Bubble Tea is a favorite warm weather beverage here. I've organized my
notes on how I prepare it - here you go, and hope someone out there in
cyberland finds this helpful.
-S-
Everything you need to know about making your own Bubble Tea
Bubble Tea can mean different things; you can read the Wiki on it for
more information. At our house, we make it the way we prefer it, which
is in the fruit-flavored tradition. (The other tradition is with milk -
you're on your own for that one, but it's quite similar.) Bubble Tea
for us means iced green tea, flavored with fruit-based sugar syrup, with
tapioca "boba" or "pearls" added that you drink through a large straw.
The Tea
There are many ways to do this, and again you will find plenty to read
on the Internet. We use the same tea used when we first tried Bubble
Tea - a green tea called "gun powder" because it looks a little like gun
powder. It's a young green tea that is rolled into pellets and then pan
fired. Just as roasted nuts have more flavor than raw, so we find that
gun powder green tea produces a stronger color and flavor than most
green teas.
We get ours here - we buy it 2 lbs. at a time.
http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=56
You may "do the restaurant thing" and make your green tea fresh for each
glass of bubble tea you serve - we don't.
Bubble tea is most commonly served cold (iced) - that is what we do.
Since we're going to drink it iced, anyway, we prefer to make our tea by
the pitcher full. We find it keeps well enough at room temperature for
as long as it takes us to go through an entire pitcher, not usually more
than a day or two in our house.
Thus, your Bubble Tea begins with a glass or pitcher of your choice of
tea - ours is gunpowder green tea.
The Tapioca "boba" or "pearls"
1. Visit http://bubbleteazone.com/boba.htm or just do a web search on
"bubble tea supplies" and order three things:
Boba (or pearls)
Flavored Syrup
Large Straws.
For boba, we order "bag of regular boba" from the link above. It's big,
3 kg, but it seems to last forever. Think of it like buying rice. I
just made boba from a bag that's a year old and it tastes fine to me.
For flavored syrup, we prefer Lychee - get what you like but try lychee
if you haven't. We don't use lychee flavoring for anything in our
cooking except for Bubble Tea, but for that purpose, it seems perfect.
At the above link, you can find flavored syrups by clicking on "Juice"
at the top of the screen.
Don't forget to order straws - regular straws won't work because the
boba are too big to fit.
2. You will also need to make some simple syrup, for which you'll need
plain old refined sugar. Please don't use anything exotic - I've used
organic sugar but that's as exotic as I'd go here. You really just want
plain, old sugar that comes in a 5 lb. bag like your mother used to buy.
3. Prepare the simple syrup - this couldn't be easier, and although you
can do it on your stove top, a microwave oven and a microwavable 2-cup
glass measuring cup are all you need - add 1-1/4 cups of water to the
measuring cup, add an equal amount of sugar, and microwave on high for
about 2-3 minutes to start. Simple syrup is done when what's in your
cup is completely clear. After the initial 2-3 minutes, give your
simple syrup a stir, let it sit for a few seconds and, if necessary,
heat it in the microwave again for another 30-60 seconds, repeating as
necessary until you have a clear liquid. You may set the simple syrup
aside for now - you may also prepare the simple syrup later - up to you.
4. To prepare Boba, do the following:
- put some boba and some water in a pot, bring to a boil. It's a bit
like making rice - the exact amount of water is even less critical. Try
2-3 parts water to 1 part boba - you're going to throw away the cooking
liquid, anyway. Cook on high until it boils, then lower the heat to a
simmer.
- let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so
- let sit in pot afterwards for another 30 minutes.
- rise your boba in a colander or strainer to get rid of most of the
cooking liquid.
- make a simple syrup if you haven't already. Use about as much sugar
as you used boba - that's a rough guide.
- combine the simple syrup and cooked, rinsed boba in a container on
your kitchen counter and leave soak for at least an hour, preferably
several hours.
How to serve
1. Put green tea into a tall glass - no more than half full.
2. Add flavored syrup, stir well.
3. Add warm boba, which will fall to the bottom.
4. Add ice, drink through big straws.
Saving and reheating boba
5. Put away the boba you didn't use. Any plastic or glass container
should do. Refrigerate the entire batch as one. Your boba will keep
very nicely this way for up to two weeks, maybe even longer. If your
batch starts to seem a bit stale, freshen it by draining the liquid,
rinsing again, and adding a fresh batch of simple syrup.
6. When you want to make another Bubble Tea, take as much boba as you
require, put it into a microwavable container, and heat for about 30
seconds. The boba should be warm, almost hot, and soft - if they're not
soft, they're not hot enough.
notes on how I prepare it - here you go, and hope someone out there in
cyberland finds this helpful.
