When Boba Baba co-founder Justin Lo says “We are very passionate about what we do, and that is why we focus on the big picture down to the smallest details in everything we serve,” he isn’t exaggerating a desire to create products that exceed expectations. Take Brown Sugar Boba — a recipe that was tweaked for years to balance the sweetness and smoky flavor.
With a mission to “elevate the standard for boba by tailoring a holistic customer experience,” Boba Baba offers craft beverages like the Butterfly Fresca: a vibrant, layered drink crafted with house-made strawberry jasmine tea, freshly squeezed lemonade, and butterfly pea flower tea. There’s also the popular Strawberry Matcha Latte, which features a luscious strawberry purée base paired with milk and topped off with hand-whisked matcha sourced from Nishio, Japan. Mango Pomelo Sago is a traditional dessert from Hong Kong that boasts a sweet and creamy mango base infused with coconut milk and sago. At Boba Baba, it’s complemented with refreshing citrus notes of pomelo.
Read on as Lo spills all the tea on Boba Baba …
Justin Lo, Co-Founder, Boba Baba
What is boba?
Boba is a chewy tapioca pearl made from the roots of the cassava plant. Used in Taiwan as a topping for milk tea and fruit teas since the 1980s, it has since evolved into a staple that can be added to a variety of craft drinks. Our boba takes over an hour to prepare, as we must precisely control the temperature and cooking process to achieve the perfect texture. Then, to give it a sweet and smoky caramel flavor, we marinate it in our house-made syrup made from raw cane sugar and demerara sugar.
Tell us the story of Boba Baba Café.
My co-founder and I opened Boba Baba in August 2019. Our vision was to build a brand that people can trust. Whether customer service, team training, or recipe creation, we have always invested our efforts in doing things the right way. From finding reliable ingredients to staying up until early morning to test different tea leaves, we were involved in every step of the process.
How does Boba Baba set itself apart?
We emphasize customer service, product quality, and atmosphere.
To ensure our guests receive excellent service, our staff are equipped with the proper training and knowledge to answer any question. Each team member undergoes comprehensive training by learning to make various drinks from scratch; our front-of-house team can communicate the details of our craft drinks because they have experienced the process from start to finish.
Craftsmanship is also integral to the foundation of Boba Baba. We are committed to never compromising on quality and to using only fresh and high-quality ingredients. If we cannot secure a reliable supply of high-quality ingredients that meet our standards, we will not introduce the drink to our menu.
Lastly, we aimed to design — and renovated a large portion of ourselves — a clean and welcoming environment for all guests. During the week, our café offers a peaceful atmosphere ideal for study and work. On weekends and holidays, our store transforms into a lively hub where friends and families come together to socialize and enjoy our crafts.
What do you recommend for a first-time boba drinker? How about the afficionado?
For first-time boba drinkers, we recommend starting with our staple drinks: the Classic Milk Tea, Jasmine Milk Tea, and Oolong Milk Tea. The Classic Milk Tea is crafted using our house blend black tea leaves to achieve a bold initial flavor and lingering malty aftertaste. The Jasmine Milk Tea features a lighter green tea infused with prominent floral notes of jasmine. Lastly, the Oolong Milk Tea is heavily roasted, which imparts a rich and toasty flavor profile. Each of these teas can be prepared with the guest’s choice of milk, sweetness, and ice level.
For the guest who has already tried our staples and fan favorites, I recommend the Iron Goddess Milk Tea, Hojicha Latte, and Yuzu Oolong Fruit Tea. The Iron Goddess is a traditional partially fermented and lightly roasted oolong that originates from Anxi, Fujian, China. It boasts a smooth, fragrant aroma, complex fruit-like body, and lingering sweet, toasty aftertaste.
The Hojicha Latte is prepared with finely grounded premium hojicha tea leaves, a heavily roasted Japanese green tea. It is delicately hand whisked and poured over our guest’s choice of milk and sweetened with clover honey. Our Yuzu Oolong combines yuzu purée imported directly from Japan with our floral Osmanthus Oolong and honey-infused lemon slices, which creates a harmonious balance of prominent refreshing citrus notes and floral aroma.
Can you tell us about your catering?
We have catered events ranging from intimate college socials to weddings to office parties exceeding 1,000 people. For smaller events, we offer convenient pick-up and delivery services. For larger gatherings, we highly recommend our onsite catering service to ensure our drinks are freshly crafted for each guest. This past year, we have been increasing our presence at cultural and music festivals, serving thousands of attendees over several days.
Baba’s Tea Co. was founded in 2022. Tell us about your loose-leaf tea offerings.
Baba’s Tea Co. was founded because many of our patrons at Boba Baba have asked if they can purchase our tea leaves directly. In addition to the tea leaves used in our craft drinks at our café, we also offer naturally flavored tea blends made with real dried fruits. Some of our most popular teas include Lychee Oolong, Lavender Earl Grey, and Queen Muscat Oolong.
For the purists, we also offer traditional unscented teas sourced directly from farmers and crafters from various Southeast Asian countries. Some of our favorites are the Iron Goddess, Milky Oolong, Mi Lang Xiang, and Da Hong Pao.
What’s next for Boba Baba Café?
We have just finished building our first food truck! We are thrilled to enhance the accessibility of our products for the Triangle community to enjoy our offerings, and we plan to expand our presence at local events and festivals.
Our near-future goal is to open locations in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. We will continue to deliver the brand you know and love as we expand and remain faithful to the quality of our products and to our mission.
Anything else you would like to share?
Mark your calendars as we prepare to celebrate our five-year anniversary on August 24. This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support from our community. To show our gratitude, we will be offering free drinks all day long. Everyone is welcome, so bring your friends and family to join us in enjoying some delicious craft drinks on the house!
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