Critic rating: 7/10⭐️

Among Townsend Harris students, bubble tea is a very popular drink option that comes in many varieties. Other than the classic milk tea made with sweetened black tea, milk, and tapioca balls, there are multitudes of bubble tea flavors making a debut. Even boba pearls have been reinvented with the inclusion of fruit syrup that pops when you bite into a pearl. However, many people don’t have the time to go out to their nearest bobarista, and ordering delivery adds extra costs while also limiting store options. 

Joyboba is a bubble tea alternative that comes prepackaged, usually in sets of eight. The drink is more fruity and accompanied with popping boba. The ones I purchased were the Mango Passionfruit Green Tea and Raspberry Dragon Fruit Black Tea set, with four of each. The boba set with eight 12 oz cups typically costs about $15 to $20. Each drink came pre-made and packaged in cups with a strong plastic cover, similar to that of traditional boba. The only necessary preparation was putting in the straw to drink.

I tried the Raspberry Dragon Fruit Black Tea. Surprisingly, it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet, which is a notorious complaint of some bubble teas. The tea itself was delicious, and the raspberry flavor paired perfectly with the green tea. 

However, two problems with the tea were the popping boba and straws. The popping boba was hard to chew and didn’t have the usual satisfying pop that it’s recognized for. I was slightly disappointed when it took more effort to pop the boba, which deflated rather than popped. The straws also weren’t very good quality: they weren’t able to reach all the boba at the bottom of the cup and were challenging to use. 

Overall, the boba was fair. The taste wasn’t sullied by the sad popping boba and the disappointing straws. Although buying pre-made boba eliminates the freedom of customization in boba shops, it is amazing for those who need a quick sweet taste, without spending extra money.