A quick search through Google News shows that the bubble tea (aka pearl tea, aka boba tea) phenomenon has spread to most metropolitan areas of the U.S. News reports made mention of the tapioca balls appearing in teas in North Carolina, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and even India. Despite having been exposed to bubble tea early on in its journey from Taiwan to Asian American communities, it took me until yesterday to be struck by the recollection that little gelatinous balls in a beverage had been marketed once before: Orbitz Soda. While it’s not the same as bubble tea, whose tapioca balls usually settle to the bottom of the milky tea to be slurped up through specially super-sized straws, I can’t help but think of Orbitz as a strange alien step-relative…ahead of its time perhaps, but alas, just not very pleasant tasting.