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07-02-2008, 09:43 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Cook At Home | | Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 369
| |  Boba Tea(bubble tea)
Ok, I had a taste of one of these lately and although I liked the tea part of it, the bubble things did not go over well.
Are the bubbles just tapioca? I love tapioca pudding but the large bubbles set off my gag reflex. If I chewed on an eyeball, I think that is the texture these reminded me of. The shell was chewy, the inside was almost a thick custard texture, not a strong flavor.
What do you guys think? Did I just get a bad drink? Is this a "good" one? I'm posting a picture of one, not the one I had, to show you guys what I'm talking about. 
__________________ Cooking is too an art. Your sculpture versus my 4-course dinner. We'll see whose art gets more votes. ~Gummy-Bear~
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07-02-2008, 10:43 PM
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I have tried that type of tea before, or something similar to it anyways, it made me gag! I have never developed a taste for any type of tea. |
07-02-2008, 11:39 PM
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Hahaha. Nope, not a bad batch of boba. That's about what it's like. Chewy, slimey little eyeballs. I thought of 'em more as gummy bears going in and didn't have a problem.
For what it's worth, though, tapioca is one of my favorite snacks - ultimate pudding, hands down. |
07-03-2008, 05:21 AM
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I think its called 'Pearl Tea' in Chinese. Its very popular in HK, Taiwan, etc.
Introduction to Chinese Tea
orientalcookbook.co.uk/chinese_tea.php
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Last edited by linguini; 09-02-2008 at 06:38 AM.
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07-03-2008, 10:17 AM
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The bubbles are tapioca.
Before I retired I was a teacher in a middle school. I had several Hmong students. Their people and culture are located in Southeast Asia. I heard them talking about it and asked how it was made. I believe they called it "nava". After a lot of questioning I figured out it was tapioca- pearl tapioca, to be exact. The tapioca is cooked and then added to a fruit-flavored drink, tea, etc. and served cold. I made some and except for the fact that I hadn't cooked the tapioca long enough, they said I had succeeded.
Be sure to serve it with a straw that has a large enough opening to accommodate the pearls. Guess how I learned that? 
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Last edited by Mezzaluna; 07-07-2008 at 10:18 AM.
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07-04-2008, 07:37 AM
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Quote: |
but the large bubbles set off my gag reflex. If I chewed on an eyeball, I think that is the texture these reminded me of
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Exactly!! My students talked me into trying it. I guess I can appreciate it, just can't swallow it. 
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07-04-2008, 11:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim  Exactly!! My students talked me into trying it. I guess I can appreciate it, just can't swallow it. | So glad to know that I'm not alone. I'll just stick to my regular tea. Hot or cold, as long as it's unsweetened without eyeballs. 
__________________ Cooking is too an art. Your sculpture versus my 4-course dinner. We'll see whose art gets more votes. ~Gummy-Bear~
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07-05-2008, 07:40 AM
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I don't care for them. I find it distracting, to have to stop drinking the liquid to chew those funny large "pearls". |
09-08-2009, 10:08 PM
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Yes, the bubbles are tapioca, which comes from cassava root. The tapioca is cooked until soft, and then soaked in a simple syrup or honey for a day or two. They then spoon the tapioca from the syrup to order. I would like bubble tea, if it were not for the tapioca being soaked in sweet solutions. I may be from the South, but I don't like my tea sweet! You probably got a standard Boba tea. If you think that is bad, I got a kiwi Boba tea in S. Korea where they put an ENTIRE kiwi into the blender. When I say entire, I mean skin and all. Drinking it was like little needles going down my throat. I wonder why ANYONE would do that to them self... |
09-24-2009, 05:19 AM
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Entire Kiwi into the blender...really..i never heard about it before.... |
10-26-2009, 05:34 PM
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Well, kiwi skin is edible, and has almost all the vitamins...
Truth be told, I think you may have had an overcooked batch of tapioca. That's actually the hardest part of making it. The milk tea often has some instant coffee in it, if it's not a really high end place, and they tend to use either whole milk or another rich cream, or nondairy creamer.
It may take a little getting used to, but as a Chinese American, I have to say that once I was introduced to it, I fell in love. However, you have to be discerning. Bubble tea is much like any other food - there are some good places, and a lot of bad places, to get it. | |
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