Questions about bubble tea? We've got answers!

1. What is bubble tea?

2. How do I make bubble tea?

3. Do you always have to add tea to bubble tea drinks?

4. What kind of tea should I use for bubble tea beverages?

5. How do milk teas (Pearl Milk Tea & Milk Green Tea) fit in the four-component schema of bubble tea?

6. What is the difference between cream-based and sour-based powders? How about the All-in-One powders?

7. How do I use flavored syrups?

8. How do I cook and keep my tapioca pearls?

9. What is coconut jelly? What are choobees?

10. What other texture components can I add to bubble tea drinks?

1. 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 flavours, 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.

Bubble tea beverages are also sometimes known as "boba tea," the term "boba" recalling an eponymous female body part, an observation on the similar texture of tapioca pearls. Other names include "tapioca tea," "pearl milk tea," and "QQ drinks" (QQ means chewy in Chinese, referring again to the texture of the tapioca pearls).

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2. 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 bubbleteastore.com use a system developed by Bruce&Clark called 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. Under the Bubble Tea Schema, bubble tea can be thought of as having four main components:

LIQUID
FLAVOR
SWEETENER
TEXTURE

Liquid components include tea or sometimes water. We can think of this as the "base" or "medium" of bubble tea.

Flavor components include flavored powders or flavored syrups. We can think of the flavor component as the "identifier" of the drink. We can also use fresh fruits and other items as flavor components.

Sweetener most often used is sugar syrup. However, a wonderful substitute is honey - definitely adds that special touch to the final beverage. Sweetener components can be thought of as the "bond" for bubble tea drinks: they hold the different components together and make the drink complete.

Texture components provide what has come to be identified as unique about bubble tea - that is, bubble tea as beverage seem to deviate from your normal beverage because it literally gives the beverage drinker something to chew on, be it tapioca pearls or coconut jelly. We can think of texture components as the "soul" of bubble tea: without them, bubble tea does not seem to be bubble tea. Sometimes, pudding is also used to give texture to the drink.

To make one cup of bubble tea, one generally needs to combine all four components.

For example, if I were to wish for a "Taro Milk Bubble Tea," I would need:
+ LIQUID: An ounce or two of red or green tea (depending on my mood) or just plain water
+ FLAVOR: An ounce or two of Taro Flavored Powder + Milk or Creamer 
Since Taro Flavored Powder is a cream-based powder, an ounce or two of milk or cream powder is added to yield a cup with the right consistency. (On the differences between cream-based powder and sour-based powder, please refer below.)
+ SWEETENER: Sugar Syrup or Honey
+ TEXTURE: Tapioca Pearls
= Taro Milk Bubble Tea

Our All-in-One bubble tea mixes already contain the Flavor & Sweetener Components. (The Tea Latte Series of flavors also contain tea!) One only needs to add ice & water. The drink is then finished by serving it with Texture Components. 

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3. 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 aficionado's or the bubble tea maker's preference.

We recommend adding a shot of tea because we have found that tea adds a depth, complexity and smoothness to the final beverage that may not be achieved with water as the liquid base alone. We encourage bubble tea lovers 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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4. 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) and jasmine green tea. Unless very familiar with tea, we recommend starting out with these two kinds of tea. Most flavor components work very well with red tea and jasmine green tea, some better with one than the other. We encourage you to experiment with tea and come up with the combinations you like best. Part of the fun is experimentation.

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5. One popular item is "Pearl Milk Tea." Another is "Milk Green Tea." How do these two items fit in the four-component schema of bubble tea?

Pearl Milk Tea is red tea plus milk or creamer, while Milk Green Tea is green tea with milk or creamer. We can think of these items as without flavor components, the tea providing the primary flavor for the beverage.

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6. What is the difference between cream-based and sour-based powders? How about All-in-One powders?

Cream-based powders (Cream Flavored Powders) are the flavor components for milk bubble teas. Usually, milk or creamer is added to the mix to get the right consistency in the final beverage. Milk bubble teas should be smooth and creamy, going down with the right finish. It should never be watery.

Sour-based powders (Sour Flavored Powders) are also flavor components but they are different from cream-based powders in that they do not require the addition of milk or creamer. In fact, milk or creamer should not be added to the sour-based powders as this would cause curdling, kind of like what one gets when one adds lemon and milk together. Sour-based powders are especially good with tea and we recommend that you always serve them with tea.

All-in-One flavor powders/mixes are unique in that they combine several Components in the Bubble Tea Schema. One only needs to add the Liquid Component (ice & water) to the mix and serve with their Texture Component of choice. All-in-One mixes come in 3 different "Flavor Series."

The Tea Latte Series is a milky flavored drink with tea right in it!
The Funky Series includes drinks with fun and delicious flavor combinations.
The Macha Naicha (Japanese Green Tea Macha) Series features the great, rich flavor of Japanese Green Tea Macha -- either plain or infused with other flavors

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7. How do I use flavored syrups?

Syrups are another flavor component. They work like sour-based powders in that they do not require the addition of milk or creamer. These syrups are usually added to a tea-based drink to charge up the final beverage - for instance, a lychee bubble tea.

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8. How do I cook and keep tapioca pearls?

The use of texture components differentiates bubble tea beverages from other beverages: it adds character to a bubble tea drink.

bubbleteastore.com offers tapioca pearls that 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.

To make sure you get pearls that are chewy and soft, they have to be well-cooked. Please see Recipes for cooking instructions.

It is important for cooked tapioca to be well kept. After cooking and resting, the pearls should be places in a sugar syrup solution. Make sure the syrup covers the pearls completely. We suggest that honey be added to the sugar syrup solution for the pearls. The honey forms a better coating around the tapioca, keeping the tapioca pearls' chewy and soft texture longer.

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9. What is coconut jelly? What are choobees?

Coconut jelly is another texture component and is made from coconut juice and meat.

Choobees are exclusively from Bruce&Clark! They are a new texture component that requires no cooking. Comes in fun cube shapes, and are available in different colors.

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10. 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 green tea-flavored jelly, coffee-flavored jelly, 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.

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