Bubble tea

Bubble tea, also known as boba tea, is a tea drink with so-called bobas. The drink can be made in countless flavors and different types of tea can be used. There are versions with fruit teas and those with milk teas. The drink can be drunk hot or cold, although it is traditionally served cold.

There are two types of boba: the bursting pearls and the black, firmer tapioca pearls. The tapioca pearls are the original boba. They are made from the starch of manioc, which is almost tasteless. Tapioca can be used as an ingredient in cooking in a similar way to corn starch. The pearls for bubble tea are boiled for around half an hour until they have a chewing gum-like consistency. The beads are then dipped in a sugar solution. Popping bobas, on the other hand, are made from alginate (seaweed starch) and contain a filling of flavored sugar syrup. If you bite into these balls, they burst in your mouth. The flavored sugar syrup means that popping bobas can be produced in many different flavors.

Special drinking straws are available for the drink, which have a larger diameter so that the bobas fit through. In most stores, you can put together your own individual bubble tea and choose between different flavors. You can also combine tapioca pearls and popping bobas.

Bubble tea arrived in Switzerland around ten years ago. However, the trend did not last long, as it was falsely claimed that the bobas contained carcinogenic substances. Bubble tea has been back since 2020 and is booming in Switzerland. Many new stores have opened and customers are queuing up everywhere for the trendy drink.

You can also make bubble tea yourself at home. You will need:
- 2.5 dl black or green tea
- sugar syrup
- 40 g tapioca pearls
- 5 dl milk

First boil the tea, but rather strongly, as it will still be mixed with milk. You can then make the sugar syrup. To do this, heat the sugar and water in equal quantities until the sugar has dissolved. You can determine the amount of sugar syrup yourself according to your taste. You can buy the tapioca pearls in various Asian stores. However, they still need to be cooked before eating. Boil the pearls until they float to the surface and simmer on a medium heat for another 30 minutes. When the pearls are ready, rinse them with cold water and place them in a mug or glass together with the sugar syrup. The tea is mixed with the milk and, depending on taste, ice cubes in a shaker and then poured into the glass.

You can find more recipes on the Internet or in bubble tea recipe books.

We hope you enjoy trying them out.