It all started when Drew Shih, a Woodside dad to four girls, grew weary of driving across Redwood City or to San Mateo almost daily in search of boba.

Each of his four daughters, aged 11 to 19, had a different boba order, so they sometimes would drive around visiting multiple tea shops to satisfy everyone. Why, he wondered, wasn’t there a location closer to where his family lived that could meet all of their needs?

Looking to solve the problem, he and his family members, who have also lived in Korea and Taiwan, began researching different boba franchises and locations. They wanted to serve authentic Taiwanese boba that would also be accessible to a mainstream Western customer base, he says. “It became sort of an obsession.”

They ultimately landed on Kung Fu Tea, which has a menu of some

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