This section provides an in-depth exploration of the essential ingredients used in bubble tea, detailing their roles and importance in creating the perfect beverage. Students will learn about the different types of tea, sweeteners, tapioca pearls, milk options, and flavorings, and how each ingredient contributes to the overall flavor, texture, and quality of bubble tea.

Learning Objectives:

  • Students will identify and describe the best teas for milk tea and understand their impact on flavor.
  • Students will differentiate between global milk tea varieties and appreciate their cultural significance.
  • Students will explore various bubble tea toppings and their role in enhancing texture and flavor.
  • Students will distinguish between flavoring options and learn to combine them for a balanced bubble tea.

Content Overview:

By Melissa Goh
  1. Types of Tea:
    • Best Teas for Milk Tea:
      • Assam: Known for its full body and malty, spicy notes, Assam is a popular choice for milk tea.
      • Ceylon: A smooth and aromatic black tea from Sri Lanka, well-suited for blending with milk.
      • Nilgiri: A lighter black tea with notes of honey and stone fruit, offering a balanced flavor when combined with milk.
      • English Breakfast: A classic blend of black teas designed to pair well with milk and sweetener.
      • Irish Breakfast: A strong, full-bodied tea perfect for robust milk tea blends like Hokkaido milk tea.
      • Vietnamese Golden Tips: A lesser-known but high-quality black tea with notes of caramel and burnt sugar, ideal for milk tea.
      • Flavored Black Teas: Earl Grey, Masala Chai, and Vanilla Velvet are great options for adding extra flavor to your milk tea.
      • Matcha: Culinary grade matcha is perfect for making matcha tea lattes, offering a bold, grassy flavor that pairs well with milk.
      • Rooibos: For a caffeine-free option, Rooibos teas like Vanilla Rooibos or Rooibos Chai provide a hearty base for milk tea.
    • Varieties:
      • Classic British Milk Tea: In the UK, milk tea is typically made by brewing strong black tea, such as English Breakfast or Assam, and adding a splash of milk. It’s a staple in British tea culture and can be sweetened with sugar or enjoyed with just milk.
      • Hokkaido Milk Tea: Originating from Japan, this milk tea is made using a robust black tea base like Assam, combined with rich Hokkaido milk and often sweetened with honey or caramel.
      • Okinawa Milk Tea: Also from Japan, this variety uses black tea blended with Okinawa brown sugar (kokuto), which imparts a complex, nuanced sweetness.
      • Boba (Bubble Tea): Originally from Taiwan, this popular variation is often made with milk and black tea, served with chewy tapioca pearls. Boba comes in a wide range of flavors, from fruity to floral, and is typically served iced.
      • Hong Kong Milk Tea: Made with strong black tea and either evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk, this tea is known for its rich, creamy texture and is a staple of Hong Kong’s tea culture.
      • Masala Chai: A spiced milk tea from India, Masala Chai combines black tea with traditional Indian spices and steamed milk, offering a flavorful and aromatic experience.
      • Thai Tea: A sweet and spicy milk tea from Thailand, often served iced and flavored with ingredients like star anise, tamarind, and sweetened condensed milk.
      • Tea Lattes: Tea lattes, like matcha lattes and chai lattes, are becoming increasingly popular. These drinks are made by blending tea with steamed, frothed milk, similar to a coffee latte.
      • Milk Oolong: While not technically a milk tea, Milk Oolong is a special variety of oolong tea that has a naturally creamy, buttery flavor, making it a unique and luxurious option for tea lovers.
  2. Toppings:
    • Aloe Vera:
      • Description: Extracted from aloe vera plants, this topping is highly refreshing and slightly bitter, making it an excellent addition to fruity bubble teas, especially during the summer.
    • Aiyu Jelly:
      • Description: Known as ice flower jelly, aiyu jelly is primarily made of water and is famous for its cooling properties. It pairs perfectly with citrus or honey-flavored bubble teas.
    • Pearl:
      • Description: The traditional boba pearls are chewy and fun, enhancing the flavor profile of the drink while adding a playful texture.
    • Mini Pearl:
      • Description: A smaller version of the classic boba pearl, mini pearls provide the same chewy experience but in smaller sizes and larger quantities, ensuring a taste of pearls in every sip.
    • Lychee Jelly:
      • Description: This topping captures the sweet, floral essence of lychee fruit. Its chewy texture and tropical flavor make it a popular choice for enhancing both the appearance and taste of bubble tea.
    • Pudding:
      • Description: With a creamy, custard-like texture, pudding adds a sweet and caramelized flavor to bubble tea. Its golden color provides a beautiful contrast to the drink’s liquid texture.
    • Red Bean:
      • Description: Offering a nutty, earthy flavor, red beans are slightly sweet and have a tender texture. They pair particularly well with classic milk tea or matcha-based bubble teas.
    • Creama:
      • Description: A cheese foam topping with a creamy, airy texture. The sweetness of creama is balanced by a hint of saltiness, making it an ideal topping for any bubble tea.
    • Ice Cream:
      • Description: Adding ice cream to bubble tea makes the drink sweeter and creamier as it melts. It’s a great complement to cold bubble teas, offering a richer texture and enhanced flavor.
  3. Flavors:
    • Cream Flavored Powders:
      • It varies in quality (A, B, and C grades) with “A” grade offering better taste, texture, and a more natural fruit flavor due to a higher percentage of real fruit juice. Lower grades (B & C) contain more creamer and sweetener, which can result in an artificial taste. It’s recommended to compare powders side by side to identify the best quality.
    • Tea Flavored Powders:
      • It replicates traditional tea flavors without the need for brewing, suitable for making black or green milk tea, and can be combined with cream powders. Infused tea powders like lavender and rose are also popular.
    • Gourmet Coffee Powders:
      • It provides easy preparation for iced coffee drinks, including flavors like cafe latte and french vanilla.
    • Juice Flavored Syrups:
      • They are concentrated syrups made from real fruit juices, often containing fruit pieces, used to infuse teas or make blended bubble teas, offering a fresh, fruity flavor.

Instructions:

  1. Read the Material:
  2. Highlight Key Points: Encourage students to highlight or take notes on ingredients they are particularly interested in or unfamiliar with.
  3. Reflect and Experiment: After reading, students should consider how they might combine these ingredients in their bubble tea recipes and think about potential new flavor combinations.

Readings/Videos/Podcasts:

Boba Milk Tea by Jasmine Pak and Tasty Team

Classic Milk Tea By Andrew Chau, Bin Chen, and Richard Parks

How To Make Milk Tea: 5 Different Recipes by Matt Caron