TGiving Time

Thanksgiving is a few days away and I thought it would be nice to go over some holiday drink recipes. Yum. Well first I have never really seen any holiday themed bubble tea. HAVE YOU? So i tried to think of some. First off these are all recipes you may have to DIY, since I know of no bubble tea vendors that do so. (Don't forget to buy those big boba straws if you are gonna make it at home. Nothing worse than making it and having no way of enjoying the boba.)

Let's talk about making boba at home first. It really isn't as difficult as you think. You can find dried boba at many Asian markets. It is best to follow whatever directions are on the package.

Here's the brand I bought. They are green tea flavored boba. I think they are pretty tasty.

Bought at M2M in EVillage

The instructions on this are basically to boil the desired amount in water until they become plump and soft, 5 mins or so. (I recommend taste testing one). Then turn off the heat and let them sit for 5 mins. These won't stay soft over night so it is best to use them fairly shortly after preparing them.

This is what I thought of for drinks:

For those who love pumpkin, go to Jamba Juice and buy their holiday pumpkin smoothie. It tastes like pumpkin pie. Then you add the boba you made at home and voila holiday pumpkin boba!

I also thought you could experiment with either gingerbread, pumpkin spice, or peppermint syrups which are widely available for coffee. These syrups could be added to milktea or even coffee tea so you can create any flavor you like at home.

For those who don't want to buy their own boba, this is a recipe I think I'm gonna make.

I'll call it the HOLIDAY CREME MARTINI.

Basic version:

• Equal parts Bailey's and Spiced Rum.
• Shake with ice, strain into chilled martini glass. 
• Garnish with cinnamon powder or stick.

(Tips: the amount of liquor depends on the size of your martini glasses and the number of drinks you're making. For an individual drink I would first try 1.5 shots of each liquor. You can also add more Bailey's than rum if you don't want your drink to be too strong.)

Variations:

• There are several ways to alter this drink. 
• For a more creamy cocktail, add a splash of cream or eggnog at the end. 
• Try different flavors of Bailey's, like mint or caramel.
• Also you can garnish this drink with a mini candy cane or mint, depending on what you prefer.
• You can also drizzle some chocolate syrup on the inside of the martini glass. (I'm gonna try this one)

There are many other holiday drink recipes out there. But simple is usually the best and easiest.

For instance, good old apple cider and spiced rum, either hot or cold is a classic.
(If you're ever in Ithaca, NY. Stop my Cornell orchards and buy some of their cider. I swear the best I've ever had. Cornell dairy's eggnog is also damn fine.)

I hope this is of some use. Have a great Thanksgiving!