Boba or Bobba? | Don’t think too much, just think – The Daily Free Press

I love boba. The endless combinations of drinks and toppings make it a treat that I keep coming back to. I have fond memories of visiting countless boba places in the Bay Area.

I’ve been thinking a lot about boba lately, not because I’m craving it – although I always have it – but because of the comments I’ve seen online.

Just the other day a video of an actor appeared on my TikTok page “For You”. Simu Liu, who spoke out against the cultural appropriation of boba in “Dragon’s Den”.

“Dragons’ Den” is a game show in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and business models to a panel of Canadian executives in order to receive money to grow their business. If you’ve ever watched “Shark Tank,” “Dragons’ Den” is similar.

The clip I saw started with a pitch for a bottled beverage company called Bobba. Liu asked the Bobba business owners if the Asian flavor is reflected in their product, the bottled bubble tea with popping boba that is so clearly of Asian origin. The clip then shows the beginning of the pitch for Bobba. The business owners wanted $1 million for 18% of their business. They then asked the panel if they had ever heard of “bubble tea,” to which Liu replied that they had not – presumably because “bubble tea” is a very whitewashed name for boba.

The presentation described boba as a “trendy, sugary, mysterious drink” whose contents “we’re never quite sure about.” Liu quickly said that he was actually pretty sure about the contents of boba.

As I continued watching the clip, I was shocked to see how little support the other panel members showed toward Liu. The answer that surprised me the most came from Manjit Minhas. Liu said he was concerned about the product because of cultural appropriation, and Minhas responded that not everything has to be traditional.

Minhas is a woman of color, and her reaction upset me because I would have expected her to be more understanding and empathetic toward Liu’s point of view, considering they are both minorities. Additionally, Minhas offered $1 million for 20% of the business.

Although the nine-minute video was difficult to watch, I sat and listened as the others failed to understand Liu’s legitimate concerns.

My For You page was flooded with people piecing together and responding to the clip in support of Liu’s statements. I was pleased to see that the majority of the thousands of comments under the original video agreed with Liu.

A few days after the original clip blew up, Minhas posted a lackluster apology on Instagram, saying she would no longer be investing in the company. Not only is it obvious that she is reading a script, but she also fails to address her blatant disregard for Liu’s concerns.

Bobba has since released one too Sorry on Instagram.

The whole situation filled me not only with frustration, but also with sadness. It was so jarring to see my culture appropriated and mocked. I’ve seen it so often in little things like clothing, but I’ve also seen it in social issues like China – and Asians in general – being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

It always bothers me when I hear people preparing or eating Asian food without even trying to pronounce the dish or its ingredients correctly. Growing up – and to this day – I hear people mispronounce chow mein, teriyaki, nori, and tempura – and the list goes on.

For those who don’t know, Chow Mein is pronounced “Chow Mean” and not “Chow Main.” Teriyaki is “te-dee-yakee,” not “tear-ree-ya-kee.” Nori is “noh-dee,” not “nor-ree.” And tempura is “tem-pu-da,” not “tem-pur-ra.”

Even the term “bubble tea” for boba falls into this category. I remember calling boba “bubble tea” in fifth grade because I was afraid people wouldn’t know what I was talking about. There are still times today where I intentionally mispronounce chow mein or teriyaki because I’m afraid Panda Express or the dining hall staff won’t know what I’m talking about.

This is a smaller problem than appropriating an entire cultural drink, but the principle remains: respect the origins of what you consume.

I could talk about cultural appropriation forever. We haven’t even gotten to talking about “summer sandwiches,” “cultural” Halloween costumes, mascots of certain schools, or “hot spring water.” However, we can save this conversation for another time.

For now I just want to say that I hope this whole Bobba fiasco opens people’s eyes to what cultural appropriation is. And while it’s still a problem, I’m glad to see how quickly people reported it.

It could be that I’m overthinking the whole thing, but I think this is really just about thinking.