UPDATE: The New York Times has apologized for its bubble tea article in response to criticism from its readers.
"In retrospect, we wish we had approached the topic differently (if at all)," wrote business editor Ellen Pollock. "There may be a story in the expansion of bubble tea businesses in the United States, but there is no denying the drink has been around for quite a while. And we regret the impression left by some of the original language in the article, which we have revised in light of the concerns."
People across the world are scratching their heads in confusion after the New York Times published an article explaining the apparently new phenomenon of bubble tea (boba).
Seriously? New York Times article on bubble tea like it's 1999. https://t.co/i9nmIKuMnh
"The blobs in your tea? They're supposed to be there" read the headline to a story that also called bubble tea a "curious amalgam" that was both "complicated" and "exotic."
HOW DID THE NEW YORK TIMES JUST FIND OUT ABOUT BUBBLE TEA ALSO WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS HEADLINE?
People were quick to react to the New York Times article — particularly New Yorkers — where there are dozens of bubble tea joints across the city.
In 2017 NYT runs a hard hitting story on the bubble tea trend https://t.co/W9AjqM4p5f
NYT discovers "exotic", "complicated" bubble tea...after nearly 30 years. This whole paragraph kills me.… https://t.co/5UsYSuuhcm
There are hundreds of bubble tea shops in Manhattan & have been for *years* — the New York Times just entered 2010. https://t.co/ttfvQ8w3nb
"that time the NYT discovered bubble tea" will be a historical event I'll think about frequently in the future, what about u
Some offered advice on how to avoid "discovering" things that have actually been around for quite a while.
your food blog needs more asian friends
This NYT boba piece, besides being comically late & breathtakingly stupid, is exactly why we need diverse newsrooms https://t.co/Gb5pbG0LsH
And others were just like "...wut."
The NYT is, um, a little late to the bubble tea game. But if it's what it takes to get a boba shop on every corner.… https://t.co/Arr0OOk6xj
What. So tone deaf @nytimes. Also, didn't bubble tea "go mainstream" like a decade ago? https://t.co/LqAf6O4fAh
The New York Times had previously called bubble tea "so 2002," which certainly didn't help.
@nattgarun Previously described by NYT as "so 2002": https://t.co/B6oBkBAxbB
And people also offered up ideas for other articles on New York delicacies.
NYT should really cover Italian upstarts called "pizzerias" too. I also notice "giant pretzel" stands around town https://t.co/bdBj8j2ojM
On Thursday, the headline to the original story was changed — calling bubble tea "long a niche favorite."
Ha. They've changed the headline.
The real question, though, is who was ordering bubble tea and wondering what the deal was with the bubbles in their tea?
@radbrowndads Who orders bubble tea and is like "what the fuck are these blobs"