Highlights
- Ibinabahagi ng CPA na si Katrina V. ang kanyang Pinoy background sa pamamagitan ng Boba Bar.
- Ang isa sa pinakamahalagang Pinoy flavour ng Boba Bar ay ang ube.
- Dahil open catering ang negosyo ni Katrina, kinailangan niya munang magbenta ng home kits habang may pandemya.
"Be proud of your heritage and really own it. Be proud to show what that culture means to you by showcasing what you can produce."
Para sa may-ari ng Boba Bar na si Katrina V., ginagawa niya ang bahagi niya sa pagpapakita ng mga produktong Pinoy sa pamamagitan ng kanyang mga boba tea products.
Sariling atin
"I'm a CPA by trade and I've never been in the food industry except when I was a teenager, bussing for a cafe. But I've always loved food and I've gotten more interested in Filipino flavours through the years."
Nadiskubre ni Katrina na ang Pinoy flavours ay ang paraan niya upang maipagdiwang niya ang kanyang pagiging Pilipino.
"I'm 33 now and for people like me, [who have lived in Australia for most of my life], we kind of lose our culture as we grow up. I don't even know how to speak the language; but the Filipino in me wanted to get more involved with the food I grew up with."
Filipino food is Katrina's way of connecting with her roots. Source: Supplied
Naging mahalagang pagkakataon ang baby shower ng kanyang kapatid upang maipakita ni Katrina ang maaari niyang gawin sa pagkaing kanyang kinalakihan. Gumawa siya ng DIY boba tea buffet para sa pagdiriwang na ito.
"I guess the inner child in me loves bubble tea and I did a DIY setup for them. There were a lot of people saying that it was really fun and that it would be popular in parties. From there, other family members asked me to do their events."
"There were a lot of people saying that it was really fun and that it would be popular in parties." Source: Supplied
"I started with regular Asian bubble tea, but I wanted our own Filipino flavours in there as well. That's how my menu evolved."
Panlasang Pinoy
Maraming pinagdaanang pag-aaral at taste tests ang kanyang menu.
"There were sessions that I would have my friends come over and try all my drinks. I did a few that I thought were creative in my head, but they didn't go well. Like one of the failed ones was a drink out of chocnut [Filipino peanut milk chocolate] but maybe I'll try it again next time," tawa niya.
The evolution of her menu began with a lot of research and taste tests. Source: Supplied
Habang hindi naging tagumpay ang una niyang chocnut drink mabilis naging paborito ng kanyang mga kliyente ang iba niyang inumin at pagkain.
"Our customers are mainly Filipinos or Asians. We catered for a Chinesewedding before and they wanted taho on their menu. It was pretty encouraging because a non-Filipino wanted a drink made out of tofu and burnt sugar syrup."
"Pandan, ube and there's also one that is inspired by the mango-peach pie dessert from Jollibee [a popular food chain in the Philippines]."
"It was pretty encouraging because a non-Filipino wanted a drink made out of tofu and burnt sugar syrup." Source: Supplied
Sa lahat ng flavours na nasa kanyang menu, aminado si Katrina na ang ube ang naging pinakamahalaga para sa kanila.
"Taro is a typical flavour in bubble tea, but I wanted to change it. There's a difference between taro and ube. I wanted ube because it's a Filipino flavour. The colour and flavour of ube are stronger than taro. I didn't want to dilute that. I want to keep it as strong as it is."
Kasing lakas ng mga Pinoy flavours niya, matatag din si Katrina sa kanyang kagustuhang maipakilala ang mga ito sa Australya.
"The colour and flavour of ube are stronger than taro. I didn't want to dilute that. I want to keep it as strong as it is." Source: Supplied
"The challenge is in pushing something that isn't common. It can be hard to convince people to try the products, so I do my best to communicate and tell stories about them. I give them a background as to what they are [in order to spark interest]."
Mula pop-ups patungong home kits
Maraming naging interesado sa kanyang boba tea dahil sa pop-up events, ngunit nagbago ang lahat ng nangyari ang pandemya.
"We were catering for private functions and pop-up events for a year. The nature of our business was open catering, open table. People get food with their hands. We had to stop all of that."
Habang kinailangang itigil ni Katrina ang catering, pinili niyang magbenta ng DIY boba kits online.
"The nature of our business was open catering, open table." Source: Supplied
"We call our kits Boba Bar at home. Kits have boba [tapioca pearls], sago [smaller pearls made from the sago palm] and four different teas. We did the first round during the first lockdown in April. They went quickly. I didn't expect it because there are other shops selling boba kits; but I wanted it to capture our audience, which it did."
"I've also compiled some of my own Boba Bar recipes in a book because people were missing going to our pop-up events. Now they can recreate the drinks at home. I've given them away," tawa niya.
A home kit Source: Supplied
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
