The essence of boba wouldn’t be complete without the liquid and tapioca pearls that truly define the nature of bubble tea. Although the drink first originated from a mix of real tea and fruit flavoring, bubble tea has recreated itself to being known as a tea, coffee, or smoothie with tapioca on the bottom known as “boba” ("Origin"). Black and green Jasmine teas have a refreshing sweet taste when flavored syrup or juice flavored powders are shaken with simple sugar syrup. Milk tea powder can be substituted for brewed tea. The cream flavored powders create the best flavored bubble tea when shaken with filtered water, creamer and simple sugar syrup.

The final ingredient in bubble tea, perhaps the defining characteristic of bubble tea, is the tapioca pearls that everyone has come to know and love. As seen in the boba art above, the tapioca pearls is what stands out the most.

Tapioca pearls come in two colors: the traditional black tapioca pearl and the new colored tapioca pearl that comes in pastel colors. These pearls also come in two types: the semi-cooked tapioca pearl and raw tapioca pearl. The semi-cooked tapioca pearl in its uncooked state is harder, making it more resilient to shipping. The preparation time is about 10 minutes less than the raw tapioca and an unopened bag of semi-cooked tapioca will have a slightly longer shelf life. The downside to semi-cooked tapioca is that the pearl is not as chewy as the raw tapioca. Semi-cooked tapioca also loses its chewiness faster than the raw tapioca. The raw tapioca pearl is recommended because the texture is more chewy and will stay chewy longer. However, the raw tapioca pearl is very delicate; if you pinch a pearl between your two fingers, the pearl breaks easily into powder ("Bubble Tea").

An interesting alternative to the tapioca pearls is coconut meat (Adams). Coconut meat, with its gelatin-like properties, is also fun to suck up through the fat straw and will tantalize your taste buds with flavors such as lychee and pineapple. Coconut meat can be used in addition to tapioca or as an alternative.

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References

Adams, Wanda A. “Bubble teas a fun food to play with.” 02 Jan 2002. The Honolulu Advertiser. 10 Mar 2006. <http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Jan/02/il/il15a.html>.

“Bubble Tea.” 06 Mar 2006. Wikipedia. 10 Mar 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea>.

“The Tale of the Bubble Tea Origin.” 03 Mar 2003. Jorbins. 10 Mar 2006. <http://www.jorbins.com/food-drink-magazine/articles/bubble-tea-origin.php>.

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