BUBBLE TEA: Ever drink a pearl?

BUBBLE BUZZ
Ever drink a pearl? Eastern tea is America’s flavor of the moment

SEE TIPS BOXES

By Miriam Ramirez
mramirez@themonitor.com

Iced Frappuccinos leaving you cold these days? Maybe your palate just needs a little lift.
Fizzing up from the eastern hemisphere through Hawaii and finally into local Asian restaurants and even La Plaza Mall, the effervescent beverage known as bubble tea has garnered instant affection for its odd-yet-delectable taste.

What it is it and where did it come from?
Bubble tea is tea with milk, sweetener, and dark marble-shaped tapioca pellets. Some of its versions resemble a fruit smoothie because of the consistency and taste. The only major difference, the dozens of tapioca, or “boba” pearls at the bottom of the drink. Typically, the pearls are added to Thai iced tea, chai or coffee, according to bobateasupply.com, considered one fo the leading suppliers of boba ingredients who distributes the product throughout North America, Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.  
The verdict is still out as to what these tapioca marbles actually taste like. Most say they don’t taste like much, tiny jelly candy while others find them a bit bitter, almost too odd to chew.
Depending on the ingredients of the pearl, the color varies. The white and translucent pearls are made of caramel, starch and chamomile root extract. The black pearl includes sweet potato, cassava root and brown sugar, which add the black color.
The bubble tea phenomenon, also known as boba drink, pearl tea drink, boba ice tea, boba, really took off in American markets around 2000 thanks to Evan and Kari Leong, a husband and wife team and founders of Boba Tea Supply. However, the drink was introduced in the early 1980s in Taiwan.
When it reached the Western hemisphere the new fad was to add tapioca pearls into a persons drink of choice. Most of the time tapioca pearls were served in cold infused tea. After the tea and flavor were shaken well, it topped tapioca pearls that were sitting on the bottom of a clear cup, the Boba Tea Supply Web site stated.

Why bubble?
Several stories as to why its known as”bubble” tea continue to swirl around the world. Some of the most popular arguable factoids are that the tapioca pearls also looked like bubbles or that bubbles floated on the top and bottom of your drink or that in Chinese speaking countries, its called both "zhen zhu nai cha"(Pearl Milk Tea) while in the U.S. its called "Boba" (which is slang for a big breasted woman, said Daisy Kong, an expert in Chinese desserts
Other names include "tapioca milk tea"  and “milk tea with pearls."
 “In the U.S. bubble tea can be found mainly in Chinese shopping centers at snack shops or specific milk tea shops that also sell snacks,” Kong said. “In Toronto, Canada, where there there is an even larger overseas Chinese community, boba cafes are incredible (looking more like a very hip and trendy bar then a snack shop).”
There are bubble tea rooms all over bigger cities like Austin and San Antonio.

DIY bubble tea
If you’d rather not take a trip to the mall or Hop Tung in McAllen you can try your shot at the sloshy drink at home:
• Cook the tapioca
• Make a simple syrup (sugar dissolved in hot water).
• Process the syrup with milk, ice and the drink mix in a blender.
• Add the tapioca as desired

Tapioca marbles can be found at your local Asian market.
At Asian super markets such you can buy "bubble tea" kits or the ingredients separately. Ingredients include milk or condensed milk, tea (black or green tea), and tapioca balls, Kong said.
To mix things up a bit you can add different items into the milk tea instead of tapioca balls, including taro and egg pudding or grass root jelly.

Miriam Ramirez covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4468.

Classic Bubble Tea
The tea should be very strong. A Hong Kong-style tea or Ceylon Black tea is recommended. If using coffee, espresso is a good choice.
1/2 cup chilled, cooked bubble tea pearls
1 cup crushed ice
1 cup very strong chilled black tea
1 cup homogenized milk, or to taste
Honey or granulated sugar, to taste
Place pearls in a large parfait glass. Combine all remaining ingredients in a
cocktail shaker and shake rigorously until mixture is frothy. Pour into glass and serve with large-diameter straws.
Makes 1 (16 ounce) drink.

Lychee Coconut Bubble Tea Recipe
Some bubble tea shops use milk powder rather than fresh milk or a combination of the two to achieve the desired creaminess.
A 230 gram package  of dried/raw bubble tea pearls will make about 10 portions. Other fresh fruits such as papaya and mango make tasty substitutions.
1/2 cup chilled, cooked bubble tea pearls
1 cup crushed ice
1 cup canned lychees with syrup or fresh pitted fresh lychees OR other fresh fruits such as mango and papaya
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup homogenized milk or cereal cream
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Honey or sugar, to taste
Place pearls in a large parfait glass. Combine all remaining ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute or until mixture is frothy and creamy. Pour into glass and serve with extra thick straws.
Makes 1 (16 ounce) drink.

Honeydew Green Bubble Tea Recipe
1/2 to 1 cup (depending on how many you like) tapioca pearls, cooked according to package directions and soaked in honey or sugar syrup for a few minutes
4 tsp Sencha green tea
1 1/2 cups water
2 TBSP sugar
a few small slices of fresh ginger
2 cups fresh honeydew chunks
Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and let sit for 2 minutes.
Pour water over green tea. Steep for 3 minutes.
Strain tea. Add ginger slices to tea. Dissolve sugar in tea. Chill.
Remove ginger slices from tea.
Place as many tapioca pearls as you like in the bottom of each glass.
Put tea and honeydew into blender with some cracked ice (about six cubes) Blend until smooth.
Pour into glasses.
Insert fat straws.
Makes two bubble teas.

Source: www.bobafind.com