Bubble tea and third-wave coffee often coexist like dueling dragons, making plenty of noise in their loyal fanbases but rarely burning brightly together. While different, these two beverage markets share a dedication to community and fostering camaraderie one cup at a time, and in the case of Loose Leaf Boba Company, quality tea and coffee is but one stellar solution to uniting our increasingly expansive universe.
The idea for building a better, stronger boba company arrived in 2012, when co-founders and partners, Thomas Liu and Jasmine Yip, offered a selection of homemade bubble teas at a swap meet at Jasmine’s high school in West Covina. The two entrepreneurs spent the weekend serving beverages to critical acclaim, gaining unstoppable momentum from rather humble beginnings. Both Thomas and Jasmine grew up in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California surrounded by a patchwork of cultures and influences that shaped their unique perspectives of the world around them. This became the foundation of their vision for building community around good food and drinks, taking inspiration from their Asian American roots and the flavors of Southern California. Loose Leaf Boba Company is an interesting breed in the specialty coffee and tea scene for this very reason, standing as one of the few companies that are defined by their environments rather than a product of personal preference.
In 2018, Loose Leaf Boba Company opened its flagship store in Long Beach, effectively putting their spin on specialty bubble tea into action. Third-wave bubble tea is a relatively new concept with few competitors, which was part of the driving force in launching a renaissance for Thomas and Jasmine. Inspired by the precision, quality, and technique that has become synonymous with third-wave coffee, Thomas and Jasmine applied the same principles and craftsmanship to the early architecture of Loose Leaf Boba Company, striving to invite intentional artistry into their business model. With this blueprint, Loose Leaf Boba Company expertly provides a third-wave bubble tea experience sprinkled with culture and community. More than anything, Thomas and Jasmine are keeping it real with all-natural ingredients and top-shelf teas from around the world. The quality of Loose Leaf Boba Company is unrivaled in this regard, as the company sources locally at all locations whenever possible. In California, for instance, they work closely with Straus Organic Milk, while in Massachusetts their primary dairy provider is Mapleline. For the alt-milk queens, they have Oatly and Califia Almond milk on bar. Transparency is a core ingredient for Loose Leaf Boba Company, and they maintain optimal clarity with their customers about everything that goes on behind the bar.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Loose Leaf Boba Company is their dedication to inclusivity and cultural awareness, bringing the world a little closer together by whisking unique identities into their rotating menus. Both Thomas and Jasmine come from diverse backgrounds, and it was the presence of personal culture throughout their childhoods that found its way into the recipe of Loose Leaf Boba Company. One of their signature beverages, the Banana Foster Milk, is a new iteration of the classic New Orleans dessert, sparkling with house-toasted cinnamon, fresh bananas, caramelized Jamaican Rum brown sugar, Pandan Juice, and Thai coconut milk. Uniting cultures and communities through food and drink is a powerful way to bring about change, reminding all of us that beneath everything else, we’re just people who love coffee and tea.
Loose Leaf Boba Company has covered a lot of ground over the years, taking various forms and reinventing itself in the process. This is, perhaps, its defining feature and greatest asset, because the humanity in growing a small business is something to be proud of. Demonstrating personal growth alongside your business comes with the adventure, and Thomas and Jasmine continue to steep double doses of humanity in everything they do with Loose Leaf Boba Company, opening the floor for new waves of development in the world that include a well-crafted beverage along the way.
