A new pandemic shortage in the U.S. could upend the habits of some bubble tea lovers. It's a shortage of boba — the dark, chewy pearls made of tapioca that are typically found in the tea-based beverage. "Bubble tea" or "boba tea," which originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, first came to the U.S. through Asian American communities. But now tea shops and boba fans are everywhere, and they face an ongoing shortage of the ingredients needed to make boba and other parts of the popular drink. It's another shortage in a series of many supply hits blamed on the pandemic, from toilet paper and baking yeast to ketchup packets.