coffee.
Boba drinks are very customizable, making it an easy drink for many different people to like. If you didn’t know where to start or were looking for something new to try, the guide includes featured offerings from each of the participating businesses. Some highlights from the menu are the pink lychee smoothie topped with cheese foam from Don’t Yell At Me. For those who wanted food with their boba, they could get the boba tea & wings combo from Call A Chicken, which gave you 10-piece wings with a complimentary boba tea. For those who are more indecisive and can’t choose between two options, at Boba Up there was the self-serve split cup (fun fact: this is the first ever self-serve boba tea shop in the Pacific Northwest). These were only a small portion of all the available options during the Boba Fest.
Besides the boba drinks, there were other boba inspired treats. For example, Sip House had a Boba Lava Cake and Sweet Alchemy Ice Cream had milk tea ice cream with boba topping. There was also non-food shopping available, for example Shiga’s Imports had plushies and keychains inspired by boba available. Throughout the day, some of the businesses did giveaways like stickers and mugs while supplies lasted.
Despite it being a hot day, there were long lines for all these businesses’ of large groups of students excited to get their favorite boba or maybe introduce their friend to boba for the first time. Even though the fest is over, UW students now have more awareness about all the different boba shops in the U District, and they will continue to be common hangout spots for students.
A special thanks to The U District Partnership for collaborating with Her Campus UW for this event.