This is the kind of content I want from the most accomplished pickleball athlete of all-time. 

Sure Ben Johns’ expertise on hitting a perfect third shot drop or backhand flick is important information, but I want to know what his favorite treat is during long tournament days.

Johns used to boast about his affinity for Goldfish crackers, but he recently shared another obsession: boba tea.  

“I’ve been having bubble tea pretty religiously since I was 13 or 14 years old, and from there it developed into a semi addiction. It’s what I call the path to enlightenment,” he explained, while driving to Ni Hao Tea in Tucson, AZ during the Proton Tucson Open. 

One of Johns’ favorite parts of life on the road is visiting various boba tea spots across the country.

An especially wholesome moment in the YouTube video is when Johns pulled up to the tea shop and said: “Well, hello to you my tea darling.” 

But, it was even more entertaining to see his knowledge about boba tea on full display.

After walking viewers through the menu, Johns was elated to discover this tea shop had fresh taro, a starchy root vegetable that’s similar in texture to a potato.

“Fresh taro is my favorite type of bubble tea, and you can’t find it everywhere,” he explained.

Accompanied by his friend, Kyle, who’s new to boba, Johns ordered him a brown sugar milk tea “because brown sugar is a flavor most people like. It’s a black milk tea. And you can judge most places by how good their black milk tea is.”

For himself, Johns ordered: “A fresh taro milk tea, no sugar, light boba, and taro paste.”

Johns also enjoys the part of the boba experience where you have to aggressively puncture the sealed drink lid with the pointed straw. After one sip, he said it was a perfect drink. 

On the drive back to the venue, the veteran superstar gave his official review.

“My first reaction to this place is that it’s extremely good. If I were to critique anything, I would say that I like my fresh taro a little more grainy and fresh shavings. But, fresh taro that’s really good is honestly very hard to find. I’m just happy they had it at all,” said Johns.

“One other critique is I would say that with some of the other tea mixtures, the flavor they use like taro sometimes will have sugar already in it. So, even if you ask for 0% sugar, it’ll still be kind of sweet. And I really prefer mine to the point of it being almost bitter with a very little bit of sweetness. This one is on the lower scale because it’s a little sweet still,” he explained. 

“I like when places don’t add any sugar to their mixtures. It’s just the sugar they add separately, so when you ask for zero sugar, it’s actually no sugar,” continued Johns. 

“There’s definitely a hierarchy with bubble tea places based on how good their boba is. You’d think boba is just boba, but it’s not. They actually cook it, and depending on how long they cook it, it’s like pasta so it will be more chewy or soft. I like mine chewier or al dente so to speak. On a five-star scale, I’ll give this a 4.47,” he concluded.

Johns might turn these boba tea adventures into a series. Since he’s been to cities like Atlanta, Vegas, and Phoenix several times, he’s got favorite spots that he’d love to share.

If this is a new series from Johns, I’m certainly tuning in.

Give me all the boba tea recs from the pickleball G.O.A.T.