STRAWBERRY JASMINE GREEN TEA
Boba tea has been such a craze, atleast here in Northern California. We all love our boba tea, and especially in the summers, we like to have it on a weekly or twice a week basis. My favorite flavors are mango/passion fruit and strawberry jasmine green tea. I like the boba in it, along with lychee or strawberry jelly.
Where did Boba Tea originate?
Boba tea, also called pearl tea, milk tea, or bubble tea, originated in the 1980’s in Taiwan. Boba is essentially tapioca pearls, made with tapioca starch. Boba is slang for breasts in Chinese, because the pearls are round in shape. It is pretty funny, but that is how the name boba originated.
Someone in Taiwan had the brilliant idea to combine tapioca pearls(which are anyways used a lot in Taiwanese desserts), along with milk tea. Then came the fruity teas. I love the fruity teas, and although there is black tea and jasmine green tea, the latter is my favorite.
Boba is not hard to make. It is made with tapioca starch. But you can buy the ready-made dried boba pearls from any Asian market like 99 Ranch. That is where I got the ready made boba from. You can also find it here at Amazon. You make the boba per the package instructions and it is pretty straight forward. You basically have to cook them for a long time, and then cool them in sugar(so that they do not stick to each other). They should not be too mushy and have the right amount of chewiness.
Boba is kinda of expensive. It comes out to 6$ with tax, and ofcourse if there are additional add-ins, it keeps increasing. So I decided to make my own boba tea at home.
I experimented quite a bit, trying different teas like mango, passion fruit, strawberry fruit teas, and also tried milk teas. Fruit teas were my favorite out of all the different ones I tried. It is essentially making the fruit simple syrup, with fresh fruit, and mixing it with jasmine green tea, and yes – lots of ice! My kids do not really like the boba pearls so I do not add it for them. However I enjoy it, so I make it for myself.
How to make the Strawberry Simple Syrup?
The strawberry simple syrup is really easy. You basically cook the strawberries, with water and granulated sugar, until it boils, foams and finally subsides. Then you know your syrup is ready. I do not grind the entire mixture. I did experiment with grinding the mixture, but it made it very foamy. Instead I strain the mixture through a fine sieve, and that works out much better. You get a clear strawberry simple syrup. Store it in glass jars, and keep it in the fridge to completely cool.
Now you can use this simple syrup, simply with milk to make strawberry milk for your kids! You can store the simple syrup in the fridge for about a month!
How to make jasmine green tea?
The jasmine green tea is really easy. You have to steep it for the right amount of time, else the tea can become bitter. You do not want to steep it for more than 8 to 10 minutes. The jasmine green tea that I used is linked here. I love the Numi brand and actually they are a local Bay Area company!
You can store the jasmine green tea in the fridge, in a glass container for a couple of days. I do that so that it gets chilled, and serve myself a strawberry boba tea whenever I fancy it!
To make the Strawberry Boba Tea, in a tall glass jar, add the boba pearls, add the ice, strawberry syrup (as little or as much as you like), and then pour in the jasmine green tea. Stir and enjoy!
I got these eco-friendly glass jars from Amazon and I truly love them! It has become a regular occurrence to have this strawberry green tea in our home, especially in these hot summer months!
You will NOT believe how easy it is to make it at home, and experiment with different flavors! I got a can of lychee so that I can experiment with lychee boba tea next! Looking forward to it! 🙂
Hope you enjoyed this little blog post about making your own homemade Strawberry Boba Tea! And hope you get a chance to make it at home and enjoy it all summer long.
Cheers!
XO
Amisha
Strawberry Jasmine Green Tea
Ingredients
- Strawberry Syrup:
- (Makes 2 cups of strawberry syrup)
- 3 cups chopped strawberries
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Jasmine Green Tea:
- 5 cups water
- ½ cup loose leaf jasmine green tea
- Add ons:
- Boba
- Lots of ice
Instructions
- Strawberry Syrup:
- In a medium pot, on medium to high heat, add the strawberries, water and granulated sugar. Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture occasionally. Cook the mixture for 10 minutes in total. There will be foam on the top. Remove the foam with a shallow spoon.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, into a bowl. Press the strawberry mixture to remove as much flavor/juice from them as you can.
- Pour the mixture into jars and store in the fridge for upto 2 weeks.
- Jasmine Green Tea:
- In a medium to large pot, add the water and on high heat, bring it to a boil.
- Switch off the stove. Add the jasmine green tea into the mixture, close the pot with a lid and let the tea steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to retrieve the jasmine green tea. Let cool.
- Assemble the Strawberry Jasmine Green Tea:
- In a tall glass, add about ¼ cup of boba, add ½ to ¾ cup of ice, add about ½ cup of strawberry syrup, and fill the remaining with the jasmine green tea. Mix with the straw and enjoy!
- Note: Add as much or as little of the strawberry syrup as you like. I do not like mine too sweet, so I add ½ cup of the syrup. If you like it more sweet, you can add a bit more of the strawberry syrup. Balance it like how you wish and how you like it!
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