Boba Tea 101: Everything You Need to Know About Hermitage’s Favorite Sips

What is boba tea?

Boba, also called bubble tea, is a drink that can include chewy tapioca pearls. Milk boba pairs those pearls with a creamy drink; other combinations use tea and fruit flavors. The extra-wide straw is part of the experience, giving the pearls a way to travel with your sip.

The word “tea” can be confusing because not every milk boba recipe includes tea. At The Straw, Classic and Thai milk boba use black tea mix, Matcha Milk Boba uses matcha, and Brown Sugar Milk combines milk, brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls. Choose by the individual drink description.

Chewy pearls and popping pearls

Tapioca pearls bring a soft, chewy texture. They are different from popping boba pearls, which release a fruity burst when they break. Those two textures can make drinks feel very different, even when the flavors sound similar.

We serve popping pearls in flavors including mango and strawberry. Ask which choices suit the drink you have picked. The extras section explains the options we keep; the team can confirm availability and any extra charge.

Five milk boba favorites

Start with a flavor you recognize, then branch out on your next visit.

• Classic Milk Boba: black tea mix, milk, sugar and tapioca pearls.
• Brown Sugar Milk Boba: milk, brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls.
• Taro Milk Boba: sweet taro with milk and chewy pearls.
• Matcha Milk Boba: matcha with milk, sugar and pearls.
• Thai Milk Boba: black tea mix with milk, sugar and pearls.

In a fruity mood?

Our jasmine fruit tea menu offers mango, pineapple, strawberry, coconut and passion fruit choices. It is a useful next stop if the creamy milk boba menu is not what you are craving. Check each recipe for its own combination of tea, fruit flavor and pearls.

Some drinks at The Straw are made with almond or coconut milk. Ask which milk is used in your particular drink and whether a change is possible. We do not promise a fixed sweetness-percentage menu or that every recipe can use every milk. We also do not publish allergen information.

Make the first sip yours

Give a layered drink a gentle stir if you want the flavors mixed throughout, and take your time enjoying the pearls. For a familiar first order, try Classic Milk Boba; for brown sugar flavor, explore Brown Sugar Milk Boba.

The Straw is at 4640 Lebanon Pike in Hermitage. Plan your visit, order ahead, or ask the team for help choosing when you arrive. Regular and Large prices are listed on the menu.