AAPI Month: Central Texas business built on Asian roots
CENTRAL TEXAS (FOX 44) – It's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we are sharing the story of Jaja Chen — the heart and soul of Cha Community.
This is a boba tea shop founded in 2018 from a single pop-up at the Downtown Waco Farmer's Market.
Alongside her husband and co-owner Devin Li — they are the power couple that embody Asian-American pride here in Central Texas.
Exactly what makes a boba tea shop 'authentic'? Is it the ingredients in the drink and how it's prepared? Or is it where the recipe come from, the different flavors blended in, or how enjoyable it tastes?
If all these things are stamps of authenticity — then Cha Community is as 'authentic' as it gets – but there's one element that makes Cha a standout. That's its owner — Jaja Chen.
'I'm so immersed with Asian culture, cuisine, and, you know, I live and breathe that every single day,' Jaja explains.
But Jaja tells me she didn't always exude that cultural pride.
'I think as a kid, it just….I just wished that I wasn't Asian. So like School Picture Day, my mom forced me to wear our traditional garment, and I hated it,' Jaja explains.
That shame carried on throughout her childhood.
'As a child of immigrants and being Taiwanese-American in Norman, Oklahoma, it was actually very challenging,' Jaja said. 'Being bullied for my eyes being smaller.'
But her mother was determined to instill their Chinese heritage and traditions in her daughter.
'She would host international students for dinner, but I would be forced to stir the boba. So that's where I first learned how to make boba, and then I'd be in charge of them, scooping the boba and then serving the milk tea to guests,' Jaja explains.
As these hospitality skills brewed — along with continued exposure to Chinese cuisine and dining at home —
'A huge shift really came because I moved with my family at age 13 to China, then Taiwan,' she says.
The 'one Asian' shame was no more, and eventually fell away.
'I think it was actually a lot more of like an awakening of my love for my Chinese culture, heritage,' Jaja says.
And the little tapioca pearls called 'boba' cemented themselves into her life — for good.
'I actually went to high school in Taichung, Taiwan, which is where the original boba shop is from,' Jaja says. 'There was a boba shop on every block. So like, after school, we would walk to boba shops with friends.'
Forever changed — all these experiences came back with her to Waco where she attended Baylor University.
'A huge part of my challenge was finding belonging and connection and feeling more ashamed about my culture, as opposed to celebrating or uplifting my culture,' Jaja explains.
And now as the proud owner of three Cha Communities — she gets to do that every single day.
'I always say it's more than just the food or the drinks, like at the end of the day, it is the heart of wanting to create belonging,' Jaja said.
And back to that question of what makes a boba tea shop so 'authentic':
'It's an overflow of my cultural roots, and then being authentic to my story,' Jaja says.
It's all in the foundation.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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