Bubble Tea E-Book

Ryland Peters & Small

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 103

Beschreibung

50 recipes for the deliciously fun and colourful Taiwanese tea drink that everyone's talking about! Bubble tea, also known as boba milk tea, is a Taiwanese drink that has been become hugely popular around the globe. The first bubble tea shop opened in Taichung, Taiwan, in 1988 and sold milk teas with chewy boba. Since then, bubble tea fever has spread all over Asia, Australia and beyond. In 2009 bubble tea shops began opening in North America and Europe and in the past few years the trend is growing at an exponential rate. Bubble tea is a drink made from tea and milk, and includes other ingredients such as tapioca balls, popping boba, fruit jelly or 'nata de coco' (coconut gel). It is often also finished with a whipped 'crown' topping made from cream cheese. The name bubble tea comes from the balls or boba that are added to the drink and float in the transparent cup when the drink is shaken. These are sucked up from the drinks through special oversized bubble tea straws.There are two main types of bubble tea base: the traditional black, green and oolong tea-based ones and fruit-flavoured drinks such as mango and strawberry, but you can make bubble tea from almost anything you fancy and it can also form the base of a whole range of virgin and alcoholic bubble tea cocktails too! If you haven't tried a bubble tea yet where have you been?

Leseprobe

Bubble Tea

Bubble Tea

50 fun recipes for boba and beyond

Livia Abraham

photography by ALEX LUCK

Senior Designer Toni Kay

Senior Editor Abi Waters

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Creative Director Leslie Harrington

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Food Stylist Livia Abraham

Prop Stylist Luis Peral

Indexer Vanessa Bird

First published in 2024 by

Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 East 116th Street

New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © copyright Livia Abraham 2024

Design and photography © copyright Ryland Peters & Small 2024

Illustration credits: front cover Twins Design studio, p.7 Tatsiana, p.8 Microone

ISBN: 978-1-78879-585-2

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-627-9

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China

CIP data from the Library of Congress has been applied for.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

NOTES

* Both British (metric) and American measurements (imperial plus US cups) are included; do not to alternate between the two within a recipe.

* All spoon measurements are level unless specified otherwise. Note that a level tablespoon (tbsp) is 15 ml and a level teaspoon (tsp) is 5 ml.

* To sterilize screwtop jars or bottles, preheat the oven to 160°C/150°C fan/325°F/gas 3. Wash the vessels and their lids in hot soapy water then rinse but don’t dry them. Remove rubber seals, put the jars on a baking sheet and into the oven for 10 minutes. Soak the lids in boiling water for a few minutes before using.

* All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US), unless specified as large, in which case US extra-large should be used. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very old, frail, young children, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems.

Contents

WHAT IS BUBBLE TEA?

Getting Started

Serving a Larger Crowd

THE BASE RECIPES

BUBBLE TEA RECIPES

Suppliers

Index

Acknowledgements

What is Bubble Tea?

So, what is this crazy bubble tea trend that has taken the world by storm and sees bubble tea shops popping up on every corner, some with funny cartoon-like characters in the window, some looking like colourful tea shops. Is it really true that you are eating dessert toppings and drinking tea at the same time? Yes, it is! Bubble tea is precisely that and now the whole world is eating dessert toppings and drinking tea all in one cup.

The classic bubble tea, also known as boba milk tea or pearl milk tea, is a customisable tea-based drink combined with soft, chewy, bouncy toppings that are sipped and slurped through a giant straw. This chewy beverage can be milky or fruity, and can be enjoyed hot or cold.

The original recipe from the 1980s adds tapioca pearls, commonly used to top desserts, to a classic milk tea. These pearls, also known as boba, are made from starch, which is extracted from the cassava root. These continue to be the most popular topping for bubble tea.

It is important that these pearls, and other toppings, have the perfect texture. There is a term to define this, known as Q or QQ, which means it has the perfect level of softness, springiness and bounciness. You could compare this with the way Italians swear by their pasta being al dente and as my strong-minded Italian father always told me, pasta that is not al dente is not acceptable. So, I can imagine that having the right Q is key to a good bubble tea for bubble tea connoisseurs. It is believed that bubble tea success is linked to a high level of Q factor and how much pleasure radiates from the experience of enjoying mouthful after mouthful of bouncy goodness that is so satisfying to many people.

Before the 1980s, desserts crowned with these bouncy toppings were very common across Asia and as adding them to drinks became more popular and widespread, the range of toppings for bubble tea broadened. As did the base drinks, which now vary from milk teas to fruit teas, to coffees and cocktails, and more elaborate and wild creations.

Bubble tea first expanded from its home in the middle of Asia before becoming a global trend that is now so popular it probably has as much of a following as coffee does. From its humble beginnings, in recent years it has even made its way into some supermarkets with kits enabling you to make bubble tea at home, so the fact that recipe books are being developed to reveal the depths and details of this drink is not surprising.

In this book, I have covered many varieties of bubble tea to give you the basic techniques learned through the simpler teas; then as you gain confidence from the more advanced teas, this will allow you to explore and experiment with your own creations. You will often find that in stores, bubble tea is made using a lot of pre-made syrups, powders and flavourings to allow for speed of service and to keep costs down.

