The easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to roll boba into round shapes is to place the square pieces about 3 cm apart on the cutting board then place another cutting board on top of the pieces and move the top in the circular fashion. It does take practice to get the movement and pressure right.
I was just about to comment something similar. Taking a thin board of some sort that you can dust and then place on top of the boba cubes to roll them out a bit.
I did make the pearls fresh once from the premade dry pearls. I remember it felt like hours cooking the pearls until they were completely soft. your version definitely looks faster.
You might have gotten sago, which from what I've found, gets also gets labelled as tapioca and it's confusing. The DIY I try to get can be put in the microwave for *half a minute
@@squashn.695sago in india is prepared as a meal, and you have to soak it overnight then cook it. It is also a product of tapioca but i guess u cant replace it with boba 😂
I love your content I make your turkeish lentel soup every Christmas, I will have to make Boba tea for my family now. Your videos are so well thought out you are very knowledgeable and you are great a teaching witch translates into easy to follow and make anything you put on TH-cam. Thank you for doing what you do .
I don't know if this applies to boba pearls but other dough can be made roundish if put in a Tupper container and shaken for a good while, it's not gonna be perfectly round but it will do the trick, I use that to make gnocchi.
tried, but: this tapioca stuff is way too elastic and not pliable soft enough for this, even when rolling on your hand you need considerable pressure to get it round
Thanks for the video! I think 10 minutes or more is better for your videos. The last few videos that were under 10 minutes often had a somewhat rushed feel. Now it was much more relaxed and I want to have bubble tea! :-D
ive been craving bubble tea lately and since i moved i dont really like any bubble tea places near me, so will definitely try this recipe, this looks so easy and delicious. thanks dude!
Needed this vid lol, just got back from a month long trip to Taiwan this summer and man do I miss being able to pay the equivalent of like a dollar or 2 and having it beat literally every 7$ bubble tea I've ever had in Canada lol
The blackest of the black sugars are never ground down since they have so much molasses in them that there's no point; they just solidify back together. They're in slabs or sticks, and when you cut them with a knife, they fall apart and crumble. If there isn't an Asian grocer near you, but there is a Mexican grocer, you can use piloncilo. It's another kind of raw brown sugar that's sold in these little cones the traditional way. It's more effort to break them apart but serviceable nonetheless. No one's gonna look down on you if you just use regular brown sugar though.
I found out that Muscovado sugar creates a wonderful syrup without having to add any extra molasses, and it's usually very available in "healthy" or vegan stores. It is also not as expensive as other imported options (at least in my country).
In my country they do sell very dark sugar but I always have the issue of the entire bag solidifying into a block, your comment made me think maybe I should just let it solidify into a manageable shape and then use it like that, thanks
Is panela/piloncillo the same thing or is there any noticeable difference in the result? As far as I remember that was made by juicing cane, boiling it, removing the scum from the top, and then continue boiling it until brown and it soldifies in blocks.
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check my deep dive into the history and origins of bubble tea! Watch it here: th-cam.com/video/ZpU5cS9G3ZA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=yyL1BFfWVMmktxUy
Aleksey our Andong daddy, I agree throughly on the brown sugar question, the darker the better. We got a fresh pineapple yesterday and if the core and peelings are good, we will make tapache, one cone of piloncillo around 2 cups (this is our brown sugar, the run off from refining white sugar) and whole spices (cinnamon, allspice, clove , but use what you like) submerge in water and let ferment, depending on your climate, it takes a week or so. Delicious and a clever way to cut down on food waste (and a clever way to use up the dark sugar left over from your boba production). you can weigh down the floating solids with a plastic bag full of water. All the best to everyone JIM
Thank you for the video! I didn't do my own tapioka pearls yet but that I did the syrup with brown sugar I had leftover and it improved the taste my bubble tea so much!
This is really fascinating! There are Boba shops seemingly on every street corner here in Southern California. And I knew it was a Taiwan invention. But nothing beyond that. But thanks to your work...
One method for milkier milk is freeze concentration: you freeze the milk solid and then put it in a sive to partially melt again. The water in the milk will melt first and drip out of the block, leaving the milk parts there. Just make sure to stop, before the whole block melts away
@@mahbuddykeith1124 i could see doing this though if i wanted to avoid the additives that canned evaporated milk has, admittedly carrageenan probably adds to the effect you want anyway in this case.
@@WadWizardI make my own evaporated milk by reducing milk by 60% (500g of milk = 200g evaporated milk). Just simmer on low heat for 1-1.5 hours. When the color starts turning yellow after 1 hour, I measure it on a scale and reduce it until reaches 200g. Works like a charm and no added carrageenan! You can also buy organic evaporated milk if you’re lazy 😉
Funny enough cassava/tapioca (starch in this case) are a staple in central/west Africa both in savoury and sweet application. I encourage you guys to have a look into central/west African cuisine. In my opinion central/west African cuisine have a lot of similarities with many Asian cuisines and are complementary.
As a South Asian I would love to these foods at home. I was made to believe that we have similar cooking techniques. The flavors are out of this world.
