What Is Bubble Tea?

Bubble tea also called pearl tea. It is a specially frothy type of drink with chewy “pearls” or tapioca-like balls in it. The original pearl tea was hot Taiwanese black with condensed milk, honey and tapioca balls resting on the bottom of the cup. The name is derived from the layer of froth produced on the top that looks like bubbles. It is a sweet, rich drink that could be a dessert in itself. Many variations have come out since, using different kinds of teas, spices, flavorings and different types of “pearls”.

The tiny pearls on bubble teas average about 6 mm in diameter and are originally made of tapioca starch, but also now are made of egg pudding, aloe pieces, coconut jelly, coffee jelly, lychee jelly or konjac jelly. A popular variant of the tapioca starch being mixed with green tea, gives the pearls a green color and a much more chewy texture. Tapioca is a product from the South American cassava plant. When cassava was introduced to the Orient in the 1800’s, it became a big hit. Today, you can find cassava in almost any store and outdoor market in the Orient from Turkey to Taipei.

The Drink Is Half The Fun

You cannot call a bubble tea a real bubble tea unless it is served exactly the way it should be served. Bubble teas need to be served in paper or plastic cups with over sized plastic dome lids and over sized plastic straws so you can suck up the pearls which usually settle at the bottom of the cup. The enjoyment of the drink can only be compared by how many people in the United States feel about Slurpees: you can only truly enjoy in the Slurpee experience if you use a plastic spoon-straw.

This iced tea recipe has spawned all kinds of bubble drink variations – bubble coffee, bubble fruit juices and bubble slushies. It has stopped becoming necessary to have tea anymore in order to enjoy a bubble drink. You do need machinery to help in the making of bubble tea as in the making of latté drinks and cappuccinos. You need either a cocktail shaker or a good blender. The straw can be acquired at any supermarket. While it may take a couple of hours to bake the tapioca dough pearls into bubble tea pearls, this is certainly easier than flying off to Taiwan just to enjoy this drink.

An American Favorite

Iced tea recipes began appearing in American cookbooks in the late 1860s. These cookbooks however, were not widely distributed. Iced tea became an official hit when it was served during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. It has grown in popularity ever since, especially with the advent of developments in refrigeration. Iced tea recipes have become especially popular as a summertime drink.

The popularity of iced tea recipes in the States never caught on in other countries. English and Irish children are generally raised on hot tea, so the taste of watered down cold tea may be unappealing for them. The United States and some parts of South America are really the only countries that have actively embraced iced tea recipes as part of their daily lives.

Cold Vs Hot

To make iced tea, you make a pot of regular tea, add a sweetener (this being the optional scenario), mix it in a pitcher and fill with cold water. The usual ratio of tea to cold water is about one to three. Since served over ice, iced tea does not give you the full flavor of cooled off hot tea. While some may say that iced tea recipes create only tea-favored water, it is however, incredibly refreshing. Lots of people who favor iced tea recipes like my mother like to add fresh slices of lemon or lime in their tea. Still others like to add a fresh sprig of mint as well. While some cold tea drinkers may prefer it, most people who love iced tea never put any milk in it.

Iced tea powders are quite inferior to the taste of the real thing, although they are easier to find in supermarkets. The disadvantage of powdered tea mixtures is that you have no control over the amount of sweetener, and the artificial flavorings or preservatives added into it. But if you love Kool-Aid, however, you will most likely enjoy instant tea mixes. A real iced tea gourmand like my mother would never drink instant tea, but always cooled off real tea mixed with water. If you try to fool them with instant iced tea recipes, you will never succeed. They always know the difference.