For each glass of bubble tea, brew 1 cup of jasmine or green tea. Brew it strong because you’re going to ice it:-) — to make a stronger brew use 2-3 teabags per cup or steep it longer. (purists will frown on the teabags but these days i go for convenience)
After brewing you can go ahead and make the bubble tea, or you can freeze the tea itself to use as the ice cubes later.
To make the bubble tea:
Prepare the tapioca balls first. (Follow package directions, then drain and put in a simple sugar syrup or in cold water)
Blend the following in a blender: The brewed tea, milk (your choice, we use rice milk because of dairy allergies), sugar to taste, flavoring (we use either vanilla or pandan extract — if using the latter be very careful as it’s mixed with food coloring — a drop is enough for one glass), and your choice of thickener…. three popular flavors are taro, avocado and mango. i’ve got taro here so i used it (just boil some peeled taro until really tender). add your ice cubes (either water or iced-tea-cubes) and blend-blend-blend until you have a nice smoothie. it’s just like a fruit smoothie except i think this one’s healthier. i’d probably try a sweet potato next time just for the heck of it. adzuki and other beans should be great here… probably not edamame though.
AJ, you’re probably wondering why i would go to the trouble of making this when the bubble tea powder is available — i’d rather avoid any artificial products kasi. this way i know exactly what’s in the smoothie, plus i can “sneak in” those healthy, whole foods my family needs to consume more of, like the taro.
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