BOBA
Traditional tea + Modernized Boba
Rethinking the Boba Experience
Description
I wanted to redesign the boba drinking experience to be more personal & social, and to offer a stronger, more authentic cultural experience for Asian-Americans. Primary and secondary research, iterative sketches and models, solution significance, and final demonstration were presented.
To provide an unique Asian-American experience, the drinking apparatus was changed, and the process of and environment for drinking boba were redefined, as well.
Details
Tools & Processes: concept mapping / interviews / personas / clay modeling / industrial design sketching / SolidWorks
Overview
This was an individually-driven industrial design project to redesign how one drinks boba - a popular Taiwanese sweet milk-tea drink typically served with tapioca pearls in a plastic cup with a sealed lid & fat straw.
Boba Concept Map & Pain Points
To begin understanding how I wanted to customize and personalize the boba drinking experience, I created a concept map that included the following aspects:
-
Packaging & containment
-
Boba's traditional tea roots
-
Issues with sustainability
-
Purpose/context of boba itself
-
Target market
The next steps were to conduct additional research into the purpose and context of the sweet drink and its consumers' expectations and evaluations of their experiences.
Boba can help one feel part of a culture – it is like a cultural product for Asian Americans in the US. Something we can be “unapologetic” about.
- J. Zhang
The Rise (and Stall) of the Boba Generation
Key Insights
Interviews and surveys were conducted to further understand Asian-American personal experiences and feelings regarding the boba drinking experience. A summary of the insights from both are listed below. The conclusions from my research helped me narrow down to a specific target audience to focus the design project on.
Boba is preferred as its own experience, separate from other meals.
Getting boba is a separate event because people want to go to a place that specializes in making boba since restaurant boba isn’t usually very good.
Drinking boba is typically a social activity.
The likelihood of someone going for out boba is greatly increased if others want to participate.
For some Asian-Americans, boba is more than a sweet beverage.
Boba has sentimental value to the participants and reminds of them of their childhood.
Boba is associated with positive feelings.
A boba outing is usually connected with good experiences, like catching up with friends, celebrating events, or going out for fun.
The Identified Opportunity
How might traditional tea culture and modernized boba be combined to enhance the authenticity of the Asian-American experience?
Inspiration
From conclusion insights, I wanted to design an elevated tea drinking experience that was influenced by traditional tea culture and the social environment of modern boba drinking.
Hotpot and Korean barbeque are enjoyed in company. Various side dishes, toppings and sauces are served alongside the main dish that cooks in the middle.
Tradition Chinese Gaiwan meant for steeping and pouring fresh tea. Its small size requires frequent refills and allows fresh tea to be served often.
Design considerations were created to guide the form and function of the design iterations:
Hold and serve both hot and iced boba
Interactive form that allows consumers to pour their own tea, dish toppings and frequently refill their tea to keep it fresh
Encourage a comfortable, social atmosphere that brings people together
Ideally made from ceramics to give reference to traditional tea sets and for a classic, elevated aesthetic
Offer the boba pearls (or toppings) separately from the tea to maintain quality & freshness
Form Exploration
CAD Ideations
To enhance the authenticity of the Asian-American experience by mirroring family-style meals and encouraging frequent engagement, a more traditional approach for the boba serving apparatus was chosen.
Large tea container (no refills required)
Boba/toppings held on top
Boba/toppings stored below tea (similar to original tea)
Small tea container (requires more refills, fresher tea)
Saucer for Gaiwan to catch tea drippings. Also acts as boba container lid
Modern form
Traditional Form
Visualization
Apparatus served stacked with small teacups
Remove Gaiwan and saucer from the toppings container
1
2
3
Spoon toppings (i.e. tapioca pearls, egg pudding, grass jelly) into teacup
Pour tea of choice into teacup with toppings
Refill fresh tea often
Enjoy in the company of friends and/or family
4
Final Concept & Prototype
Modular components + tea cup
Assembled apparatus
Clay model prototype
Video demonstration of sit-down boba experience with guests
Final Keyshot Renderings
Conclusions
Anyone can enjoy this hybrid tea and boba experience, but I wanted to create something that provided more of a sense of belonging to Asian Americans and bring together a community through boba. I concluded this project with a clay prototype that demonstrated how boba would be served in a social setting where friends or family could chat and pour each other tea.
Further steps include making a complete tea set, conducting user testing, and understanding the best environment (tea shop, restaurant as an appetizer or dessert) to apply this modernized, casual tea ceremony.