Where are the bubbles in bubble tea?

Coming from a middle school of mainly Hispanic students, I was shocked by the heavy Asian culture at my new high school. There were names and foods and languages I had never really been exposed to before. One drink in particular, called “bubble tea,” was mentioned frequently among my classmates. I assumed it was some kind of carbonated tea beverage. The explanation they eventually gave me for this drink, “sweet tea with these gooey tapioca ball things,” did not appeal to me. One day, a few weeks into school, I ran into a girl in my environmental club on the bus. She invited me to get bubble tea with her and her sister and I accepted, just for the sake of meeting new people. When we got to the bubble tea shop, my friend ordered a plain milk bubble tea for me and I watched anxiously as the gooey tapioca was poured into my cup. I had always been a picky child and bubble tea was completely foreign to me. When I was handed my tea, my friend inserted a fat pink straw into my cup and I cautiously took a tiny sip. The tea tasted like sweet, milky Lipton, rather than the exotic flavor I had been expecting. However my next sip shot a slimy chunk of tapioca down my throat, causing me to choke. My friend giggled next to me, warning me not to drink so fast. When I finally got the tapioca in my mouth I almost gagged at the strange texture and lack of flavor. Though I lied to my friend that I enjoyed the bubble tea, I had absolutely no intention of ever trying it again. Now, years later, I am a big fan of bubble tea. I tried it again my sophomore year of high school and that time I loved it. However, the only place I will drink bubble tea is at a shop called TenRen’s, so I am still quite limited in my drinking of bubble tea.