Homemade Bubble Tea
Bubble tea is essentially hot or cooled milk tea with the addition of tapioca pearls. In recent years bubble tea has become more wide spread and has escaped its small cult like status. This has also allowed bubble tea to take on new flavours that do not include tea but are more fruity and sweet including melon and maple flavours as well as numerous others.
The Ingredients
Tapioca pearls
Tapioca pearls are really easy to find at your local supermarket or at an Asian specific store. Bubble tea usually uses black pearls which can be flavoured. However the white pearls work just as well and are generally cheaper. So if you want a more authentic bubble tea choose black pearls bur if you want a cheaper option choose the white pearls.
Milk Tea
Milk tea powder can be hard to find in some places but most bigger supermarkets will sell at least one brand of milk tea mix. If you can't find milk tea mix you can brew your own tea and add milk and sugar to your tastes. Depending on the source authentic bubble tea can be made either from instant tea or brewed tea.
Flavoured mixes are generally the hardest ingredient to find. They can be found at some asian supermarkets but not all. Try Taiwan based supermarkets for the best selection . If you can't find them at the supermarket you may have to buy them online.
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| Dry Tapioca Pearls |
Milk Tea
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| Milk Tea Mix |
Flavoured Bubble Tea Mix
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| Cantaloupe Bubble Tea Mix |
Preparation
The hardest part of the process is preparing the tapioca pearls. This can be a little time consuming and takes some patience.
The tapioca pearls take about 25 minutes to cook in medium heat but require alot of water. The ratio can be tweaked but generally its at least five parts water to one part tapioca. Once the tapioca pearls are cooked they should be cooled for at least 20 minutes in the same pot of water.
Once the tapioca pearls have been cooled they are then rinsed with cold water. After the cold water rinse they are ready to be used.
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| Cooked Tapioca Pearls |
Preparing the tea is as easy as choosing your favourite tea and brewing it in hot water for the desired time. After the tea is brewed milk and sugar are added to the drinkers tastes. Usually bubble tea is a little sweeter that regular milk tea as it is meant to be enjoyed and calm you down in a "tropical" environment. Black milk tea is the most common bubble tea followed by green tea latte bubble tea.
Premade milk tea packets can also be used. These packets usually just require hot water and are drank right away.
If you are not a tea drinker but want to enjoy bubble tea non-tea mixes are available in numerous flavours from fruit to cola. These mixes usually are prepared hot and can be drank immediately or after they have been chilled. Some of these mixes also include tapioca in them too.
Once your tapioca pearls and the beverage are ready to go mix them together and enjoy. You are now drinking bubble tea!!
Experiment and Try
Bubble tea is about the experience and enjoying the drink. Try out different flavours and ratios of tapioca to tea. Post some pictures and comments down below of your bubble teas.
See you next time.
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