To differentiate from what you might get in stores, I am encouraging you to make most of the elements of the recipes from scratch so you can create every component of your drink yourself. You can, of course, choose to make some or all of these or mix it up and use some store-bought items and some home-made ones.

The main goal of this book is for you to have fun, get creative and make some colourful drinks to share with your family and friends. As a chef and someone who spends hours in the kitchen, I find that food brings people together in amazing ways and that you can get the whole family involved in creating a beautiful meal. So, I am hoping you can do the same with bubble tea and bring the family together and play with colours and bouncy, chewy ingredients and ultimately have a good laugh and enjoy some delightful drinks. I also see this as an opportunity to have a peek into the vast world of tea and introduce some teas that you may not have used or tasted before.

TOOL KIT

Here is a list of some of the tools I worked with while making the recipes. If you will be making a lot of bubble tea on a regular basis, then I recommend going through this and making sure you have most of these available. If you are only an occasional bubble tea drinker, and might only make a few recipes here and there, then I would advise picking your recipes and seeing what is needed for each one before you get started. See the note on page 4 for how to sterilize jars.

• Jugs/pitchers

• Fine-mesh sieve/strainer

• Thermometer

• Saucepans

• Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula

• Stick blender

• Chopping board

• Sterilized jars

• Airtight containers

• Chopsticks

• Dough scraper

• Blender

• Measuring scales

• Measuring spoons/cups

• Cocktail shaker

• Milk frother (optional)

• Piping/pastry bags

• Nozzles/tips

• Hand & electric whisks

• Set of bowls

• muslin/cheesecloth

• ice cube trays

Getting Started

The first thing to decide is if you want a milky or fruity beverage. Do you like black teas and English tea with milk or are you more of a jasmine, green tea and lighter tea drinker? Black teas will be more earthy and have more body with added milk, whereas fruity teas will be lighter and often have fresh fruit, jams or purées added. You might also decide you want to skip teas altogether and use a coffee or chocolate base liquid.

Feel free to experiment with other bases, such as juices, sodas or other drinks, in combination with tea or on their own. This is the beauty of making bubble tea at home! The options are endless, and you can try anything.

Now it’s time to start making the individual components. As shown on the diagram below, bubble tea has several elements, which include boba (tapioca pearls or popping boba), the tea and liquid base, the flavourings, the toppings, the crowns and milk if you are using it.

The term ‘toppings’ can be a bit misleading as they are often placed in the bottom of the glass, but this is the standard name for all the chewy elements added to your drink, including boba, jellies, fruit or any other toppings. Crowns or garnishes always sit on top of the drink.

It is best to make all elements first, then start assembling the drink right before you serve it. Some elements, such as jams, jellies and syrups, can be made ahead. The tapioca boba, on the other hand, will always need to be cooked fresh, although they can be prepared ahead and cooked when needed.

All the drink recipes, except the cocktails, are made for 454 ml/16 oz. glasses, topped up with ice, unless stated otherwise. The amount of liquid that fits in your glass may vary slightly depending on the size of your ice cubes. The average volume of liquid will be around 250 ml/1 cup per person, so if you are serving the drink warm, a smaller heatproof glass or cup should be used.

When making recipes with a cocktail shaker, please note that if your liquid is still warm, the shaker might pop open so it is advisable to put the ice in, add the liquid and give the shaker a gentle swirl so the ice can cool the content before you start shaking. Never put boiling or very hot liquids in the shaker.

serving a larger crowd

You may want to share your bubble tea creations with a group of friends or maybe even have a bubble tea bar at a party where everyone can make their own drinks. Here are a few tips and considerations, should you want to make larger quantities or make several drinks at once.

Pick your recipes and list all the components that you need to create each drink. Calculate how much of each you will need. You can easily multiply all the recipes to make larger quantities.

Start making the components, beginning with the ones with the longest shelf life. If you are making handmade tapioca pearls, then start with these, and store them uncooked until ready to use. I would also advise using some ready-made ones, including popping boba, to diversify your offering with less effort.

Frozen ingredients for slushies can also be prepared well ahead and then just blended to order and served immediately. I would not opt for any slushies for a bubble tea bar as they will melt too quickly but could be made for larger groups and blended to order.

Move on to making the jams, followed by jellies, syrups and purées. These will all keep for at least 5–6 days if stored properly. Please refer to the individual recipes for storage details.

On the day of your event, get all the liquid bases ready, allowing enough time for the teas to cool. You can either store these in the fridge until you are ready, then build your drinks to order, or you could pre-mix some drinks, mixing teas with milks, syrups, juices and alcohols if using. When you are ready to serve, you will just need to mix these into the glasses with the toppings, ice and garnishes or give a final shake in a shaker with ice.

Prepare any garnishesas close to the event as possible, such as sliced fruit or herbs, and set aside in the fridge until ready to use. If any of the drinks have melted chocolate or syrup drizzled in the glass, then all the glasses can be decorated ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

SERVING TIPS

For larger groups, I recommended setting up a tray to contain all the glasses, then having all of your tools lined up, such as spoons, shakers, ice bowl and straws. Then organize the toppings, liquid bases and garnishes by drink, so it is all easy to assemble.