Tapioca Balls

In the last few years I have been making efforts to branch out in my eating habits. I imagine this is due in part to all the Food Network shows that have worked their way into my viewing rotation, and definitely to some scrumptious food blogs that I frequent. I love Smitten Kitchen* and The Pioneer Woman in particular. But part of the credit probably just goes to realizing that my tastes have changed as I've gotten older. For instance, if you had asked me to try sushi 10 years ago I would have flatly refused. Today it's one of my favorite foods. I do admit - I prefer the cooked stuff, but I've at least attempted some of the raw.

There are things you don't outgrow though. I have tried to like mushrooms, but ew-gross-no. It's a texture thing. I've also recently realized that I love Greek food. With that revelation I decided that maybe olives deserved another chance, but when I put that theory to the test a few weeks ago I had to make a concerted effort not to gag and spit that sucker across the room. I drive Mark a little crazy because I always want to try new things, and it's a 50/50 bet whether the remainder will end up in the trash or not. It's become an expensive little habit.

My latest experiment was boba tea. Need a visual? Here you go:

I have wanted to try it for awhile, and my good buddy Staci was recently extolling it's awesomeness, so I thought it was time to take the jump. I went to Fat Straws in Plano over the weekend and ordered a boba black tea latte. For those of you unfamiliar with boba tea, boba balls are made of tapioca and carrageenen powder (whatever that is). They sink to the bottom and you suck them up through your straw as you're drinking. To some of you this may sound gross right off the bat, but I like sweet smushy things as a general rule, so I figured this would be right up my alley. I envisioned something like firm little balls of tapioca pudding, and strangely enough, that sounded good to me.

As they handed over my drink my first impression was "......." A pause, if you will. The color of the boba balls was a little off-putting, but I still had high hopes. I tentatively sucked one of those little guys up the straw and gave it a chew...and kept chewing...and chewing. The texture was slimy at first and firm in the middle. The word congealed comes to mind. Sounds appetizing, right? Definitely nothing like the tapioca pudding goodness that I had imagined. I wasn't ready to give up though. I kept sipping and chewing until I was about halfway through and that was all I could take. Boba tea and I have parted ways for good, I'm sorry to say. I would definitely go back to Fat Straws for just their tea though - it's excellent - so I'll claim a small success there.

So strike another one off the list. I won't give up though. I love food (definitely more than I should, as evidenced by my expanding waistline) and I love the thrill of discovering something new that is out of this world - even if I have to spit out a few olives or choke down some carrageenen powder in the process. Any suggestions?

*I figured out links! Somebody pat me on the back. Or at least stop shaking your head at my technical ineptitude. :)