The global boom of Boba tea (also known as bubble tea or milk tea, originating from Taiwan) is a phenomenal development in food consumption. Bloomberg even exclaimed, “Taiwanese Bubble Tea Has Taken Over the U.S.”
Professor Yong Chen will explore the historical background of Boba tea’s development and its expansion along migration and trade routes. The rise of Boba tea is not a random fad but an extension of America’s Chinese food, which had become the most important cuisine in the U.S. The popularity of Chinese food stemmed from the country’s socioeconomic transformation, and it met Chinese Americans’ need for a Third Space – an alternative political, socioeconomic, and cultural space – in a society that exhibited enormous anti-Chinese prejudice.
Ultimately, Boba tea’s widespread appeal not only highlights America’s transformations in the consumerism society but also reveals the continued political marginalization of Chinese Americans.