I'm going to try making my own "black" sugar by combining brown sugar with extra grated Piloncillo, which is a Mexican unrefined dark sugar sold in solid cones, similar to Indian jaggery. Hopefully that'll get me the extra dark richness. BTW you should make Greek Avgolemono for this year's Soup Season, it's my favorite soup.
10:22 Hi Andong, when you squeeze tea bags like that, its prone to release more of the tannins, so thats why it tastes very bitter. Although, you did say its a feature not a bug.
i have tried bubble tea only with juice-filled balls and until now i didn't know this version of bubble tea existed. i didn't get all the hype, why would anyone be crazy for juice filled balls in another juice. NOW i want to try this original version.
I made this bubble tea two times already - it was really good and a lot of fun during the process. MOREOVER, I'm currently on holidays in Taiwan and I've made it a priority to taste the boba in Xing Fu Tang - the shop Andong recommends here. Oh. My. God. You guys, this boba is on another level. If you ever visit, you have to try it, and it's a run-don't-walk situation.
In case you need that Xi Fu Tang boba again, they've opened up a few stores in London where they make the boba fresh on site. It's pretty good and a lot closer than Taiwan! 😅😅😅
Not having black sugar nearby, I did some tests with palm sugar, piloncillo, and other types of rawer, untreated sugars the store sold. Apparently Moscovado is quite a nice substitute, if you buy the kind that is very sticky and powdery. Mixing it with coconut sugar and piloncillo eventually led me to a fruity mix that blended perfectly.
I definetily try out your bubble tea recipe, but because I am lazy I will leave out the Boba part. I always enjoy the lai cha liquid more so the tips about the milk help me to recreate the "bubble tea" base liquid at home.
This deserves a follow-up on different starches and different flavored boba. OneZo is a good starting point, though information is sparse between the hundreds of individual pages, but they have things like taro boba, rose boba, cactus boba, lychee boba, black sesame boba, etc.; OneZo is also the company that did the Pokemon collaboration with the Pokeball boba in 2019, which was red rice, bamboo charcoal, and coconut fused into one, they also have their own OneZo boba that's half red and half green (red rice + cactus?), and they also have some other mixed bobas that I have yet to find solid information on. I assume most of the flavors are a fruit syrup, like how you can use caramel or honey instead of black sugar, assuming everything is a syrup like rose and other florals. I also assume the process is essentially the same for the other starches, though I'm not sure if cook times are modified. But following up the basic classic boba with the varieties the boba market has, types of teas, no-milk drinks, coffee drinks, and the variety of toppings, jelly (typically nata de coco, jello absolutely does not work well and is generally associated with the absolute cheapest of shops), crystal boba (agar pearls), puddings, popping boba (syrup-filled membranes), even pastes are used like sweetened red bean paste or sweetened sesame paste, etc. Boba itself can easily become it's own series of videos. As a whole, there's _so much_ that can be done, though you'll never find one shop, nor even ten in combination, that cover the entire boba spectrum.
for anyone curious like i was: even dark brown sugar sold in western markets isn't quite the same as black sugar. western brown sugars tend to be refined white sugar with added molasses, while asian black sugars tend to not have gone through as much refinement at all, so brown sugar will almost never have the depth of flavor black sugar can have.
Another perk is that you can use 2% milk, just brew stronger tea so there's less water in the end product and it tastes better. I'm no low-fat zealot or anything, but it's an easy way to cut some excess in your diet. Plus I add a splash of low-glycemic creamer to thicken it up.
Wow You’re Channel really inspiring me i Also love baking and cooking and experiment with food and the first video i saw Was the gummy bear making and as soon i watched you’re other video it was really fascinating And i really enjoy Watching you’re Channel You are really good at cooking Nice job 👍🏻👍🏻👏👏
I think full on loose leaf black tea can still work nicely, it might not be the usual flavor depending on the type of tea you use(probably typically ceylon and/or assam) but tbh part of why i havent gone for boba/milk tea for a bit is that im interested in all the different flavors tea can have whereas all the flavored milk teas use flavors i could get anywhere else but tea. Because you can get multiple infusions what you do is use more tea leaves compared to the water to get a stronger infusion and then brew the same way multiple times (make sure its not lost its concentration before you mix it in) and that way if you want you could have a boba darjeeling or nilgiri or keemun or maybe some kind of oolong(maybe not one of the lighter ones), its possible to get a pretty strong infusion. My standard is 86C° for 4 1/2 minutes in one of those coffee steamer cups with the tea right in the water then i pour it through a strainer, but if you go hotter and to 5 minutes im sure itll still work though you might lose some infusions for not much extra flavor, and if you want to go extra once its cooled down you can cold brew with more leaves to get it even stronger(also cold brew has more of the aeromatic elements but less fullness, ud especcially recommend trying cold brew eith oolong, you miss the creamy feel but the aeromatic character really shows up i think especially with cream surprisingly). Mind you, im not sure exactly how cost effective this is, dont just throw a bunch of costly tea at it, but still for a more concentrated flavor use more tea to water rather than brewing it longer, longer brewing eventually just brings out more tannins rather than flavor.
the "extra creamy milk" in milk tea shops is just creamer lol. powdered creamer like coffeemate. a lot of flavors come premixed with sugar and creamer as the first two ingredients.
