This week I'm sharing a recipe a friend created to make bubble tea at home. During these abnormal times, having some small rituals reminiscent of life pre-pandemic can help bring a bit of normalcy into our lives. My friend used to get bubble tea in Chicago to relax after a hard week, and was missing this treat while stuck at home in a suburban region. Enjoy!

Boba

Ingredients:

• Tapioca pearls, such as these.

Recipe:

1. In a large pot boil 10 cups of water for every 1 cup of tapioca pearls

2. Once the water is boiling, add in the tapioca pearls

3. After about 5 minutes check the pearls, if they are floating in the water, they are done

   1. Tip: Make sure to stir often so the pearls don’t stick to the bottom of the pan

4. Drain the water from the pot, and transfer the pearls into a bowl with cold water

5. If you are pre making the tapioca pearls, then you can put the bowl in the fridge for up to 3 days

Milk Tea

Note: It’s easier to make a bunch of tea and keep it in the fridge so you can have milk tea on demand

Ingredients:

• 1.5 liters of water

• 10 packets of tea (I recommend Royal Myanmar Tea Mix)

Recipe:

1. Boil 150 ml (5 oz) of water for every 1 tea packet

2. Once the water is done boiling, mix in contents of the tea packets

3. Add to a pitcher and refrigerate until cold

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Photo is Body becomes rainbow color (2018 II) by Kawagoe Yurie. Saw it in the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design while teaching there last summer. The materials used to make the bodies reminded me a bit of tapioca pearls.