[bachbach]

I have had this experience.

Still don't understand the fascination - maybe I had inferior quality bubble tea.

[turtlebits]

It's a fad. That said, the texture/sweetness of the pearls can vary a lot. (They're pretty finicky to cook correctly), so you are going to get a pretty big range of quality.

That said, I prefer egg custard if I get milk tea.

[sushid]

It's a fad? I've had bubble tea for the last ~15 years. There have been and are countless boba stores all over the States.

[mc32]

Many shops used to utilize powdered milk, most decent ones use real cows’ milk.

Anyway, this is almost the same problem as finishing your drink and only having ice left —for those of us who chew ice.

[megaman8]

Well, the powdery stuff is quite similar to non-dairy creamer and thus is extremely delicious but also very very bad for your health, as they contain hydrogenated or even partially hydrogenated oils: thus may well contain trans fats!

personally, I always ask them to make it without any powders "no non-dairy creamers". in this case they'll use condensed milk or whole milk which is still bad for you but not as bad as trans fats.