Hi Andong, is it possible to make the milk mixture as well as the sugar syrup in advance and store it for a while? This way I would only need to make the tapioca pearls when I want Bubble tea and could have everything else on hand already. Also, great video as always, thank you!
syrup will last for quite a while, i‘d say at least 1-2 weeks in the fridge! the milk will lose freshness after a few days but it‘s so quick and easy to make i‘d make it on the spot.
Ohh that looks easy to make, maybe I will give it a try! I guess you could also store the bobas so you can make another tea later? Edit: I just saw your comment on a similar question, nice then I will definitely try it!
Hey, since you're German, could you recommend where to get evaporated milk? I can only find condensed milk (sugar added) at my local podunk town Edeka and Rewe.
Kaffeemilch or Kondensmilch (no sugar added!) is sold in every supermarket, even the small ones! There are name brands like Bärenmarke (works great, the 4% is awesome) or off-brand ones which are also fine.
honestly boba converged since a long time ago in east Asia. I buy the ones from store because of their tea, the tea that I can’t import in bulk by myself.
Once tried to make boba from scratch. It was so messy and the slime from the boba was water resistant and absolute pain to make. I might give your recipe a try
as I'm proudly sipping and chewing, here are my insights: (always take into account, that I didn't listen properly to Andong's instructions...) - found my kink in terms of dough kneading: THIS :-) however nice it is, don't do it until the outside gets to maximum stick, no need... - keep the dough thicker (1cm), try to cut cubes bcs with that you're nearest to boba bcs small surface area matters - use a BIG pot for boiling them, I found the less they touch the sides of the pot, the better - 5 min boiling is way too long, the smaller pieces start disintegrating the longer you boil - don't attempt sifting like spaghetti...it might stick into the sieve...better scoop out with a slotted spoon into the cold water and get them into the sirup fast - I used the immersion blender to whip up the milk while I heated it - a dollop of whipped cream doesn't hurt if you like to reduce the sugar ratio ;-) - I needed more black tea, but that's just taste...the sugar sirup is perfect for my taste lastly: why so little playful to enjoy foods in German cuisine? or am I just unimaginative?
I've only had bubble tea from a single Asian fusion restaurant where I am, so I'm sure there are better versions out there, but I just do not like the pearls. The tea is good, though a bit sweet for my tastes. Unless I'm drinking sweet tea, I typically drink my tea without sweetener because I like the actual flavor of the tea. I do like that melon flavors are usually available in bubble tea. There has been more use of cantaloupe and honeydew in food lately. Getting actually good cantaloupe and honeydew changes your view of the fruits. I feel like most people only encounter them at parties on the pre-cut fruit trays. That fruit is often under-ripe and never tastes very good. If you get a good cantaloupe or honeydew, those homies slap. I enjoyed the honeydew and cantaloupe boba tea I got. I just got it without the pearls.
I wonder if this can be made vegan/lactose intolerant people friendly. I know there are some very rich tasting plant milks (e.g. Alpro not m*lk whole), but I wonder if there are some alternatives to adding milk powder to make them creamier.
I see a lot of cooking channels say “brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added in” and I find that so irking. You’re one of the first that has described the refining process and pointed out that white sugar is the derivative of a process where brown sugar proceeds it.
I personally do it this way, this scales well with different sized bottle. *Items Needed:* - A heat-safe glass bottle (preferably with a filter; I use a 750ml Hario bottle) - Water (choose one of the following options): 1. 3/4 bottle of water, allowed to cool naturally 2. 1/2 bottle of water plus 1/4 bottle of ice for a quicker cooling process - 1/4 bottle of half-and-half - 1 tablespoon of allulose or sugar per 150ml of the total bottle volume (5 tablespoons for a 750ml Hario bottle) - 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of loose tea per 150ml of the total bottle volume (I prefer a stronger tea, so I use 7 teaspoons for the 750ml Hario bottle) *Instructions:* 1. Add the tea and allulose or sugar to the bottle. 2. Brew the tea using water at the appropriate temperature (80˚C/180˚F for scented teas like Mariage Frères French Blue Earl Grey). 3. Allow the tea to cool for 20 minutes to 1 hour. 4. (Optional) If you are in a hurry and brewed only half a bottle of tea, add 1/4 bottle of ice to speed up the cooling process. 5. Add the half-and-half until it reaches the top of the bottle. 6. Allow the mixture to rest in the refrigerator overnight. Small Note: allulose is a sugar alternative that is chemically very similar to sugar, it is just different enough to not be digested. It can caramelize, but it naturally has a faint caramelized taste.
