This Southeast Portland Bar Has Started Serving Boozy Boba To-Go | Eater Portland

"I found that Buddy’s Lounge, opened by Brian Jiang (a Portland State alum who learned bubble tea techniques in Taiwan) and partner Neil Chan near SE 82nd, pivoted from a conventional bar to selling sealed boozy boba for takeout after COVID closures and the legalization of to‑go cocktails. They repurposed bubble‑tea sealing machines to offer drinks like Assam black tea spiked with whiskey, Thai tea with rum and brown sugar boba, a jasmine-green‑tea–infused Greyhound with rainbow jellies, and a “Tea Bomb” combining Guinness and whiskey with black tea and brown sugar boba; Jiang’s favorite is a milk tea given a kick with a shot of whiskey. After experimenting to keep drinks cold without melting ice, they now sell the sealed drinks with wide straws for puncturing the plastic seal, offer $3 nachos to satisfy the food requirement, and are available for takeout at 8220 SE Harrison Street with plans for Postmates delivery; Portland had little history of alcoholic boba before this project." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden