homemade bubble tea

I made bubble tea! And it's so easy, I'm telling you!

All you have to do is buy some tapioca pearls (available at your nearest asian grocery), some straws (I found mine at Bed Bath & Beyond), some tea (available everywhere; in every flavour imaginable), some milk and sweetener and ta da! A treat beverage! A 'bevreat' as I like to call it (cuz I'm always ridiculously combining words. I'm weird like that).

Of course, I'll still be indulging in delicious Dream Tea House mixes when I'm in WEM (my favourite is barley germ). But, believe it or not, there are days when I actually don't want to drive 30 minutes to get a drink. Mind blowing, I know. Now when I'm craving a chewy addition to my usual beverage, I'm going to make it myself. Because I can... and you can, too.

Cooking the tapioca is easy and doesn't take very long, so I suggest it be the last ingredient you prepare. It is gross the day after cooking. It goes mealy and loses all of its jelly je ne sais quois. You can add a little boiling water (which works great) or zap them in the microwave for a few seconds to rejuvenate them, but it's easier to cook only as much as you need.

my favourite way to do it

based on these sources then refined so there's not as much damn work involved for one drink

{cold brew tea}

any flavour is good; I prefer black

You can read my post on how I make this right here or you can brew up some tea regular style and allow it to chill.

I don't fuss around with simple syrups and sweetened condensed milk. I just sweeten the entire jug of tea as if I were going to drink it without milk and tapioca. I was fair about it, though. I tried both and while both are delicious (you know, cuz they're sugar), I eventually decided I just didn't want to bother with them. They added pressure to my life by sitting there in the fridge, half used, screaming at me to have one bubble tea drink a day to use them up. And I don't like it when sweeteners yell at me. So naturally, you know what I'm going to say here: use what you like and sweeten it to your tastes. That's really all that matters.

{tapioca balls}

follow the directions on the package you use. The above brand specifies 1 cup of pearls and 10 cups of water for 4-6 servings

I did the math for you so you can make enough for 1-2 servings (depending on glass size)

2 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup tapioca pearls

Bring the water to a boil. Add the tapioca and gently stir until they soften and start to float. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and let cook for 5 minutes. Drain the water and allow to cool slightly.

{assembly}

Place the cooked tapioca pearls in the bottom of a glass (the pearls should take up about a quarter of the cup). Add your tea and top it off with milk. A good place to start is a 1:1 ratio tea to milk, but I've come to prefer about half that amount of milk.