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PHOENIX -- Just ahead of the World Tea Expo this month in Las Vegas, a South Phoenix business owner is introducing the trendy BOBA tea to customers at his Smoothie Run restaurants in Gilbert and Laveen.
"We have had several customers asking about boba tea, and we want to give our customers what they want," said Marcus Moody, who developed the Smoothie Run restaurant concept in 2015.
Boba, also called pearl or bubble tea, became popular in Asian countries after it was founded in the 1980s in Taiwan. Ingredients in the traditional drink are tea, milk and tapioca balls, or pearls, that float in the bottom of the drink and then are chewed when slurped up through a straw. The drink arrived stateside in the 1990s and has gained steadily in popularity.
In the past two years, the drink has been Americanized with multiple flavors and recipes
evolving
, particularly in large urban areas such as New York and San Francisco. The World Tea Expo is the leading trade show and conference focused on premium teas and related products, which is an $8 billion industry in the United States and continues to grow as tea is becoming a favorite U.S. health drink. The conference takes place June 13-15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Moody said boba tea is a natural addition to his lineup of more than 40 flavors of smoothies. "As an iced drink, boba will complement our food menu and give diners another refreshing beverage option."
Smoothie Run also is adding several other drinks to its summer menu, including fruit-based iced teas such as raspberry, mango and peach, sweetened and unsweetened iced tea, as well as blended and frozen, iced coffee drinks.
The new drinks debut Monday, June 5 and all flavors will be available at the original Smoothie Run Internet Café in Laveen while a slightly smaller menu will be offered in Gilbert.
Moody, a Laveen resident at the time, opened his first Smoothie Run in December 2015 because he saw a lack of healthy eating choices in the area. The Smoothie Run menu includes the trademark smoothies, hot and cold sandwiches and pitas, salads, and pizza. The pizzas were added in Laveen after they were a huge hit at the Gilbert location, which opened in March.
"The pizzas were test-marketed in our Gilbert store on Higley Road," Moody said. "They were so popular and we got such good feedback, we added them to our menu in Laveen."
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