Bubble Tea: What it is and How to Prepare it

The Secrets and Recipe for Making Bubble Tea at Home

Bubble tea, a tasty drink created in Taiwan in the eighties, has now become a widespread trend in capitals and large cities around the world. But what exactly is it, and what makes it so special? The fundamental elements of bubble tea are a base of sweetened tea, cow or plant milk, and the famous tapioca pearls, however, this drink can be revisited by using different types of tea and enriched with unusual and fun ingredients, a versatility that has contributed to the birth of numerous specialized bubble tea shops, even in Italy, which offer it in various flavors. In this article, we discover together the characteristics of this oriental drink and see how to prepare a homemade bubble tea just like you could order on the streets of Taiwan.

Bubble Tea: What It Is and Its Origin

The bubble tea (波霸奶茶), also known as boba tea or nǎichá, is a drink originating from Taiwan, created around the eighties, which has spread worldwide over time, first in the United States and then in Europe, becoming a very trendy and delicious street drink, one of the latest trends in the beverage sector, recreated in different variations and flavors for some years also in Italy, where more and more bubble tea shops are emerging.

But what is bubble tea? It is a refreshing and tasty drink based on various types of tea, to which milk or cream, various flavors, and possibly sugar can be added. The main characteristic of boba tea, however, is the famous "balls" or "tapioca pearls," with a gelatinous consistency, which settle at the bottom and make bubble tea a true tea to eat and drink, to be sipped with specific wide straws that allow the passage of the pearls. It is not precisely known who invented bubble tea, but it initially spread in Taiwan in both hot and cold versions, although over the years the cold one has become the most famous and consumed.

How Is Bubble Tea Made?

Bubble tea is prepared, in its original recipe, with black tea, milk, and tapioca pearls, the so-called black pearl milk tea. Over time, however, various varieties and flavors of the Taiwanese drink have been experimented with: from the use of different types of tea, milk, to the different flavors of tapioca pearls or their replacement with jelly cubes, pieces of fruit, or "popping boba," the colored and gelatinous spheres that burst in the mouth releasing a fruity syrup, the addition of flavors such as vanilla or spices, there are many bubble tea shops in Italy and abroad that offer ever new recipes, mixing European pastry tradition with oriental tea culture.

In this article, however, we want to teach you how to prepare bubble tea at home, to refresh yourself on the hottest days of summer with a fun, delicious, and refreshing drink. We propose the original bubble tea recipe, with tea, milk, and tapioca pearls that we will prepare from scratch, along with some fun and unique variations with different ingredients.

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Ingredients of Bubble Tea

As we have seen, bubble tea is made with 4 main ingredients: tea, tapioca pearls, milk, and a sweetener. Let's take a closer look at how to vary these ingredients, which teas and types of milk are more suitable, and some interesting ideas to make your bubble tea even more delicious.

The Tea to Use

Bubble teas can be prepared using various types of tea. Generally, black tea, green tea, or Oolong tea are used, as well as flavored teas like Earl Grey. However, one of the versions that has become more popular over the years is bubble tea with matcha tea, a very European variant. Thanks to the popularity of this drink and its spread in the biggest cities around the world, filled with small bubble tea shops, teas of any kind are experimented with, flavored, spiced, with the addition of fruits, flowers, and herbs. The most recommended teas are still those that are rather robust, able to express their flavor despite the richness of this preparation, such as jasmine tea or lychee tea, or fruit-flavored tea, like peach or passion fruit. Visit the loose tea section of Terza Luna and choose your favorite tea. We suggest the Organic Earl Grey, the Lychee Green Pearls, or the Jasmine Tea.

Tapioca Pearls and Other Toppings

The tapioca pearls, the "bubbles" that give the bubble tea its name, are, as we have seen, a fundamental element of boba tea. Many wonder what tapioca pearls are made of. They are gelatinous balls made with tapioca starch, a gluten-free flour obtained from processing cassava, a root native to South America and known as yucca. Tapioca starch is incorporated into a sugary syrup to create a moldable dough into balls, which are boiled for a long time and stored in a sugar syrup.

Usually, the color of tapioca pearls is white or black (due to cane sugar), but thanks to the different bubble tea recipes experimented with over the years, there are tapioca balls of different colors, flavored for example with turmeric, butterfly pea flower powder, or matcha tea. Although they are the characteristic element of this drink, in the various variations of bubble tea, tapioca pearls are often replaced with other surprising and tasty elements. In many cases, for example, instead of tapioca, popping boba are used, transparent pearls that explode in the mouth releasing a sweet and fruity syrup. Like tapioca pearls, these settle at the bottom of the glass and can be sucked up with a wide straw. In other cases, gelatin cubes are used, which can be flavored as desired, or for a healthier and less caloric version, pieces of fruit or berries like blueberries, raspberries, frozen strawberries, banana, melon, or passion fruit, but also mango, pineapple, kiwi, or guava.

