Tag: Other tea

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Have You Tried Bubble Tea?

Photo: © Shanewar | Dreamstime.com

Bubble tea may be a new and novel idea for some people.  While not common here in Australia, it can be found at many tea stands, especially those featuring Asian teas and drinks.  Usually served cold, it contains rather large tapioca balls and is enjoyed through a very large, wide straw.  Having spent many years in Taiwan, where Bubble tea originated, my kids and I enjoyed it on a regular basis—especially during the hot, muggy days of summer.  It is a fairly new drink, having first been served in the 1980’s.  Claims of who first made the tea are made by two different tea houses in Taiwan and to date I do not believe either has been successful in proving they came up with the original Bubble tea recipe.

Green, Red or Black Tea Base

As the name implies, it is usually made from freshly brewed tea –either green tea or black tea though these days there are quite a few variations on the original recipe. In fact, when first made it was served hot rather than cold. Milk and either tapioca balls or candied taro are added to the tea. You can also buy it with small, hard jelly cubes added. Fruit flavours are often added to the teas as well. Like I said, there are many different variations available and most tea houses will strive to come up with something unique to their particular shop.

A Bubble Tea By Any Other Name is Still Bubble Tea

You may find it called a number of different names including foam milk tea, pearl tea or Boba tea. Most people, at least here in Australia, simply ask for Bubble tea. Tea containing large sized tapioca balls is by far the most commonly served.  Incidentally, it was not named Bubble Tea because of the tapioca balls; which is what I originally thought.  The tea is usually made in a large disposable cup and sealed tightly over the top with plastic. Before serving, it is shaken quite vigorously which results in a thick top layer of foam – and that is why it is called ‘Bubble Tea’.

Home Made Bubble Tea

If you like to experiment with making different teas, you may find it fun to make your own Bubble tea. It is really not very difficult to do, and in order to make it even easier, it is possible to buy “Bubble tea” kits online that are shipped complete with the right kind of tapioca and even a specific tea mix.

With a little ingenuity and shopping around you can also find the ingredients here in Australia fairly easily. While using a kit to make it may be simple, you will find that you can experiment much more if you search out the ingredients and make it yourself.  Whether you purchase an online kit or buy the separate ingredients yourself, your main challenge will be cooking the tapioca so it is just right. (“Just right” can be somewhat subjective, though most Bubble Tea enthusiasts agree that the tapioca should not be overcooked, nor should it be too chewy! As I said, while it is very subjective, people will often return to the same tea shop or tea stand time after time in order to buy tea with tapioca that is, to their taste, perfect.)

Bubble Tea Ingredients

First off, track down a local Asian store of which there are usually one or two in most of larger shopping centres, and look for some large tapioca balls (1/4 inch tapioca). If you do not see them on the shelves you should ask if they are available. If not, they will probably be able to tell you where you can find them.  You may also find some stores stock a tea mix or tea blend that is specifically made for Bubble tea. You may want to try it, but it is not essential. You should also buy the large sized straws as well – remember the straws need to be large enough for those ¼ inch tapioca balls to fit through.

It is possible to buy these ingredients online, on eBay for example, however I could only see white tapioca balls and not the usual black coloured tapioca. Other online stores sell it also, but you need to buy quite a large quantity – something you may not want to do if you simply want to try it out first.

The other ingredients can be bought in any supermarket. You will need:
– Sugar or fructose syrup
– Tea – preferably loose leaf tea.  As mentioned above you can use green tea, read tea, black tea or even oolong tea. If you can’t find loose leaf tea a teabag will suffice.
– Dairy creamer, milk or cream
– A cocktail shaker

Now, Onto the Bubble Tea Recipe

Here is a very basic Bubble tea recipe you can start off with. Once you are more adept at making it and you know exactly how long to cook the tapioca balls for, you may have fun experimenting with different recipes.

¾ cup of tea for each Bubble tea you serve
milk, cream or dairy creamer
ice cubes
¼ cup of cooked tapioca per serving
syrup—either fructose syrup or syrup made from dissolving sugar in boiling water.

Using the cocktail shaker, first of all shake together the brewed tea, milk and syrup till it is all mixed together.
Add your ice cubes to the shaker and shake until you see froth on top.
Add the tapioca balls into the tall serving glass and pour the tea into the glass.
Place the large straw in each glass, and serve.

Variations to the Bubble Tea Recipe

As mentioned above, there are quite a few variations to this recipe.

* First, try using different teas. You may find fruit teas are quite tasty. Some people enjoy Bubble tea made with ginger tea or with ginger flavoured loose leaf tea.

* For a slightly different taste, try using evaporated milk instead of regular milk or creamer.

* Finally, see if you can find some candied taro balls or small cubes as a substitute or make agar-agar squares.

Footnote: Cooking Perfect Tapioca

This is the most important step in making Bubble tea—properly cooked tapioca! While hard to explain the texture it should be, in essence it should not be too hard and chewy but not too soft or jelly like either. Of course, it will take longer to cook the larger sized balls of tapioca than it does regular minute dessert tapioca.

You should generally allow 8 cups of water per cup of tapioca balls and make sure the pot you use for cooking the tapioca is large as the tapioca expands quite a lot while cooking. Boil the water first and then add the tapioca to the boiling water. If the balls seem to be stuck together you may want to stir the mix to separate them. One way to tell that they are separated is if the tapioca begins to rise to the top of the boiling water. Boil for 20 to 25 minutes, turn off the hot plate and let the pot sit for twenty minutes more.

When ready, you can pour the tapioca balls into a strainer and then rinse them with barely warm water. Stir in some fructose or syrup—this helps to keep the tapioca balls separate. It is recommended that you cook only what you are planning on using as cooked tapioca should not be stored in the refrigerator – this ruins the consistency of the balls. You can apparently store them in a Ziploc bag, flatten them out and freeze them. When unfreezing, you simply put the frozen tapioca balls into already boiling water and boil for a few minutes.

Is it Worth The Effort?

Yes, it does take a bit of effort to make Bubble tea. First you have to track down the ingredients and then it takes time to boil the tapioca. The main advantage to making it yourself is that you can tailor your recipe to your particular taste, you can experiment with different ingredients and you don’t have to go out to enjoy it.  It also is a fantastic drink to serve to visitors on a hot day and quite a good conversation starter especially if served to people who have never tried it before.

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Blooming Tea – Flowering Tea In Stock

I have just received my stash of blooming tea (also known as flowering tea) and I’m thrilled! There are ten different varieties, some with a green tea base but most with a white tea base. They’re beautiful.

You can see them all here.

They are not only a very pleasant tea drink but also a real attention getter when entertaining. Just stick one in a glass teapot,  pour on hot water and watch your guests become enthralled at the display. Honestly, even if you don’t drink the tea, the sight of the flower unfurling will be enough to wow most guests. Every one is hand made and each has its own personality. It takes between 5 to 10 minutes for one to totally unfurl.

If you are a tea lover, my suggestion is to let the tea make its presence known, let everyone have a sip of tea and then unveil your ‘best tea’.  For example, you could say, “Oh, wasn’t that great. How about tasting one of my premium white or green or oolong teas?” Then serve your best organic loose leaf tea. A winner. I’m sure.

If you have die-hard black tea drinkers (think Lipton and the sort) you can bring out your premium Red Jade tea and let everyone sample it. I have never added the ol’ “milk and sugar” to it, but I am confident that it would live up to the ol’ cup of Lipton 🙂

Honestly, tea is like wine. Once you have had a good one you will scorn everything else.

Aside from the fact that organic loose leaf teas actually do taste great, they are also very healthy for you. Think of these teas like coffee. Once everyone just drank instant (yuk). Now people buy coffee makers — even drip coffee makers, and enjoy a decent cup of coffee. Tea is the same. Introduce your friends to loose leaf tea and they will be hooked. Nothing quite tastes as good once you have had a decent, freshly brewed loose leaf tea. You can choose: green tea (with its earthy flavor), black tea (which tastes better than any teabag, oolong tea (same health benefits as green tea but a little less organic tasting), or white tea (served to Chinese royalty ONLY for many years.)

Do They Always Work As Expected?

And, back to blooming teas. Not only are they a delight to drink but they are fascinating to watch. Just think, each flowering tea is hand-made.  Most work as they should and (the first disclaimer along these lines I think) you do have the occasional dud. Yup, just like fire-crackers. Sometimes you will drop your tea ball into the boiling water and only half of it will unfurl.  OK, so the fire-cracker doesn’t go off–but the duds are VERY few and far between. We had one on the weekend; it didn’t live up to our expectations. Having said that, it is the only one so far (of many) that has not performed as well as we had hoped. That is probably why we sell 5 in each pack. All 5 should work as planned. If one doesn’t, send me a video of your fail and I will replace your tea x 2.

Blooming teas are exquisite. They are attention getters. They are hand-made, each one. They are a work of art.

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Flowering Teas Available Soon

Hopefully, within the next couple of days, I will have some fresh blooming teas arriving from China!  These are made with either a green or white tea and they are simply gorgeous, taste great and are beautiful to watch unfurl as well.  I wrote previously about flowering tea choices and included a video at the end which shows one of these delicate teas unfurling. The article also included tips on brewing and serving these teas — so if you haven’t read it, you should  catch up on the tips and ideas given.

White Tea Blooming Teas

  • Fairy Flowers Spreading  (Jasmine, Lily blooms)
  • Jasmine with Love  (Jasmine blooms)
  • Love at first sight  (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
  • Love Story By Tea (Marigold, Amaranth blooms)
  • Tea Flower Attaching (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
  • Two Dragons Playing Pearls (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)
  • Whispered tea and flowers (Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth blooms)

 

Green Tea Blooming Teas

  • Ruby (Amaranth blooms)
  • Peacock outspread (Marigold blooms)

 

White Tea

As mentioned in this article about green tea there are quite a few health benefits gained from drinking green tea and few, if any, side effects. What about white tea though?

White tea, just like green, oolong and black tea, comes from the Chinese Camellia sinensis plant. The difference with this tea, which is rumored to have been available only to Chinese Royalty, is that it is made from the buds and youngest leaves of the plants.  These buds and leaves are then left to wither in the sun, then are dried either naturally via sunlight or by other methods. In fact, the actual production of white tea is much simpler than the processes involved in green, oolong or black tea however the actual process of harvesting the tea itself — remember only the sensitive buds and young leaves are picked — is quite time consuming and great care needs to be taken not to damage the tender buds or leaves. For this reason, white tea is usually a little more expensive and up until recently less readily available than other types of common loose leaf tea.

Being from the same plant as green and oolong tea, it naturally contains most of the same health benefits. Some claim that it contains even more antioxidants than regular teas because of the little actual processing of the leaves.  The tea is light in colour and has a very mild, somewhat sweet taste. There are different types of white tea, with each type having a slightly different taste. The earthy or green taste of green teas is not present.

Silver Needle white tea is perhaps the most popular and the best quality of all of the white teas. There is a very short time frame within which the tea can be harvested — it must be harvested before the buds turn into leaves. Thus, this tea is made only from the tea buds. Buds are hand picked and the flavour is the most delicate of all of the white teas.

Next is the White Peony.  Tender buds and two leaves are harvested and made into this fine tea.  As the leaves are a little more mature, the tea is a little darker and slightly stronger tasting than Silver Needle white tea — but still retains the freshness and delicate flavor that white teas are known for.

Finally you will find other types of white tea, such as Snowbud and Tribute Eyebrow (don’t you just love the translations of the tea names!) white teas.  The blooming teas made with white tea that I will have on sale are all made with Silver Needle white tea.

Read More On Blooming Tea

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Why Opt For Organic Loose Teas?

You may be very familiar with teas or you may be just starting your journey into exploring the delightfully fragranced and flavored teas that are available. Either way, chances are that once you have sampled some of the different organic loose teas that are now readily available worldwide you will never turn back!

My Introduction To Tea

Photo By: David Menino

In my home, when young, my parents and sisters loved their cup of tea–as they do to this day.  Being dedicated tea drinkers they refused to make their tea from teabags but instead bought Lipton tea (made from broken leaves, not whole leaves). Their tea ceremony began by pouring hot water into the small, well used teapot in order to ‘heat up the pot first.” Next several teaspoons of tea were tossed into the pot and boiling water poured over. It sat for several minutes and was then poured into cups–not mugs. Everyone in my family had their tea with milk. Sugar was an option, depending on who was dieting at the time! Long gossipy conversations usually ensued, especially when the aunts were visiting. That was the extent of my knowledge about tea. I drank coffee instead.

Learning About Asian Loose Leaf Teas

Upon moving to South East Asia, suddenly my knowledge of tea was expanded. I noticed that men, not women as was traditional in my home, prepared the tea. It was brewed in tiny, rotund pots and served in small cups without handles. You never added milk or sugar!

Photo By: Krista

In Myanmar, in a northern city, Mandalay, I was served tea leaf salad–apparently a rather famous dish made with fermented green tea leaves and other additives. I was surprised at how good it actually tasted. So, there was more to tea than I had originally thought.

It wasn’t until I went to live in Taiwan, however, that my tea education really began. My husband became fascinated with the whole concept of Cha Dao, or the ‘way of tea’. He learned about tea from various tea masters, participated in tea ceremonies and ended up drinking it frequently throughout the day. In Taiwan, oolong tea (or wulong tea, as it is also known as) is usually served. He has become so enthused with tea that he has started his own tea export company–it looks like tea has really become a part of my life!

But What Is All The Fuss About Organic Loose Leaf Teas

Here is where I get to explain why organic loose teas are far superior to tea made from broken leaves, or worse yet tea brewed from teabags made from tea fannings or dust.

We all know why organic is good right? Organic tea is grown without any pesticides or chemicals. It is simply much healthier to eat organic food of all kind than to eat food from animals that have been injected with hormones or crops that have been sprayed with insecticides and other chemicals. Following the same reasoning, drinking organic tea is a more healthy choice.

If you want to really taste a tea–just as you would taste a fine wine–you want to try loose leaf tea. The flavor is richer, there are more health benefits gained from drinking tea made from loose leaves and you will able to sample the true taste of the tea as it was meant to taste.

Aside from that, it is also a lot of fun to watch loose leaf tea brewing. The tea itself is dried yet when you pour water on top of it, the leaves gradually unfurl in a very beautiful and impressive manner. Try making a pot of blooming tea–you’ll be thrilled with what you see as it is guaranteed to impress.

Another reason for choosing loose leaf tea is that you can reuse the tea leaves several times over, up to around three times. How nifty is that? The flavor gradually lessens the more cups of tea are brewed with the same tea leaves but even after several cups you can still experience the unique taste of the particular tea you are drinking.

My Favorite Loose Leaf Teas

Everyone has their own favorites when it comes to tea. My husband is a great fan of GABA tea (more on that in another post). I prefer oolong tea to green tea, mainly I think because that is what I was first introduced to. Green tea, to me, tastes a bit–well–green and leafy.

Some of my favorites at the moment include JinXuan Oolong, Osmanthus oolong and Jasmine oolong. Of course, there are so many different oolong teas that it is difficult to choose only one or two–and my preferences also tend to keep switching from one tea to the other.

If you are new to drinking oolong tea I would definitely recommend the JinXuan Oolong which is also known as milky oolong tea. It really tastes great and has a slight hint of a milk tea flavor which makes it a perfect choice in many ways for someone transitioning from drinking black tea and milk to oolong tea.

The Red Jade tea is one of the more expensive black teas sold as loose leaf tea but it is, not so surprisingly, becoming very popular amongst tea lovers.

If you love teas with a flowery taste, you would probably like the Jasmine oolong and Jasmine green tea choices. Osmanthus oolong is another great choice as the blend of the Osmanthus flowers with the oolong tea is a perfect combination–giving off a beautiful, almost heady apricot aroma with a delicious taste.

More On Loose Leaf Teas

I will be doing specific updates on each of the teas mentioned above, as well as some other teas that I am able to supply. I hope you enjoyed reading about my personal ‘tea journey’ and my favourites. I’d love to hear about yours too! Also, if anyone has any specific teas; herbal, green or oolong that you would like me to review and post more information on please just get in touch and let me know.