I personally like sweetened half-and-half just as much as sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk is still on the lighter side, I find it lacks milk flavor comparing to the other 2 options.
also scented tea adds so much to the milk tea, Japanese sencha is also an interesting choice as its savory quality seems be boosted since you need a strong brew. I am Cantonese, I tested a few different tea. The best ones are Hong Kong style blended tea for milk tea, scented tea (the best ones I had are from Mariage Frères, other good tea houses in your area would also work like TWG). Normal or even premium plain tea that are popular in Cantonese or other places are not necessarily suitable, pu’er is an example, its delicate notes are often milky, which gets lost in milk, even special variant like Pu'er tea stuffed in Xinhui mandarin orange peel then aged, the aged citrus still is not enough to cut though strong milk flavor.
if anyone is worried about content of sugar, you shouldn't have this thing at all. the little droplets are made out of starch, which, I know, doesn't taste sweet, but once in your body, the enzymes will break it down to maltose first, and then, to glucose, the very sugar that your body reacts to, the sugar that is measured in your body, so, the metabolism from that point on, is exactly the same as if you just had a cup of sugar. your pancreas will go into override, producing insulin, and storing all of that excess glucose, into your hips. I'm not saying not to have it, if you really like it, do by all means, just know what you're having
Does anyone know if this is nonfat powdered milk or full fat? Obviously full fat would be richer but maybe it's too much? Also the nonfat dry milk can be found almost anywhere in the states but the full fat is much more expensive and tough to find
"Most" of brown sugar in market are White sugar with added morass . So if you don't have brown sugar and have morass at home just mixed with white sugar, no need to buy one bag and turn it into brick
Yes, any kind of sugar syrup works if you like the taste (Rübensirup is quite strong imho). I tried honey and maple syrup and it was nice. And to germanize it even more, you can also brew a strong Ostfriesentee. Since it's a tea made to mixed with cream and sugar, it works nicely in boba tea, too.
Another way to get creamier milk is through freeze distillation. Essentially, you freeze your milk and slowly defrost it, getting a more concentrated product by leaving the water (now ice) behind. Flavor Lab has an in-depth video on the process (link below 👇)
I like to go carp fishing, and have the apparatus to shape the doug in spheres....I have the blackest tea in my country (Argentina), which You might use with ease, or will end with some really astringent beverage! (which I presume, is perhaps a good thing here.....). We have tapioca/mandioca starch by the bulk.....wich We use to make a really tasty cheese bread called "chipá" (in guaraní tongue)...so, tapioca starch is always welcome here. Black sugar is also available, here called "mascabo" sugar....Milk, of course is an everyday thing....WAIT! I BECAME OUT OF EXCUSES TO NOT DOING THIS! Running to the supermarket in 5...4...3...
Can I just correct you on something Andong, "British" tea isn't "chopped" finely. It is the bits that come off the dried fermented leaves, which literally is the "bottom of the barrel" stuff.
i dunno why, less refined sugar should've been cheaper as i thought to be. but that is not the case, brown sugar are about 2x expensive and sometimes you get half the content of what you get from white sugar. i don't know why that is the case in the sugar processing..
You can mix molasses back into white sugar to make brown/black sugar; much easier to store than keeping brown/black sugar around that hardens into blocks if you leave it too long.
The easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to roll boba into round shapes is to place the square pieces about 3 cm apart on the cutting board then place another cutting board on top of the pieces and move the top in the circular fashion. It does take practice to get the movement and pressure right.
genius move 🧠
I was just about to comment something similar. Taking a thin board of some sort that you can dust and then place on top of the boba cubes to roll them out a bit.
Exactly what I was already thinking while watching this video!😊 You comment confirms I was on the right track there lol
You can always do little squares anyway
I did make the pearls fresh once from the premade dry pearls. I remember it felt like hours cooking the pearls until they were completely soft. your version definitely looks faster.
You might have gotten sago, which from what I've found, gets also gets labelled as tapioca and it's confusing. The DIY I try to get can be put in the microwave for *half a minute
@@squashn.695sago in india is prepared as a meal, and you have to soak it overnight then cook it. It is also a product of tapioca but i guess u cant replace it with boba 😂
When the tea concentrate is strong enough to melt the enamel off your teeth, you got the right intensity!
Enamel can be heat-damaged, but not by tea.
I love your content I make your turkeish lentel soup every Christmas, I will have to make Boba tea for my family now.
Your videos are so well thought out you are very knowledgeable and you are great a teaching witch translates into easy to follow and make anything you put on TH-cam.
Thank you for doing what you do .
I don't know if this applies to boba pearls but other dough can be made roundish if put in a Tupper container and shaken for a good while, it's not gonna be perfectly round but it will do the trick, I use that to make gnocchi.
tried, but: this tapioca stuff is way too elastic and not pliable soft enough for this, even when rolling on your hand you need considerable pressure to get it round
Thanks for the video! I think 10 minutes or more is better for your videos. The last few videos that were under 10 minutes often had a somewhat rushed feel. Now it was much more relaxed and I want to have bubble tea! :-D
...and shorts are totally overrated... snack length is perfect: watch and snack break...
ive been craving bubble tea lately and since i moved i dont really like any bubble tea places near me, so will definitely try this recipe, this looks so easy and delicious. thanks dude!
Needed this vid lol, just got back from a month long trip to Taiwan this summer and man do I miss being able to pay the equivalent of like a dollar or 2 and having it beat literally every 7$ bubble tea I've ever had in Canada lol
The blackest of the black sugars are never ground down since they have so much molasses in them that there's no point; they just solidify back together. They're in slabs or sticks, and when you cut them with a knife, they fall apart and crumble. If there isn't an Asian grocer near you, but there is a Mexican grocer, you can use piloncilo. It's another kind of raw brown sugar that's sold in these little cones the traditional way. It's more effort to break them apart but serviceable nonetheless. No one's gonna look down on you if you just use regular brown sugar though.
