Where Does Boba Tea Come From?
This is a drink that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and spread throughout Southeast Asia before finding its way to the U.S. Most of us think of bubble tea as being synonymous with boba tapioca pearls, but bubble tea was originally just a cold milk tea that was shaken until frothy. Sometimes boba were added, but basil seeds or cubes of jelly were also used.
Where You Can Find Boba Tapioca Pearls
You can find boba at almost any Asian grocery store or online. These marble-sized spheres are made from tapioca, just like smaller pearls we use for tapioca pudding. They come in a range of colors, but all boba have a fairly neutral flavor. Once cooked, it's best to mix them with some sugar syrup — this gives them some sweetness and also helps preserve any pearls you're not using right away.
Keeping Boba Soft and Chewy
Boba are at their chewiest best if used within a few hours of cooking. However, the longer cooking method I outline below helps the boba stay soft and moist for several days if kept refrigerated in simple syrup. They will gradually start to harden and become crunchy in the middle. For a quick-fix bubble tea when you know you'll eat them right away, just boil the boba until they are soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
Putting the Tea in Boba Tea
The sweet and creamy bubble teas you buy in the stores are usually flavored with special powders and sweetened condensed milk. You can buy these powders online, along with the boba themselves, but I think that boba made with regular tea and other more natural sweeteners are just as good. You only need to make one cup of strong tea — any tea of your choosing — and mix it with regular milk, almond milk, sweetened condensed milk, or fruit juice. A little simple syrup leftover from soaking the boba helps sweeten things up.
How to Make Boba & Bubble Tea
- ⅓ cup cooked giant black tapioca
- 3 tablespoons simple syrup (find the recipe here.)
- ½ cup strongly black tea, cooled to room temperature
- ⅔ cup ice cubes
- ½ cup milk, cold
- Additional sugar syrup to serve
- ⅓ cup cooked giant black tapioca
- 3 tablespoons sugar syrup
- ¼ cup coconut cream (or ½ cup coconut milk)
- ½ cup milk, cold
- ⅔ cup ice cubes
- Additional sugar syrup to serve
- 1. First, cook black tapioca according to the directions on the package. And drain and wash with cold water. And soak ⅓ cup of tapioca in 3 tablespoons of simple sugar syrup. And let sit for one hour.
- 2. And make ½ cup of strong black tea with a teabag. And let cool to room temperature.
- 3. Then in a cup add the tapioca and syrup mixture, ⅔ cup of ice cubes, cooled black tea, 1 tablespoon of simple syrup and finally add in ½ cup of cold milk.
- 1. In a cup add the tapioca and syrup mixture.
- 2. And in a shaker, add ⅔ cup of ice cubes, ¼ cup of coconut cream (4 tablespoons), ½ cup of cold milk, and 1 tablespoon of simple syrup. And shake rigorously until combine. Then pour over the tapioca-syrup mixture.
Lookbook Gallery
