Downtown San Mateo hosted the third annual Boba Day on Sunday afternoon, sponsored by Sutter Health and Florian Orthodontics. Organizers filled 3rd Avenue with boba, bouncy houses, face painting, bracelet making, and games with labubu prizes.
Various downtown San Mateo boba businesses offered free drinks for the celebration, and visitors were provided with a map and brochure describing how to earn a free drink upon arrival. To receive a complimentary tea, attendees had to answer a random trivia question or happen to be wearing a certain pop culture character on their clothing.
Visitors entertained themselves with a claw machine from the San Mateo Clawesome gaming arcade, a balloon animal stand, jewelry making at the Coastal Jewelry Boutique tent, and a person dressed in a parrot costume who encouraged attendees to sign up for line dancing on 3rd Avenue.
Boba, also known as bubble tea, was created in Taiwan in the 1980s. Originally, it was just black tea, green tea, or Thai tea with tapioca pearls. Fruit teas, smoothies, and slush drinks were later developed in 1988. The tapioca pearls were originally bigger and more textured than they are now. Over the years, boba has traveled from Taiwan and become popular worldwide.
After enjoying the variety of activities and boba shops, attendees gathered to watch MC Jonathan Nicolas host a professional boba tasting competition, with the winning drink receiving a medal and an ad in the San Mateo newspaper. Three judges tasted boba from local stores, including Share Tea, Sweet Moment, Teaspoon, Tong Sui, TP Tea, and Boba Bless. The panel of judges came from a variety of boba-tasting backgrounds, as Mayor Adam Loraine, Sanrio store owner and boba lover Wendy Shu, and Chef Martin Yan all brought unique perspectives to the contest.
Yan highlighted the specific translation of boba and educated the audience about its origins. “‘Bo’ means ball and ‘ba’ means big,” he said. Yan holds a great love for bubble tea, just as he loves cooking. “I was a fan of boba before it became popular. I drink boba at least three times a day,” Yan said. He enjoys the texture of the boba and the sweet taste of the milk tea. “Texture is a big thing in Taiwan,” he added.
After the entire lineup of boba tasting, Loraine crowned the mango yogurt smoothie. “This takes me back. I would make these drinks in addition to the original boba drinks. I would add fruit instead of just boba,” he said. As a former employee at a boba store in his teenage and early adult years, Loraine has experience with boba recipes. “It was fun coming out here and trying these different boba drinks. It takes me back to my boba working days,” he added.
The last boba drink that the judges tried was a black milk tea, which Shu liked best. “The classic black milk tea is my favorite, which is authentic boba in Taiwan. I think it’s great. It’s very consistent,” Shu said.
The crowd-winning boba was the creme brulee milk tea. Nicolas captivated the audience by asking a series of questions to visitors. Upon correct answers, Nicolas awarded free boba to audience members under 10.
Boba Day brought together boba enthusiasts from all parts of the community, prompting smiles and excitement.
“I cannot live without boba. I have it once a day. Most people would say bubble tea is my Starbucks,” Shu said, elaborating on how much she loves and relates to boba. With a career as an anime and Hello Kitty creator, she is thrilled to see a rise in the popularity of boba, especially as it swirls into pop culture.
