That's the way the boba crumbles

Detroit, Mich. - You have no idea how much it delights me to write a boba dateline from Detroit. Boba lives in the Motor City! Who'da thunk it?

Updated 8/24/07: I haven't decided what format to use when I make multiple trips to the same place and have new things to add. For the time being, look for updates in italics.

BOBA BRIEFING
Name: Orchid Thai
Address: 115 Monroe St., Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 962-0225
Date visited: Monday, July 16, 2007. Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007.
Goes by: Bubble drinks
Price: $3.95
Form: Fruit smoothies, with whipped cream on top. Blech. You can also ask for tapioca in Thai iced tea and iced coffee, for the same price.
Flavors: Strawberry, mango, kiwi, cappuchino
Hot/cold: Cold
Flavors tried: Thai iced tea, iced coffee, mango

Thai iced tea (notice the boba on TOP)

Lid style: A very unfashionable and environmentally hostile Styrofoam cup with a plastic lid. No straw-poking necessary.

An environmental evil.

Smiles: Since this was the first place I found in Detroit that serves boba, I was smiling till my face hurt. Until I tried the boba. However:

• They let me into their kitchen to watch them make the boba. Check it out: (dammit, why didn't I do video? Think, Catherine, THINK!)

Pouring Thai iced tea


Boba, before contact with mango smoothie


Making mango smoothie from mango syrup


Mango smoothie

Scowls: Sigh. The tapioca is disappointingly hard, but that's not even the worst part. It's also crumbly. Crumbly! How is it even possible to MAKE crumbly tapioca? You'll have to ask these guys. Also, $3.95 for sub-par boba seems like a lot to ask for, no?

• The second (okay fine, third) time here, my problem with the boba was that when it's in an icy smoothie, the tapioca gets icy and hard, and sticks together so that they're no longer separate balls, but rather chunks of icy tapioca. Yes, it's as gross as it sounds.
  
• Okay, I'm confused. Our waitress had NO IDEA what we were talking about when we said we came for bubble drinks. It's ON your MENU! What gives?
• This is also confusing: my boba drinking buddy's Thai iced tea w/ tapioca came with the tapioca floating on top. I have NEVER seen this before. I am so, so confused.
  

Joe and Thai iced tea w/ bubbles

Most memorable bo-ment: This quote, from a fellow Freep intern who shall remain nameless, except that his first name starts with B and ends with O, and his last name starts with T and ends with "weh":
"Boba singular is bobum. It's like data."
Ladies, he's still singular. Just kidding.

Also, this was my last boba outing before leaving the D. Thanks Joe!

Overall rating: 6/10