Bubble tea shortage hits US, could last for several months

Bubble tea is following in the footsteps of garden gnomes, ketchup and toilet paper. That’s right, there’s another shortage in the US.

Bubble tea, a drink that includes a layer of tapioca balls, or boba, at the bottom, originated in Taiwan but has become a popular drink around the world.  However, companies are seeing delayed shipments of boba, as well as the key ingredient used to make it, tapioca starch, according to recent reports. Those delays are causing a shortage and even US-based boba producers will be hit, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported.