Bubble Tea in the making
Get your bubble tea kick
Here at Bobalife we are passionate about Bubble Tea and have many years of experience in creating amazing recipes, sourcing high quality ingredients and coming up with the most creative ideas. In the same way as coffee lovers have their Barrista’s we hope to recruit you all to become our Bubblista’s, skilled in the arts of Bubble Tea making and spreading the word to all you know! We propose to share our knowledge with our Bubblista community so that you can always source quality ingredients to indulge in your passion for all things bubble shaped. If you, a close friend or family member share our passion for Bubble Tea you’ll understand our mission to ensure that everybody has access to the ingredients and tools necessary to create shop bought quality drinks in the comfort of your own home with bubble tea kits
A friendly bubble tea store!
What is bubble tea?
Bubble tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s and the recipe usually is made by blending tea with milk, fruit and fruit juices, then adding tasty tapioca pearls or fruit boba.
Is bubble tea the same as boba?
Short answer, yes. Boba tea, bubble tea, and pearl milk tea are essentially different names for the same thing. But if you want to get technical. While bubble tea refers to this Taiwan-made drink itself, boba refers to the tapioca balls that are added to the beverage. The tapioca pearls themselves are called “boba” and gave the drink one of its names. Here are some of the most popular names or titles that people have used to refer to the drink bubble tea.
- Boba
- Bubble Tea
- Milk Tea
- Tapioca Tea
- Pearl Milk Tea
- Pearl Tea
How to make bubble tea?
Making your tasty 500ml Fruit Drink:
- Brew 200mls of tea of your choice and chill using ice cubes.
- Add Bobalife 50 ml syrup into a cocktail shaker followed by chilled tea
- Top up with 200mls cold water shake vigorously for 10 seconds
- Add more ice (if required) and pour over popping boba or tapioca and enjoy your drink!
Making delicious 500ml Milk drink:
- Brew 200mls of tea of your choice and set aside.
- Add some boiling water to the 50ml milk powder to make a paste.
- Add the hot tea to the paste and top up with boiling water and stir/shake carefully
- Pour over chosen topping and enjoy your drink!
You can also make bona tea at home with our bubble tea kits!
What are the best bubble tea flavors?
There are multiple ways you can create various recipes for bubble tea, from plain milk or tea to fruity bubble tea or even alcoholic beverages! Which means that each ingredient lends itself to an endless variety of possibilities – as they say, the world is your oyster. There are three main ingredients that you need to choose when building the flavour of your bubble tea: tea, milk, and bubbles or boba. So let talk about each part of the bubble tea and what they can bring to the drink flavour.
Teas
- Black tea is the traditional tea for Boba tea and by utilising different black tea blends (for example Early Gray) can give subtle variations in the flavor of your boba tea
- Green tea or green tea powders like matcha including jasmine green tea, is another favoured base for Boba tea.
- Fruit tea is often put together with fruit syrups or purees to convey a sweeter flavor.
While the majority of bubble teas have tea as the base, there are some versions that don’t include tea at all, but utilise alcohol or shaved ice.
Milks
Bubble tea drinks typically contain milk or a milk alternative, providing that lovely and delicious creamy flavor.
- Non-dairy milks and creamers – for example soya or almond milk, are very popular in Boba tea drinks. Another good choice can be a coconut milk.
- Sweetened condensed milk is common in more traditional Boba tea and is used in Thai tea.
To ably assist you on your bubble tea journey we supply some of the finest flavours in powder form that are a key component to creating the most delicious milky bubble tea drinks imaginable. All of our powders are sourced directly from Taiwan, the home of bubble tea and we both traditional and non-traditional flavours to suit every palate.
Boba
While the bubbles in the name of “bubble tea” really refer to the air bubbles formed by shaking up the drink, but most individuals now refer to the bubbles as the boba or pearls found in the beverage. There are several choices for this aspect of the drink.
- Tapioca pearls are sourced from the root of the cassava plant. These fantastic black balls are part of the iconic look associated with bubble tea. When cooked correctly they will expand to twice their normal size and become sticky and chewy having the texture similar to that of a gummy bear sweet. On their own, they do not have much flavour but are typically mixed with a sweetener before being added to your chosen drink!are the
- Popping boba, initially offered as an alternative to tapioca in bubble tea drinks these wonderfully tasty show stoppers have now taken over the dessert space with many alternative uses in ice creams, milkshakes, cocktails, slush drinks and frozen yoghurt.
- Taro balls are made from the taro root, and can be added to taro root bubble tea or other drinks.
- Jelly cubes can provide a sweet or herbal flavor to boba tea, complementing green tea or fruity drinks.
Bubble tea kits for great boba tea at home
But if you don’t know where to start, why not chose some of our diy bubble tea kits, and you can try many of flavours in the comfort of your home.
Is Boba Tea Vegan?
Both tapioca and popping boba are gluten-free and vegan as are the fruit syrups and the tea itself. The milk powders are vegetarian and gluten-free.
What creates the flavor of Boba Tea?
There are two components that create the flavor of bubble tea. Of course, the most obvious addition to the tea’s flavor comes from the choice of syrup that you use. All of the flavors that we’ve mentioned here come in syrup form. The syrup is added to the tea itself to give it its distinctive taste.
However, let’s not forget the importance of the tea too. After all, boba tea would be nothing without the actual tea itself! It’s possible to use any kind of tea when making bubble tea, but each type has its own effect on the overall flavor.
Some of the most popular teas used in the making of boba tea include black tea, jasmine tea, oolong tea and green tea, although sometimes you can find other kinds like Early Grey in use. In general, it’s best to choose the strongest tea you can find when making bubble tea so that its flavor will shine through and complement the syrup for the best possible tasting experience.
You can also choose from our bubble tea starter kits who contain various flavours.