Today's Great Bubble Tea Project was semi-successful...
I chose the black milk tea mix, so as to not shock myself too much. So far, I've stuck to pretty tame flavors of bubble tea at salons. The green tea at Bubblemaineia surprised me a bit, though -- it turns out it's flavored with jasmine, so it tasted like a flower garden. Yuck. Plus, I spilled it all over my hand trying to puncture the lid with the straw, so I smelled like a flower garden. Yuck. Not that I don't like flowers and gardens, but this was just a bit too flowery for me!
The other flavors are strawberry, honeydew, and taro! I have to admit, I'm pretty intrigued by the thought of taro tea. I've only eaten taro as chips!
I opted to use the multi-colored pearls I bought at Portland Spice Company instead of the black or green ones that came with my kit.
I didn't think bubble tea for one really required the use of a saucepan and the stove, so I microwaved the pearls.
Pretty, no? The microwave method worked just fine, and was very easy. I have to admit, though, that as usual, I overestimated the power of my microwave. They could have used another minute or so. They're extra chewy. =)
After the shaker deposited a fair amount of tea onto my shirt and countertop, here's what I ended up with:
Most valuable lesson learned: for whatever reason, the flat-bottomed straws that came with the kit just don't transport the pearls as well as the angled-bottomed ones I always get from tea salons. I'll have to trim them!
The tea is pretty good for a powder that came out of an envelope. It's very sweet, but it definitely tastes like milky black tea. It didn't turn out too bubbly or frothy, though. Maybe if I mix the next batch in my purple mixer with the whip attachment, that will work some good bubbles in (that's for Mariko)! =)
Kelli January 18, 2005 12:28 PM PST Mariko -- I will e-mail you soon. I'd love to work out a bit of a trade -- something "Maine" for something bubbly? =)
Autumnist -- I bought those pearls at a local market, but the brand name is "WuFuYuan," and they're dirtributed by Walong Marketing Inc. in Buena Park, CA. Hope this helps!
Autumnmist January 17, 2005 06:02 PM PST Oh neato neato... I've never seen multicolored pearls before. Do you know anywhere online that sells them?
Mariko January 16, 2005 09:25 PM PST Ooooh, love the multicolored pearls, and the little shaker and cup are very cute. I found a big box of tea bags with the tea they use for bubble tea. It's a Chinese oolong blend, I think. I haven't made it yet, but maybe one of these days ...
