Explore NYC: Boba Whale

℅ Lylah Patel

Bubble tea: bubbles or no bubbles, milk or fruit tea—it’s your choice. The variations are endless, from sparkling bubbles to extra large ones, the tapioca pearls sweet and easily stuck in your straw. While other parts of Manhattan have many bubble tea shops, the Upper East Side is surprisingly bare. One of the few shops in the area, Boba Whale, is a small and cozy café located on 1st Avenue and 63rd Street. The Daltonian sat down with its owner, Harry Fa, to discuss the business.

“Boba Whale started with my favorite beverage — coffee — and my wife’s favorite, bubble tea.” Both Fa and his wife are from Indonesia, and during the pandemic, they began thinking about making their own coffee and bubble tea. However, they weren’t satisfied with the ingredients from Amazon, so they started looking for better-quality ingredients. Soon enough, they were making high-quality bubble tea and coffee. If they could make drinks they liked, why wouldn’t others also like them? So, in 2021, the couple started to search for a location, focusing on the Upper East Side because there weren’t many bubble tea shops already there. “We are very lucky to have this place because we were rejected three or four times, primarily because we didn’t have any business experience before.” They have found the community to be very accepting, and are now focusing on improving their menu and ingredients.

Opening less than a year ago, Fa proudly notes that the shop is doing well financially, and is considering expanding to two or three additional locations in the coming year. Once again focusing on less saturated markets, they plan to stay on the Upper East Side, ideally moving further uptown into the 80s. 

Fa and his wife also have plans to open an Indonesian restaurant, but considering their status as self-proclaimed “beginners” in the restaurant industry, they feel the café level is a good first business for them. Noting that Indonesian food is a more niche market than bubble tea, they feel more comfortable with the consistent demand they currently have.

In Indonesia, Fa received his bachelor’s degree and worked in marketing and business development. In 2017, Fa moved to the U.S. to study at Columbia University, where he later received his master’s degree. In conjunction with his previous experience, Fa applies what he learned in order to build the most successful business he can. His wife also has experience in business and marketing, and shortly after they moved, they began considering opening their own business.

According to Fa, the name Boba Whale comes from tapioca pearls, otherwise known as “boba.” The pearls sent them in an aquatic direction, and when thinking about their first business, they often heard references to sharks. “People love sharks in business because they’re aggressive.” However, they also have a negative quality: “The [shark] also tries to eat smaller fish.” Not wanting to cut any other businesses down in the process of building their own, the couple sought the antonym of the shark. Big, but also full of wisdom, the whale is a friendly giant, after which the couple named their business. Fa and his wife want to grow their business to great heights, but also understand the balance needed and do not want to eat their competition so much as they want to learn from them and share with them.

When asked what he would recommend to a customer, Fa replied, “We try to read the customer in order to understand if they’re new to Boba Whale, bubble tea, or to coffee so we can make the best recommendation.” Upon arriving in the U.S., the couple was surprised to learn that bubble tea was not as widespread as it is in Asia. “We have to try to educate and not expect everyone to know what bubble tea is.” Delving further into the recommendation process, they ask customers whether they like sweet, creamier flavors to fresh, lighter ones. If the customer prefers sweet, a milk tea, particularly brown sugar milk tea, is recommended. If they like fresh, a non-milk fruit tea is recommended. For coffee, if they are new to the store, Fa recommends trying the Mocha Supreme.

The store has three main customer favorites: brown sugar milk tea, taro milk tea — which is very popular, especially with teens — and oolong. However, Fa himself is not as much of a big fan of oolong, finding it to be too heavy. Personally, the shop’s coffee offerings are Fa’s favorites. Between the cold brew, coffee slush, and Mocha Supreme though, the final takes the cake. Noting the drink’s origins, Fa mentioned the bean is from Indonesia and ingredients like mocha and cherry bits are added.

To those who haven’t yet visited the store, Fa said, “[You] should just come! We have plenty of options so you can (and should) be adventurous. If you don’t like [what you ordered] just come let us know, and our bobarista will happily change the order.” This is fairly well known in the Indonesian community, and Fa puts customer satisfaction above everything. Given there are more than 200 bubble tea stores in New York City, what’s most important to Fa is introducing his beverages. 

From the cheerful smiles of the bobaristas to the cute faces printed on the lid of every bubble tea order, Boba Whale truly is a bright spot in the neighborhood. Despite opening fairly recently, it has become a frequent spot in my rotation, with my favorite drink being the strawberry fruit tea. From the bright yellow awning to its flashing LED signs, it is a happy place for many. In Fa’s words, “For us, it’s not only business but also about sharing happiness.”