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!

Types of Bubble tea

From my personal research I have found three main categories of  bubble tea: 

MILK  TEA

FRUIT TEA

SLUSH / SMOOTHIE

Milk Tea - The most traditional of bubble teas. As the name suggests, this category of bubble tea is comprised mainly of milk and tea. Various teas are used such as black, green, and jasmine. Often different flavoring powders or sweeteners are added. Served cold over ice or hot.
(My Go To: honey jasmine milk tea)

Fruit Tea - Simply tea and various flavoring without milk. Usually different fruit syrups are used. Generally served cold over ice.
(My Go To: lilikoi (passion fruit) green tea)

Slush/Smoothie - This type of bubble tea can be made with the same ingredients as milk tea or fruit tea but it is blended with ice.
(My Go To: matcha green tea)
Because this bubble tea is blended, real fruit may be used to make a healthy beverage. I think real fruit is always better than flavored powders or syrups.
(My Real Fruit Go Tos: taro/coconut, papaya, or mango)


Balls and Jelly

Boba with Jelly

Most bubble teas come with black tapioca balls (although a rare few offer green tea tapioca balls yum). Tapioca balls are soft and chewy semisweet balls, shockingly made from tapioca. However, many stores now supply other offerings in addition to / instead of tapioca balls.

I have seen stores offering different flavored jellies and even pudding. These jellys come in a variety of flavors at some locations. Pearl Delights at the Pearl Harbor NEX mall in Hawaii has by far the most options I have ever seen. First off they call their jellys "fiber crystals." Supposedly they are healthy, I really can't attest to this but they are delicious. They have many rotating flavors including coconut, almond, Kona coffee, jasmine tea, strawberry, aloe.... They also have bursting boba, which are similar to regular tapioca but they come in a multiple flavors (yogurt, li hing mui ...) and are filled with a juicy center.

The different combinations are endless.

Out Damned Spot!

Spot Dessert Bar - Review
13 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10003

Yesterday I went to Spot Dessert Bar to try their bubble tea. Spot is a small place tucked below St. Marks street level. They have a small bubble tea menu since their main focus is desserts. I haven't tried their desserts but they looked really good. Although I hear they are expensive.

I ordered: Thai tea bubble tea
(if you've never had Thai tea, TRY IT, it rocks)

• Tea: very good, just like real Thai tea, not watered-down, not too sweet
• Bubbles: perfect consistency, with a slightly sweet flavor
• Price: super expensive imo, $4.75 + tax which comes out to over $5 for fairly simple bubble tea

The bubble tea was only 16oz (the grande size at Starbucks). For me the price of Spot's bubble tea is plain robbery. Especially since you can buy good quality canned Thai tea for less than $2 at a supermarket. 

Yes the quality of the bubble tea is good, but in comparison I can get the same size and quality Thai tea bubble tea from Bale in Hawaii for around $3.

I don't know if I would go back to try other flavors, the price is just too damn high!

My suggestion: If you're in the area and want bubble tea, skip Spot. Try Saint's Alp Teahouse (review forthcoming). More options, a little cheaper, and more seating.

2 out of 5 Bubbles

What is Bubble Tea?

History:
Bubble tea goes by many names: boba tea, momi, pearl tea....
There really is no right or wrong name.

Invented in Taiwan in the 1980's, bubble tea has become much more than the traditional milk, tea, flavoring, and tapioca ball concoction. Bubble tea has since become sort of a phenomenon, spreading throughout Asia and many other countries around the world. While I don't know the full geographic extent of its popularity, bubble tea is now widely found throughout the mainland U.S. Most often found in Chinatowns, Japantowns, Koreatowns, and areas of the same ilk.

I think part of bubble tea's popularity derives from its variability. It can be crafted to any individual's liking and the flavor options can be tailored to local tastes.

My Experience:
Growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii I experienced the introduction and explosion of the bubble tea phenomenon. I am not exactly sure when I had my first bubble tea, but I think it was from Pearl's Korean BBQ in Manoa Marketplace. Unfortunately, I remember their bubble tea wasn't very good. The tapioca balls were a bit hard and they used powder flavorings (not sure how it is now, or if they still make bubble tea there). But that was then. Now in Hawaii bubble tea is as common as shave ice. Almost every crackseed store (Hawaiian candy store) has it.

Personally, I have never had bubble tea from its Taiwanese birth place. So i cannot attest to its likely awesomeness. But in my opinion, the best bubble tea is from Hawaii. (I admit I am extremely biased, but it is true.)