If you go with light western brown sugar it might help to add a bit of molasses back into it
I found out that Muscovado sugar creates a wonderful syrup without having to add any extra molasses, and it's usually very available in "healthy" or vegan stores. It is also not as expensive as other imported options (at least in my country).
In my country they do sell very dark sugar but I always have the issue of the entire bag solidifying into a block, your comment made me think maybe I should just let it solidify into a manageable shape and then use it like that, thanks
Is panela/piloncillo the same thing or is there any noticeable difference in the result? As far as I remember that was made by juicing cane, boiling it, removing the scum from the top, and then continue boiling it until brown and it soldifies in blocks.
@@alexanderbravo5137 A quick Google search says that apparently Piloncillo and Panela are two names for the same thing
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check my deep dive into the history and origins of bubble tea! Watch it here: th-cam.com/video/ZpU5cS9G3ZA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=yyL1BFfWVMmktxUy
I love your deep dives stories. They're unique and you seem to take your research really serious! Thanks for quality content.
Aleksey our Andong daddy, I agree throughly on the brown sugar question, the darker the better. We got a fresh pineapple yesterday and if the core and peelings are good, we will make tapache, one cone of piloncillo around 2 cups (this is our brown sugar, the run off from refining white sugar) and whole spices (cinnamon, allspice, clove , but use what you like) submerge in water and let ferment, depending on your climate, it takes a week or so. Delicious and a clever way to cut down on food waste (and a clever way to use up the dark sugar left over from your boba production). you can weigh down the floating solids with a plastic bag full of water. All the best to everyone JIM
Damn, that is the milkiest milk i seen. Milk + Milk power + Evaporated milk. If you add heavy cream and condense milk, it will be Captain Milk
I'm gonna put that name on my menu! ❤
Thank you for the video! I didn't do my own tapioka pearls yet but that I did the syrup with brown sugar I had leftover and it improved the taste my bubble tea so much!
Fantastic recipe, easy to follow. Bubble tea came out delicious, so creamy and sugar level just nice. Pearls had great texture!
This is really fascinating! There are Boba shops seemingly on every street corner here in Southern California. And I knew it was a Taiwan invention. But nothing beyond that. But thanks to your work...
One method for milkier milk is freeze concentration: you freeze the milk solid and then put it in a sive to partially melt again. The water in the milk will melt first and drip out of the block, leaving the milk parts there. Just make sure to stop, before the whole block melts away
At that point, just use evaporated milk.
@@mahbuddykeith1124 i could see doing this though if i wanted to avoid the additives that canned evaporated milk has, admittedly carrageenan probably adds to the effect you want anyway in this case.
@@WadWizardI make my own evaporated milk by reducing milk by 60% (500g of milk = 200g evaporated milk). Just simmer on low heat for 1-1.5 hours. When the color starts turning yellow after 1 hour, I measure it on a scale and reduce it until reaches 200g. Works like a charm and no added carrageenan! You can also buy organic evaporated milk if you’re lazy 😉
I enjoy how you make your videos with such a zest for life!
Was planning on going to buy some boba later today, but maybe this could be more fun!
Funny enough cassava/tapioca (starch in this case) are a staple in central/west Africa both in savoury and sweet application. I encourage you guys to have a look into central/west African cuisine. In my opinion central/west African cuisine have a lot of similarities with many Asian cuisines and are complementary.
Would you mind sharing some of the names of the dishes?
Yes! Is there a western/central African food creator on TH-cam that you recommend?
As a South Asian I would love to these foods at home. I was made to believe that we have similar cooking techniques. The flavors are out of this world.
I'm going to try making my own "black" sugar by combining brown sugar with extra grated Piloncillo, which is a Mexican unrefined dark sugar sold in solid cones, similar to Indian jaggery. Hopefully that'll get me the extra dark richness.
BTW you should make Greek Avgolemono for this year's Soup Season, it's my favorite soup.
Been waiting for a comprehensive video like this on milk tea - thank you!
10:22 Hi Andong, when you squeeze tea bags like that, its prone to release more of the tannins, so thats why it tastes very bitter.
Although, you did say its a feature not a bug.
i have tried bubble tea only with juice-filled balls and until now i didn't know this version of bubble tea existed. i didn't get all the hype, why would anyone be crazy for juice filled balls in another juice. NOW i want to try this original version.
I made this bubble tea two times already - it was really good and a lot of fun during the process. MOREOVER, I'm currently on holidays in Taiwan and I've made it a priority to taste the boba in Xing Fu Tang - the shop Andong recommends here. Oh. My. God. You guys, this boba is on another level. If you ever visit, you have to try it, and it's a run-don't-walk situation.
Perfect timing for when I decided to get such a tea to see what all the hype and German prices are all about!
this made me smile, thanks
In case you need that Xi Fu Tang boba again, they've opened up a few stores in London where they make the boba fresh on site. It's pretty good and a lot closer than Taiwan! 😅😅😅
Absolutely love bubble tea.
Not having black sugar nearby, I did some tests with palm sugar, piloncillo, and other types of rawer, untreated sugars the store sold.
