NPR

Boba Shortage Could Stretch Into Summer, Leave Businesses In A Bind

What's bubble tea without boba? Americans are starting to find out. A backlog at shipping docks is stalling the arrival of the popular chewy pearls at tea shops across the country.
A lack of dockworkers at shipping ports and a shortage of drivers is creating a boba backlog in the U.S., according to a nationwide supplier of bubble tea products.

A new pandemic shortage in the U.S. could upend the habits of some bubble tea lovers.

It's a shortage of boba — the dark, chewy pearls made of tapioca that are typically found in the tea-based beverage.

"Bubble tea" or "boba tea," which , first came to the U.S. through Asian American communities. But

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