How to Make Herbal Bubble Tea

Bubble tea is one of my favorite drink to sip on during the hot weather and is so trending at the moment especially in Asia. Being health conscious I like to use Herbal tea mixed with Black tea Originating from Ceylon. Bubble tea usually consists of sweetened tea with milk and the characteristic chewy tapioca balls, also known as “boba” . Bubble tea comes in many flavors: plain and herbal tea flavors such as black or jasmine/cinnamon/lemon grass/ginger tea; fruit flavors such as strawberry or honeydew; and even taro, which is a root vegetable commonly used in Asian dishes.

While I enjoy drinking bubble tea, I don’t particularly like the ones sold in the trendy tea bars because they contain too much sugar. The good thing is that you can make bubble tea at home easily! with this bubble tea recipe, all you really need is strong tea, tapioca pearls, milk, and a sweetener preferably honey.

WHAT KIND OF TEA to — USE?

The best kinds of tea to use are those that have a robust flavor, such as black tea from Ceylon Because you will water down the tea with milk and ice cubes, you want a strong tasting tea that will retain its flavor. If you are health conscious a herbal tea blend I recommend is from Orbit World International who deliver worldwide, ,purchased from this website.www.orbitherbz.com.

WHAT KIND OF TAPIOCA PEARLS DO YOU — USE FOR BUBBLE TEA RECIPE?

Quick cooking tapioca balls – One important thing to note about these quick-cooking tapioca pearls is that you should only cook as many as you need. The pearls stiffen as they cool, so they do not keep well overnight. However, if you leave the pearls in their cooking water, the pearls retain their soft texture for a longer time.

I typically use this brand of tapioca pearls, which cooks in about 5 minutes. I like that these pearls cook quickly, but the texture could be better. (For reference, slower cooking tapioca pearls can take up to an hour to cook.) You can find these tapioca pearls in Asian supermarkets or make your own.

WHAT KIND OF SWEETENER DO YOU — USE?

Any kind of sweetener works. However, if you use honey (or any thick syrup), it is best if you mix in the honey while the tea is hot so that the honey can dissolves evenly. The same goes for granulated sugar. Of course, this will mean that you’ll have to approximate how much sweetener you’ll need before the bubble tea is ready for tasting. You’ll probably need at least 1 tablespoons of honey for every cup of tea.

How to make Bubble Tea

You can steep the herbal tea bags 1 or 2 days before and store it in the refrigerator. Also, you can make the simple syrup several days ahead. I wouldn’t recommend cooking the tapioca pearls more than an hour ahead because the pearls harden quite quickly.

Ingredients

8 tea bags of black/herbal tea
4 cups hot water
3/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca pearls
whole milk to serve, or your choice of milk
your choice of sweetener

Instructions

Prepare the tea: Steep the tea bags or leaves with 4 cups of freshly boiled water. Let the tea sit in water until it cools completely. (See note 2)
Prepare the simple syrup (if necessary): Add the water and sugar or honey to a saucepan and quickly stir everything together. Heat the water on medium-high and cook until the water boils and the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the saucepan from heat and let the simple syrup cool before transferring to a jar.
Cook the tapioca pearls: Bring about 4 cups of water to boil and add the tapioca pearls. Stir the pearls and wait for them to float to the top. Then, cook them for another 5 minutes. Test a pearl to see if it has reached the desired level of softness. Cook the pearls for another few minutes if they are still stiff. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pearls from the hot water. Quickly rinse the pearls with water. Transfer the pearls into a bowl, and mix the pearls with a few tablespoons of simple syrup (to taste).
Assemble the Tea : Strain the tea into a pitcher. Divide the cooked tapioca pearls into 4 large glasses. Next, add a few ice cubes to each glass. Pour 1 cup of the tea into each glass. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk and 1 1/2 tablespoons of simple syrup sweetener into each glass. Stir and taste the milk tea. Add more milk or syrup to your taste.
If you are serving the beverage to guests, have a small pitcher of milk and the jar of simple syrup ready so that each guest can adjust their drinks to their taste. The drink is usually served with large boba straws (large enough for the tapioca pearls to go through). If you don’t have the straws on hand, you can use spoons to scoop out the tapioca pearls.