Going out for bubble tea is a decidedly summertime treat for me.
Instead, I just make my favorite iced Thai milk tea with tapioca pearls at home.
What is bubble tea?
The bubbles are interchangeably called boba or tapioca pearls, the latter being the most descriptive.
Theyre little spheres about the size of chickpeas, made from tapioca flour, sugar, and water.
Boil these little beads and they soften into chewy, slightly sweet starch balls.
As you drink the tea with a large straw, you pick up a few boba in every sip.
Drink the tea, chew the gummies, and enjoy your surroundings.
Dont venture to talk.
Youll lose bubbles like that.
I kept making it too weak in every way.
Too watery, not sweet enough, and not enough boba.
Finally, I settled on a ratio that brings me happiness.
Thats what happens when I buy it from the store, and thats how I like it.
The trick is to brew double-strength tea directly in the milk.
The ratio for the best at-home bubble tea is 2:1 sweet tea to bubbles.
Brew your tea
The tea part is a great place to get creative.
you’ve got the option to use any tea you like, with or without milk.
Don’t cut it with water.
Don’t use tea that was brewed separately first with water.
That makes for a diluted flavor.
Thats when little bubbles start accumulating on the sides of the pot.
Alternatively you could heat your milk in the microwave.
Ive discovered double strength tea is best for bubble tea.
Steep according to the directions of your tea, usually about five minutes.
For Thai milk tea I useChaTraMue brand.
Add the sweetener
I like to add sweetener now so it dissolves easily in the warm liquid.
Alternatively, go completely unsweetened.
I added one tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk, but sometimes I do honey.
Boil your bubbles
About 10 minutes before I want bubble tea, I boil the tapioca pearls.
I usethis pre-made bubble brandbecause the boba tastes good and the texture doesnt get too soft.
Whichever brand you use, boil the pearls according to the package directions.
Build your tea
Drain the pearls and cool them according to the packages directions.
Mine got a quick dunk in cold water to cool them off.
Pour the drained pearls into a drinking glass.
In a small pot, heat the milk until scalding.
Add the bags of tea and steep according to the package’s directions, about five minutes.
Squeeze the tea bags after they’ve steeped to get all of the tea out.
Add the cooked tapioca pearls to a glass.
Fill the glass with ice, and pour the cooled tea into the glass.
Stir, and enjoy your bubble tea.