Apparently Moscovado is quite a nice substitute, if you buy the kind that is very sticky and powdery. Mixing it with coconut sugar and piloncillo eventually led me to a fruity mix that blended perfectly.
I definetily try out your bubble tea recipe, but because I am lazy I will leave out the Boba part. I always enjoy the lai cha liquid more so the tips about the milk help me to recreate the "bubble tea" base liquid at home.
This deserves a follow-up on different starches and different flavored boba. OneZo is a good starting point, though information is sparse between the hundreds of individual pages, but they have things like taro boba, rose boba, cactus boba, lychee boba, black sesame boba, etc.; OneZo is also the company that did the Pokemon collaboration with the Pokeball boba in 2019, which was red rice, bamboo charcoal, and coconut fused into one, they also have their own OneZo boba that's half red and half green (red rice + cactus?), and they also have some other mixed bobas that I have yet to find solid information on. I assume most of the flavors are a fruit syrup, like how you can use caramel or honey instead of black sugar, assuming everything is a syrup like rose and other florals. I also assume the process is essentially the same for the other starches, though I'm not sure if cook times are modified. But following up the basic classic boba with the varieties the boba market has, types of teas, no-milk drinks, coffee drinks, and the variety of toppings, jelly (typically nata de coco, jello absolutely does not work well and is generally associated with the absolute cheapest of shops), crystal boba (agar pearls), puddings, popping boba (syrup-filled membranes), even pastes are used like sweetened red bean paste or sweetened sesame paste, etc.
Boba itself can easily become it's own series of videos. As a whole, there's _so much_ that can be done, though you'll never find one shop, nor even ten in combination, that cover the entire boba spectrum.
if you want to roll boba,you can use Bamboo tray .
put some flower in tray and shake in circle.
I LOVE HK Milk Tea...unfortunately it doesn't like me lol...but this looks amazing. I really enjoy your videos, so uplifting, fun and informative.
Awesome again 🎉
Great tips, thanks! Im so excited 😃
I add milk powder to my homemade yogurt-total game changer-so I’m sure it works well here and many other places.
for anyone curious like i was: even dark brown sugar sold in western markets isn't quite the same as black sugar. western brown sugars tend to be refined white sugar with added molasses, while asian black sugars tend to not have gone through as much refinement at all, so brown sugar will almost never have the depth of flavor black sugar can have.
You are so thorough
When the CC writes "top yoga pearls" instead of "tapioca pearls" 😂
People mentionned mexican piloncilo, but I wondered if one can use "Sirop de Liège" as well. It's basically really dark fruit caramel (to spread).
I love Earl Gray Tea for this , the pretty lemoney sent of it taste milk Ice Tea with Boba
Have you tried freeze distilled (fractional freezing) milk? I'd imagine it would work well here, albeit with some prep time requirements.
Hey Andong, ich wollte dein Rezept demnächst ausprobieren. Meinst du mit milk powder Magermilchpulver oder welches deutsches Äquivalent nutzt du da? 🙂
hab bei Edeka Magermilchpulver gekauft. Funzt und schmeckt!
freeze distilled milk might be another really good milk option.
Andong excited hand is a real mood
Could you share a list of the best food destinations you've visited in Taiwan / China? Ceylon Cinnamon or Cassia Cinnamon?
Another perk is that you can use 2% milk, just brew stronger tea so there's less water in the end product and it tastes better.
I'm no low-fat zealot or anything, but it's an easy way to cut some excess in your diet. Plus I add a splash of low-glycemic creamer to thicken it up.
Wow You’re Channel really inspiring me i Also love baking and cooking and experiment with food
and the first video i saw Was the gummy bear making and as soon i watched you’re other video it was really fascinating
And i really enjoy Watching you’re Channel
You are really good at cooking Nice job 👍🏻👍🏻👏👏
Nice video, man. Can you maybe make one with taro too? That thing is also so tasty.
I think full on loose leaf black tea can still work nicely, it might not be the usual flavor depending on the type of tea you use(probably typically ceylon and/or assam) but tbh part of why i havent gone for boba/milk tea for a bit is that im interested in all the different flavors tea can have whereas all the flavored milk teas use flavors i could get anywhere else but tea. Because you can get multiple infusions what you do is use more tea leaves compared to the water to get a stronger infusion and then brew the same way multiple times (make sure its not lost its concentration before you mix it in) and that way if you want you could have a boba darjeeling or nilgiri or keemun or maybe some kind of oolong(maybe not one of the lighter ones), its possible to get a pretty strong infusion. My standard is 86C° for 4 1/2 minutes in one of those coffee steamer cups with the tea right in the water then i pour it through a strainer, but if you go hotter and to 5 minutes im sure itll still work though you might lose some infusions for not much extra flavor, and if you want to go extra once its cooled down you can cold brew with more leaves to get it even stronger(also cold brew has more of the aeromatic elements but less fullness, ud especcially recommend trying cold brew eith oolong, you miss the creamy feel but the aeromatic character really shows up i think especially with cream surprisingly).
Mind you, im not sure exactly how cost effective this is, dont just throw a bunch of costly tea at it, but still for a more concentrated flavor use more tea to water rather than brewing it longer, longer brewing eventually just brings out more tannins rather than flavor.
Can you make them sugar-free with splenda?
