What is bubble tea?
Ever since it debuted in Taiwan in 1985, bubble tea has
captured a rapt audience everywhere it goes. Bubble tea refers
to the genre of frothy and refreshing concoctions, usually of
tea and a myriad combination of other flavors, served with or
without milk or cream, with or without tapioca pearls.
Because
tapioca pearls seem to be the common denominator among all
these various beverages, the term "bubble" in
"bubble tea" has now come to refer to the tapioca
pearls.
Originally, however, the term "bubble"
indicates the froth or head created by the vigorous shaking
method of preparation - a unique way of preparing a unique
drink.
Also known as BOBA TEA, TAPIOCA TEA, PEARL MILK TEA, QQ
DRINKS
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How do I make bubble tea?
Because the name "bubble tea" can refer more to a
genre or category of drink rather than a specific beverage,
sometimes leading to a lot of confusion among devotees and
initiates alike, we at Bruce&Clark have devised a system
called the Bruce&Clark
Bubble
Tea Schema®.
The Schema is intended to be a
conceptual framework for the understanding of bubble tea, as
well as the methodological basis for the preparation of bubble
tea beverages. To make bubble tea, combine all COMPONENTS
together:
LIQUID + FLAVOR
+ SWEETENER + TEXTURE
= Water/Tea & Ice + Flavored
Powder/Syrup + Sugar Syrup or
Honey + Choobee™ or Tapioca
Pearls Read the Bruce&Clark
Bubble Tea Schema for more information.
Use our recipes to make
delicious bubble tea drinks.
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Do you always have to add tea?
No, it is not necessary to add tea to every drink.
Although
the name "bubble tea" strongly connotes the presence
of tea in every beverage, bubble teas may or may not come with
tea, depending on the customer or the bubble tea maker's
preference. Tea adds a depth, complexity and
smoothness to the final beverage, however.
We at Bruce&Clark recommend adding a shot of tea to
their bubble tea drinks.
We encourage our clients to
experiment mixing and matching various other ingredients to
come up with their own formulations and signature blends.
Bubble tea making can be likened to cooking in this aspect,
almost an art form: the sublimity of the final beverage rests
on your creativity and imagination.
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What kind of tea should I use for
bubble tea beverages?
Most bubble teashops use two basic kinds of tea in all
their beverages:
- Red tea
(also called, confusingly enough, black tea)
- Jasmine
green tea
Unless very familiar with tea, we
recommend starting out with these two kinds of tea.
Red tea “rounds” out the drink, making it smoother
and mellower;
Jasmine Green Tea “brightens” up the drink, making it
lighter and sprightlier on the tongue. Red tea works
best with "earthy" flavors such as Taro, Sesame, Red
Bean, Green Bean, etc.
Jasmine green tea works best with "fruity" flavors
such as Lychee, Pineapple, Honeydew, etc. However, we encourage
all our clients to experiment with tea and come up with the
combinations they like best. Part of the fun is
experimentation. We also carry other kinds of teas. If you have a particular
tea in mind, please write us at info@bruceandclark.com
to inquire. Chances are, we have the tea you want as well.
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What is Original Pearl
Milk Tea?
Original Pearl Milk Tea
is how bubble tea was first conceived:
brewed tea, sweetener, plus milk or creamer are shaken
with ice.
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What is the difference between
cream-based and sour-based powders?
Milky Flavored Bubble Tea (RECIPE)
needs milk or creamer (Refined Creamer Powder) to achieve the right consistency in the final beverage.
They should be smooth and creamy, going down with the
right finish. It should never be watery. Thirst-quenching
Flavored Bubble Tea (RECIPE)
does
not require the addition of milk or creamer. In
fact, milk or creamer should not be added as this would cause
curdling. Sour Flavored Powders (SFP) are especially good with tea. note:
Flavored Syrups (FS) are used in the same way as Sour
Flavored Powders (SEE BELOW).
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How do I use flavored syrups?
Flavored Syrups (FS) are another flavor component. They work
just like Sour Flavored Powders:
- do not require the addition of
milk or creamer
- especially good added to a tea-based
drink to charge up the final beverage
(e.g. a lychee
bubble tea)
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What are the different types
of tapioca pearls?
Tapioca pearls vary greatly in quality.
At
Bruce&Clark, we make sure that the tapioca pearls we
import into North America are made from the finest ingredients
and manufactured according to strict standards. Black
Tapioca Pearls
- the most
popular kind of tapioca pearls for bubble tea
- made from tapioca starch, brown
sugar, and caramel
- available in semi-cooked tapioca pearls
or raw tapioca pearls (For
beginners, we
recommend semi-cooked tapioca pearls;
they are easier to cook and keep.)
Our tapioca pearls are vacuum-sealed to preserve freshness.
An unopened bag of tapioca pearls has a shelf life of about
six months, while opened bags have a shelf life of a week.
We
usually do not recommend opening a bag until at the time of
cooking because tapioca pearls are unusually sensitive to
changes in humidity and moisture. If by chance you do not cook
the whole bag, close and seal the bag of remaining tapioca
pearls immediately to prevent losing freshness.
Also available: Colored Tapioca Pearls
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What are Choobees™? What is coconut jelly? Choobee™
exclusively from
Bruce&Clark
- no-cook texture component
- "firmer", not as
"elastic"/"chewy" as tapioca pearls
- fun, cube shapes
- available in different colors
- matches any bubble tea flavor Coconut jelly
- another texture component
- available packed in Pineapple Syrup, Lychee Syrup,
and Green Apple Syrup
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What other texture components can
I add to bubble tea drinks?
Texture components provide that unique textural difference
that is bubble tea.
Although not chewy enough in our opinion,
some shops offer soy pudding
and flavored soy pudding
as additions to the basic bubble tea drink.
There are various
other jellies that one can add, like grass jelly,
almond jelly, and so on.
Each bubble tea maker and each bubble tea drinker is
constantly redefining what counts as bubble tea: the limit
here is our imagination - and this is what makes bubble tea an
extremely fun, innovative, and exciting product. |
