Boba

Matcha Brown Sugar Boba

It goes by many names: boba tea, bubble tea, milk tea, pearl milk tea, and more. But I have always called it boba. Ever since I was a kid, I have always remembered having boba after school or on the weekends.

But what is boba?

In simplest terms, it is a Taiwanese drink consisting of a base, like milk tea. Boba can get topped with boba pearls (a mochi-like topping made of tapioca), grass jelly, egg pudding, and more. There are hundreds of flavors and variations that have spread, like brown sugar boba and Crema boba.

My favorite part of the drink has always been the boba pearls. It wasn't until last year that I realized how easy it was to make and how fun it could be.

Note - In the recipe below, I have included a brown sugar syrup recipe for brown sugar boba. It is optional to include it in your boba drink.

Recipe

Ingredients

Boba Pearls

• 1/4 cup water

• 5 tbsp Taiwanese brown sugar, Muscovado sugar, coconut sugar, or dark brown sugar

• 3/4 cup tapioca flour, more for dusting

Brown Sugar Syrup

• 2 tbsp Taiwanese brown sugar, Muscovado sugar, coconut sugar, or dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tsp tapioca flour

Tea Bases

Milk Tea

• 2-4 tsp tea powder, 2-4 tea bags, or 2-4 tbsp tea leaves

• 1/4 cup water, boiling

• 1 - 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste

• 2 cups milk

• Ice

Mango Milk Tea

• 2 cups ripe mango

• 2-4 tea bags or 2-4 tbsp tea leaves

• 1/4 cup water, boiling

• 2 cups milk

• Ice

Fruit Tea

• 1/4 cup water, boiling

• 2-4 tea bags or 2-4 tbsp tea leaves

• 2 tsp sugar, or to taste

• 1 cup sliced apple

• 1 lime

• 1 lemon

• 1 orange or 2 clementines

• 2 cups water, cold

• Ice

Directions

Boba Pearls

1. Combine water and 5 tbsp of the brown sugar in a pot or saucepan.

2. Bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, occasionally stirring with a spatula to dissolve the sugar.

3. Add a quarter of the tapioca flour to the sugar-water mixture.

4. Cook, continuously stirring until it thickens to a loose paste.

5. Add a third of the tapioca flour stirring regularly until a thicker sticky paste forms.

6. Turn off the heat and add the remaining tapioca flour. Stir until all the dough comes off of the bottom of the pan.

7. Pour the mixture onto a working surface and soak the pot or saucepan in water. Doing so will make the excess dough easier to remove.

8. Let the mixture cool for 2-3 minutes. Allowing it to cool will prevent it from burning your hands. Meanwhile, pour some tapioca flour into a small bowl or onto your surface in a little pile for dusting.

9. Knead the dough until all the tapioca flour is incorporated, and it can get formed into a ball. If it's too dry and can't get kneaded, add a little bit of cold water. If it's too wet and too sticky to knead, add a little more tapioca flour.

10. Using a knife or bench scraper dusted with tapioca flour, cut a quarter of the dough off and wrap the rest in plastic wrap. Working with a quarter of the dough at a time will prevent it from drying out too quickly.

11. To roll into tapioca pearls, you can use different methods. Below are three ways I use.

a. Pull small dough chunks from the dough and roll them into 1/3 inch diameter small

pearls. If the dough is too dry and it is hard to form pearls, wet your hands with some

water.

After you form the pearls, place them in a medium bowl with tapioca flour.

Coat them in a thin layer of tapioca flour. Coating the pearls will prevent them from sticking together.

b. Roll the dough out to about 1/3 inch in diameter, dust the dough with tapioca flour

and then cut it into cubes. Be sure the cut sides get coated with tapioca flour before

cutting it into cubes.

After cutting the boba pearl dough into cubes, coat them in a thin layer of tapioca flour

in a medium bowl.

12. Fill a large pot of water 2/3 full with water and boil. Use a ratio of about 1:10 of uncooked pearls to water.

13. When the water is at a rolling boil, put the dried boba in a sieve to remove excess tapioca flour.

14. Put the dried boba in the boiling water. Stir after adding to prevent sticking.

15. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Keep the pot at a simmer for 15 minutes until it's 90% cooked. The boba pearls will look clear around the edges, and the center will still be hard. You can taste one to check too.

16. When 90% cooked, turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Let the boba pearls sit in the pot for an additional 15 minutes.

17. Drain the boba through a colander or sieve and rinse with cold water.

The Boba Pearls are best the day they are made, they will harden after about two to four hours.

Brown Sugar Syrup

1. Combine the brown sugar and water in a small pot or saucepan over low heat.

2. Once at a simmer, add tapioca flour and continuously stir until thickened. It will have the same consistency as honey.

3. Add in boba pearls and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.

Milk tea

1. Whisk together tea powder, sugar, and boiling water. If using tea bags or tea leaves, combine with sugar and boiling water.

2. Let sit until cool.

Tip - Make tea base before making boba. Making it in advance will ensure it is cool when the boba pearls are ready.

3. In two large cups, pour in boba pearls. If boba pearls are in brown sugar syrup, you can swirl the pearls around the cup or at an angle to get a stripe effect.

4. Pour in ice and cooled tea base.

5. Pour in milk and serve.

Mango Milk Tea

1. Combine tea bags or tea leaves with sugar and boiling water.

2. Let sit until cool.

Tip - Make tea base before making boba. Making it in advance will ensure it is cool when the boba pearls are ready.

3. Place mango in a blender, food processor, or blend with an immersion blender in a tall cup or pot.

4. Combine cooled tea base and mango puree.

3. In two large cups, pour in boba pearls. If boba pearls are in brown sugar syrup, you can swirl the pearls around the cup or at an angle to get a stripe effect.

4. Pour in ice and mango puree tea base.

5. Pour in milk and serve.

Fruit Tea

1. Combine tea bags or tea leaves, sugar, and 1/4 cup of boiling water in a heatproof pitcher or bowl.

2. Cut fruit into thin slices.

3. Add fruit to the tea base.

4. Let sit until cool.

Tip - Make tea base before making boba. Making it in advance will ensure it is cool when the boba pearls are ready.

5. In two large cups, pour in boba pearls. If boba pearls are in brown sugar syrup, you can swirl the pearls around the cup or at an angle to get a stripe effect.

6. Pour in ice and fruit tea base.

7. Add water and serve.

Notes

• Tea powders are products like matcha powder.

• Flambella adapted this recipe from https://cookinginchinglish.com/homemade-boba-tapioca-pearl/#wprm-recipe-container-1393 and http://utry.it/2014/06/mixed-fruit-iced-tea-and-giveaway.html from the websites http://cookinginchinglish.com and http://utry.it.