You can add molasses to turn white sugar dark brown or black.
the "extra creamy milk" in milk tea shops is just creamer lol. powdered creamer like coffeemate. a lot of flavors come premixed with sugar and creamer as the first two ingredients.
What do you think about stir frying tea leaves in brown sugar then adding milk? I've seen that method in a few other recipe videos
Any tips on what other starches work that I can find in a german supermarket? Potato starch? Corn starch?
potato starch would be the easiest. not corn starch!
@@mynameisandong Thank you. You are now qualified as my favorite food blogger ;)
my Edeka had Tapioka Starch :-)
grad durchs kochbuch gesehen, dass dein vorname arseny is nicht Anton wie ich immer gedacht habe. wp mein dude, wp!
Awesome!
Now this is good stuff
Hi Andong,
is it possible to make the milk mixture as well as the sugar syrup in advance and store it for a while?
This way I would only need to make the tapioca pearls when I want Bubble tea and could have everything else on hand already.
Also, great video as always, thank you!
syrup will last for quite a while, i‘d say at least 1-2 weeks in the fridge! the milk will lose freshness after a few days but it‘s so quick and easy to make i‘d make it on the spot.
wow what is that boba place you went to? I've never seen such craftsmanship in a bubble tea before
Ohh that looks easy to make, maybe I will give it a try! I guess you could also store the bobas so you can make another tea later? Edit: I just saw your comment on a similar question, nice then I will definitely try it!
Hey, since you're German, could you recommend where to get evaporated milk? I can only find condensed milk (sugar added) at my local podunk town Edeka and Rewe.
Kaffeemilch or Kondensmilch (no sugar added!) is sold in every supermarket, even the small ones! There are name brands like Bärenmarke (works great, the 4% is awesome) or off-brand ones which are also fine.
honestly boba converged since a long time ago in east Asia. I buy the ones from store because of their tea, the tea that I can’t import in bulk by myself.
You know what else is a thick sugar syrup with plenty of character? Honey
Also ask your gramdma about baked milk (топленое)
Damn, that looks awesome!
I cannot wait to try to make this. As soon as I can find the sugar....
Would using a straight cream work instead of milk fortified milk
What is that pan at 2:35?
Hey Andong. I couldn't find black sugar at my Asian market. But they did have Jaggery. Would that work as a substitute?
Once tried to make boba from scratch. It was so messy and the slime from the boba was water resistant and absolute pain to make. I might give your recipe a try
Any suggestion how to get a similar result with almond/oat milk?
Go for the "barista" varietes which usually contain more fat, protein and emulsifiers!
as I'm proudly sipping and chewing, here are my insights: (always take into account, that I didn't listen properly to Andong's instructions...)
- found my kink in terms of dough kneading: THIS :-) however nice it is, don't do it until the outside gets to maximum stick, no need...
- keep the dough thicker (1cm), try to cut cubes bcs with that you're nearest to boba bcs small surface area matters
- use a BIG pot for boiling them, I found the less they touch the sides of the pot, the better
- 5 min boiling is way too long, the smaller pieces start disintegrating the longer you boil
- don't attempt sifting like spaghetti...it might stick into the sieve...better scoop out with a slotted spoon into the cold water and get them into the sirup fast
- I used the immersion blender to whip up the milk while I heated it
- a dollop of whipped cream doesn't hurt if you like to reduce the sugar ratio ;-)
- I needed more black tea, but that's just taste...the sugar sirup is perfect for my taste
lastly: why so little playful to enjoy foods in German cuisine? or am I just unimaginative?
I've only had bubble tea from a single Asian fusion restaurant where I am, so I'm sure there are better versions out there, but I just do not like the pearls. The tea is good, though a bit sweet for my tastes. Unless I'm drinking sweet tea, I typically drink my tea without sweetener because I like the actual flavor of the tea. I do like that melon flavors are usually available in bubble tea. There has been more use of cantaloupe and honeydew in food lately. Getting actually good cantaloupe and honeydew changes your view of the fruits. I feel like most people only encounter them at parties on the pre-cut fruit trays. That fruit is often under-ripe and never tastes very good. If you get a good cantaloupe or honeydew, those homies slap. I enjoyed the honeydew and cantaloupe boba tea I got. I just got it without the pearls.
Do you think you can make the popping liquid-filled tapioca bubbles?
Would be black sugar the same as Panela in latino america?
Ok.. I didnt know I needed this... I stand corrected 😂
I wonder if this can be made vegan/lactose intolerant people friendly. I know there are some very rich tasting plant milks (e.g. Alpro not m*lk whole), but I wonder if there are some alternatives to adding milk powder to make them creamier.
I see a lot of cooking channels say “brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added in” and I find that so irking. You’re one of the first that has described the refining process and pointed out that white sugar is the derivative of a process where brown sugar proceeds it.
I did not know that boba comes from yucca (casava)!! Interesting 🤔😎
Amazing Video! Hey Andong, where did you get that apron from? It looks hella cool
I love boba.
lets goooooooooo my culture
That's the best way to drink more milk per milk!
I will have to question whether adding evaporated milk or milk poweder is a " traditional part of bubble team making "
I personally do it this way, this scales well with different sized bottle.
