Boba blast

As I write this, it's a sweltering 90-degree afternoon in autumn. The upside is that means it's the perfect weather to grab a cold boba drink (bubble tea, tapioca, pearl milk tea, or whatever the heck you want to call it). Its origins are a bit murky, but a CNN Travel article written in 2012 (http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/drink/inventor-bubble-tea-885732) pinned the drink's invention down to a Taiwanese tea shop in 1988. Apparently, the original boba drink consisted of large tapioca balls immersed in cold tea. These days, some local tea shops serve 100 or more flavors, and other just serve a handful of specialties. Whatever the case, boba seems to be picking up popularity in South Sacramento and Elk Grove with a host of new shops recently opening. Among the best of the new spots are Cool Tea Bar (5555 Sky Parkway, Suite 207; www.coolteabar.com), Snowbee Tea Station (6905 Stockton Boulevard, Suite 250) and Moo Moo (8698 Elk Grove Boulevard, Suite 2B in Elk Grove).