What’s the secret to 1 of Phoenix’s best milk tea shops? Homemade boba

When AB Wang opened Mochi Fresh near Arizona State University four years ago, he was inspired to set himself apart from other boba tea shops in metro Phoenix.

Having previously worked at a bubble tea business, Wang knew that many places used artificial flavors, creamers and powders to make milk teas, smoothies and other dessert drinks. So he forged a new path, creating a menu that relies on real fruit, organic milk, homemade syrups and boba made fresh throughout the day.

“In Tempe, we couldn’t find good boba,” Wang, who moved to the East Valley 18 years ago, told The Arizona Republic. “I wanted healthy, good-tasting boba drinks. That’s why we are here.”

More handmade boba:How to order like a pro at metro Phoenix's best locally owned boba shop

Mochi Fresh’s boba — also called tapioca pearls — is “softer and chewier” than the cooked premade black pearls that most bubble tea shops serve. It’s a texture reminiscent of mochi, or Japanese rice cakes, said Asia Newell, the store’s manager.

“Since we use tapioca starch, it’s more of a mochi texture,” she said. “So that’s where the Mochi Fresh (came from).”

The store’s staff make three to four batches of boba each day, Wang estimated. Mochi Fresh has three boba flavors: brown sugar, strawberry and mango.

According to Newell, the fruit-flavored boba is inspired by popping boba — or popping pearls — which are spheres of juice encased in a gel layer that bursts when bitten. Though they have the same shape as tapioca boba, they are not madeof tapioca starch.

“That was all AB. He knows that the popping boba … it’s filled with artificial (flavors) and everything,” Newell said. “He wanted to still do the same boba (that) everybody loves, the chewy texture, but he wanted to do it in different flavors, like popping boba.”

Newell said Wang, who is originally from Putian, China, has traveled to Taiwan to seek out tea blends and research what bubble tea shops are serving there. The fruit-flavored drinks, such as strawberry bubble milk and watermelon smoothie, are more common in American boba shops and are among Mochi Fresh’s most popular drinks.

Brunch, Mexican, cocktails and more:23 new restaurants that have opened in metro Phoenix recently

Creating the pearls from scratch entails first making a near-solid piece of dough, placing it inside a machine that cuts it into hundreds of balls, putting them in bags for freezing, then cooking them in batches. Each flavor is made separately, as the flavoring — derived from a brown sugar-and-water liquid and fruit nectars — is mixed in when making the dough.

First, tapioca powder from Taiwan and flavoring are poured into an industrial-size mixer and left to blend for several minutes to make a dough. All the air is hand-pressed out of the dough before it is placed in what Newell described as a “boba cutter.”

“It rolls the dough and cuts it into little boba sizes. It’s so fresh that you have to put it in the freezer one bag at a time because if you stack it on top (of each other) it becomes all crushed. … It’s very delicate and very powdery,” she said.

Cooking three types of boba each morning takes at least an hour. The frozen pearls are first cooked in boiling water for 18 minutes — “that way it gets super cooked through all the way,” Newell said — then left to steam for 28 minutes to obtain a “super soft texture.”

The store’s staff also brew black, green and Thai tea in the morning and throughout the day.

Since opening in 2019, Mochi Fresh has garnered a strong local fan base. Regulars who recommended the shop to their friends were one of the reasons the locally owned business “managed to pull through” the pandemic, Newell said.

“We definitely see regulars in here all the time, so it’s a good, strong, community,” she said.

“We always treat everyone like family,” Wang said. “We want to see happy faces.”

Newell said the Mochi Fresh team, which includes Wang’s wife and son, often has family dinners after closing.

“It’s definitely very family-oriented, though obviously we’re not all blood related. But definitely (a) close-knit family,” she said. “He considers everyone that works here family.”

Her boss has brought up expanding the business “every single year,” Newell added. When asked about when Arizonans can expect a second location, Wang was optimistic about making that a reality.

“(In) a couple more years, you can see many locations of Mochi Fresh,” Wang predicted. “I (am) working on that.”

Find your new favorite:100 essential restaurants in metro Phoenix

Strawberry boba milk, the signature milk tea and the watermelon smoothie are the store’s most popular drinks, Newell said. Mochi Fresh also has some food options, including mochi donuts, gyoza and takoyaki, which are balls of octopus pieces cooked in batter and drizzled with eel sauce.

Brewed tea drinks include:

Fruit teas include:

Milk teas include:

Bubble milk drinks include:

Smoothies include:

Soy, oat and almond milk alternatives are offered for 75 cents extra. Toppings, which cost 75 cents-$1 more, include herb and lychee jelly, custard pudding, Oreo crumbles, brown sugar boba, strawberry boba, mango boba, crystal boba, cheese foam, fruit pieces and aloe vera.

To see the full menu, click on “online order” on Mochi Fresh’s website, https://www.mochifresh.com.

Details: Noon-9 p.m. daily. 960 W. University Drive, Tempe. From $4.29, plus tax. 480-597-3115, https://www.mochifresh.com.

Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.