Milk

The addition of milk to bubble tea is optional, although it is a component present in many of the original recipes. Just like the choice of tea, the choice of milk is solely based on individual preferences. In Taiwan, soy milk is widely used, but you can also choose regular cow's milk, a different type of plant-based milk, such as coconut, almond, or rice milk, which will make the bubble tea sweeter, or for the sweet tooth, there is the option to add condensed milk or cream to your drink, turning it into a real dessert!

Recipe for Homemade Bubble Tea

Bubble tea can be easily prepared at home following the original recipe. There is no need to search for a specialized store, where the cost of bubble tea can be very high. Just get the right ingredients, choose your favorite tea, plant-based milk, and flavoring for the tapioca pearls, which we will learn to make from scratch. If you are curious to taste bubble tea, or want to have fun preparing it with friends, follow our step-by-step recipe and unleash your imagination, experimenting with added flavors, sweet syrups, and fruit.

Ingredients for Bubble Tea

For Tapioca Pearls (Boba Pearls)

• 50 grams of cane sugar
• 60 grams of water
• 100 grams of sifted tapioca

For the Tea:

• 1 tablespoon of loose tea leaves
• 400 ml of water
• 100 ml of Plant-based Beverage or Milk
• Ice
• Sugar (optional)

Procedure

• Make the tapioca pearls. In a saucepan, combine water and cane sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Bring the water and sugar mixture to a boil. If you want to color the boba pearls, you can add food coloring at this stage.
• As soon as the liquid reaches a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and add 3-4 teaspoons of tapioca starch. Stir vigorously to completely dissolve the starch in the liquid.
• Return the mixture to medium-low heat, stirring quickly and constantly. If the mixture heats up too quickly, you can temporarily remove it from the heat, continuing to stir to temper the heat.
• The mixture will begin to thicken, forming a gelatinous mass within 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the tapioca starch to this mixture, incorporating it well to obtain a uniform and malleable mixture.
• Pour the mixture onto a clean, smooth work surface. Do not worry if the mixture has lumps or dry tapioca starch, these will disappear as you knead. Note: The mixture will be very hot, so be careful when handling it to avoid burning yourself.
• Knead the mixture while it is hot to obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough, still soft and slightly sticky. Knead quickly, as the dough will harden as it cools and become difficult to shape.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and wait until it reaches room temperature. Alternatively, you can also work the dough while it is still hot.
• Dust the work surface with tapioca starch and roll out the dough to a thickness of just over half a centimeter.
• Cut the dough into 1 cm wide strips in one direction, and then in the perpendicular direction, forming 1x1 cm squares of dough. You can also use a cooling rack to imprint the pattern on the dough, to use as a guide for cutting. Cover the cut squares with plastic wrap.
• Fill a bowl with tapioca starch and set it aside. Start making balls from the dough squares (keep the rest of the squares under the plastic wrap, as the dough tends to dry out quickly when exposed to air). Put each ball in the tapioca starch bowl, moving it to cover the ball with starch.
• Repeat this process for all the dough squares. This is the step of the recipe that will take the most time.
• If the dough squares dry out and cannot form balls or develop cracks, you can lightly wet your fingers to moisten the dough, making it easier to shape.
• Once all the dough squares have been transformed into balls and coated with tapioca starch, place them on a baking sheet and let them dry for 4 hours. This will allow the tapioca pearls to be preserved for a long time.
• At one-hour intervals, lightly roll the balls on the surface of the baking sheet with the palm of your hand. After 4 hours, the balls should be firm and remain round. At this point, they can be cooked to make bubble tea, or stored in airtight containers, or vacuum-sealed and frozen.
• To cook the boba pearls, you will need at least 4-5 cups of water for each cup of tapioca pearls, or 4-5 times their volume. The provided recipe will produce about a cup of pearls, which should be enough for about 6 drinks.
• Bring the water to a boil, pour in the tapioca pearls. Immediately start stirring to prevent the pearls from sticking together. When the boba pearls float to the surface, let them cook for another 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to become translucent on the surface.
• Remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the tapioca pearls rest for 15-20 minutes, until they are completely shiny on the surface. The cooking time varies depending on the size of the pearls and how dry the dough is. The cooking liquid may be very thick at this stage.
• At this point, use a slotted spoon to remove the tapioca pearls from the pot and transfer them.
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