-S-
Everything you need to know about making your own Bubble Tea
Bubble Tea can mean different things; you can read the Wiki on it for
more information. At our house, we make it the way we prefer it, which
is in the fruit-flavored tradition. (The other tradition is with milk -
you're on your own for that one, but it's quite similar.) Bubble Tea
for us means iced green tea, flavored with fruit-based sugar syrup, with
tapioca "boba" or "pearls" added that you drink through a large straw.
The Tea
There are many ways to do this, and again you will find plenty to read
on the Internet. We use the same tea used when we first tried Bubble
Tea - a green tea called "gun powder" because it looks a little like gun
powder. It's a young green tea that is rolled into pellets and then pan
fired. Just as roasted nuts have more flavor than raw, so we find that
gun powder green tea produces a stronger color and flavor than most
green teas.
We get ours here - we buy it 2 lbs. at a time.
http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=56
You may "do the restaurant thing" and make your green tea fresh for each
glass of bubble tea you serve - we don't.
Bubble tea is most commonly served cold (iced) - that is what we do.
Since we're going to drink it iced, anyway, we prefer to make our tea by
the pitcher full. We find it keeps well enough at room temperature for
as long as it takes us to go through an entire pitcher, not usually more
than a day or two in our house.
Thus, your Bubble Tea begins with a glass or pitcher of your choice of
tea - ours is gunpowder green tea.
The Tapioca "boba" or "pearls"
1. Visit http://bubbleteazone.com/boba.htm or just do a web search on
"bubble tea supplies" and order three things:
Boba (or pearls)
Flavored Syrup
Large Straws.
For boba, we order "bag of regular boba" from the link above. It's big,
3 kg, but it seems to last forever. Think of it like buying rice. I
just made boba from a bag that's a year old and it tastes fine to me.
For flavored syrup, we prefer Lychee - get what you like but try lychee
if you haven't. We don't use lychee flavoring for anything in our
cooking except for Bubble Tea, but for that purpose, it seems perfect.
At the above link, you can find flavored syrups by clicking on "Juice"
at the top of the screen.
Don't forget to order straws - regular straws won't work because the
boba are too big to fit.
2. You will also need to make some simple syrup, for which you'll need
plain old refined sugar. Please don't use anything exotic - I've used
organic sugar but that's as exotic as I'd go here. You really just want
plain, old sugar that comes in a 5 lb. bag like your mother used to buy.
3. Prepare the simple syrup - this couldn't be easier, and although you
can do it on your stove top, a microwave oven and a microwavable 2-cup
glass measuring cup are all you need - add 1-1/4 cups of water to the
measuring cup, add an equal amount of sugar, and microwave on high for
about 2-3 minutes to start. Simple syrup is done when what's in your
cup is completely clear. After the initial 2-3 minutes, give your
simple syrup a stir, let it sit for a few seconds and, if necessary,
heat it in the microwave again for another 30-60 seconds, repeating as
necessary until you have a clear liquid. You may set the simple syrup
aside for now - you may also prepare the simple syrup later - up to you.
4. To prepare Boba, do the following:
- put some boba and some water in a pot, bring to a boil. It's a bit
like making rice - the exact amount of water is even less critical. Try
2-3 parts water to 1 part boba - you're going to throw away the cooking
liquid, anyway. Cook on high until it boils, then lower the heat to a
simmer.
- let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so
- let sit in pot afterwards for another 30 minutes.
- rise your boba in a colander or strainer to get rid of most of the
cooking liquid.
- make a simple syrup if you haven't already. Use about as much sugar
as you used boba - that's a rough guide.
- combine the simple syrup and cooked, rinsed boba in a container on
your kitchen counter and leave soak for at least an hour, preferably
several hours.
How to serve
1. Put green tea into a tall glass - no more than half full.
2. Add flavored syrup, stir well.
3. Add warm boba, which will fall to the bottom.
4. Add ice, drink through big straws.
Saving and reheating boba
5. Put away the boba you didn't use. Any plastic or glass container
should do. Refrigerate the entire batch as one. Your boba will keep
very nicely this way for up to two weeks, maybe even longer. If your
batch starts to seem a bit stale, freshen it by draining the liquid,
rinsing again, and adding a fresh batch of simple syrup.
6. When you want to make another Bubble Tea, take as much boba as you
require, put it into a microwavable container, and heat for about 30
seconds. The boba should be warm, almost hot, and soft - if they're not
soft, they're not hot enough.