*Items Needed:*
- A heat-safe glass bottle (preferably with a filter; I use a 750ml Hario bottle)
- Water (choose one of the following options):
1. 3/4 bottle of water, allowed to cool naturally
2. 1/2 bottle of water plus 1/4 bottle of ice for a quicker cooling process
- 1/4 bottle of half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon of allulose or sugar per 150ml of the total bottle volume (5 tablespoons for a 750ml Hario bottle)
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of loose tea per 150ml of the total bottle volume (I prefer a stronger tea, so I use 7 teaspoons for the 750ml Hario bottle)
*Instructions:*
1. Add the tea and allulose or sugar to the bottle.
2. Brew the tea using water at the appropriate temperature (80˚C/180˚F for scented teas like Mariage Frères French Blue Earl Grey).
3. Allow the tea to cool for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
4. (Optional) If you are in a hurry and brewed only half a bottle of tea, add 1/4 bottle of ice to speed up the cooling process.
5. Add the half-and-half until it reaches the top of the bottle.
6. Allow the mixture to rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Small Note: allulose is a sugar alternative that is chemically very similar to sugar, it is just different enough to not be digested. It can caramelize, but it naturally has a faint caramelized taste.
I personally like sweetened half-and-half just as much as sweetened condensed milk. Evaporated milk is still on the lighter side, I find it lacks milk flavor comparing to the other 2 options.
also scented tea adds so much to the milk tea, Japanese sencha is also an interesting choice as its savory quality seems be boosted since you need a strong brew. I am Cantonese, I tested a few different tea. The best ones are Hong Kong style blended tea for milk tea, scented tea (the best ones I had are from Mariage Frères, other good tea houses in your area would also work like TWG). Normal or even premium plain tea that are popular in Cantonese or other places are not necessarily suitable, pu’er is an example, its delicate notes are often milky, which gets lost in milk, even special variant like Pu'er tea stuffed in Xinhui mandarin orange peel then aged, the aged citrus still is not enough to cut though strong milk flavor.
if anyone is worried about content of sugar, you shouldn't have this thing at all. the little droplets are made out of starch, which, I know, doesn't taste sweet, but once in your body, the enzymes will break it down to maltose first, and then, to glucose, the very sugar that your body reacts to, the sugar that is measured in your body, so, the metabolism from that point on, is exactly the same as if you just had a cup of sugar. your pancreas will go into override, producing insulin, and storing all of that excess glucose, into your hips. I'm not saying not to have it, if you really like it, do by all means, just know what you're having
I don't think, anyone having this is under any impression, it's healthy 😆
Wow really
If your local grocer is anything like mine, look out for “gula hitam” in the grocer for your sugar
Does anyone know if this is nonfat powdered milk or full fat? Obviously full fat would be richer but maybe it's too much? Also the nonfat dry milk can be found almost anywhere in the states but the full fat is much more expensive and tough to find
I use PGTips for boba tea, too LOL
"Most" of brown sugar in market are White sugar with added morass .
So if you don't have brown sugar and have morass at home just mixed with white sugar, no need to buy one bag and turn it into brick
The word you were looking for is "molasses"
kennst du die Bobabarbarabar?
Do y`all know if the asian tapioca starch can be subbed by brazilian Povilho Seco or Povilho Azedo？They`re all technically tapioca starch
Could one use something like "Rübensirup" instead of the black sugar? It probably has a much better availability in Germany.
Yes, any kind of sugar syrup works if you like the taste (Rübensirup is quite strong imho). I tried honey and maple syrup and it was nice. And to germanize it even more, you can also brew a strong Ostfriesentee. Since it's a tea made to mixed with cream and sugar, it works nicely in boba tea, too.
Another way to get creamier milk is through freeze distillation. Essentially, you freeze your milk and slowly defrost it, getting a more concentrated product by leaving the water (now ice) behind.
Flavor Lab has an in-depth video on the process (link below 👇)
th-cam.com/video/2OQyw2qLucA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=LmeJvF08B83aMxzn
I like to go carp fishing, and have the apparatus to shape the doug in spheres....I have the blackest tea in my country (Argentina), which You might use with ease, or will end with some really astringent beverage! (which I presume, is perhaps a good thing here.....). We have tapioca/mandioca starch by the bulk.....wich We use to make a really tasty cheese bread called "chipá" (in guaraní tongue)...so, tapioca starch is always welcome here. Black sugar is also available, here called "mascabo" sugar....Milk, of course is an everyday thing....WAIT! I BECAME OUT OF EXCUSES TO NOT DOING THIS! Running to the supermarket in 5...4...3...
Can I just correct you on something Andong, "British" tea isn't "chopped" finely. It is the bits that come off the dried fermented leaves, which literally is the "bottom of the barrel" stuff.
i dunno why, less refined sugar should've been cheaper as i thought to be. but that is not the case, brown sugar are about 2x expensive and sometimes you get half the content of what you get from white sugar.
i don't know why that is the case in the sugar processing..
3:23
You can mix molasses back into white sugar to make brown/black sugar; much easier to store than keeping brown/black sugar around that hardens into blocks if you leave it too long.
If you can't find a dark enough sugar, buy molasses and put it in the sugar instead.