Boba Tea

 Bubble tea most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls. It can contain fruit juice or milk, and is sometimes a blended frozen drink. Tapioca pears are available at Asian grocery stores and some in a variety of sizes and colors. But! Did you know it is possible to make them yourself? You will need tapioca starch, fruit, sugar, a sauce pan, and a blender. Today we make DIY tapioca pears from scratch!

1. Add fruit to your blender to get 1/2 C. puree

2. Add puree,1/2 C. tapica starch, and 1/2 C. sugar to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it turns into a goo.

3. Transfer goo to a bowl with another 1 C. tapioca starch, and blend it until starch is incorporated, and feels and acts like playdough.

4. Roll out a long snake of dough and chop into tiny pieces. Roll pieces into balls. After trying this once, I would suggest that smaller is better as the larger ones remain super chewy even after cooking.  

 5. Next you boil the pearls for 20 minutes.

6. Make a tea and add cooked tapioca and serve.

Coffee Time

Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. (Oil is number one)
Seventy percent of coffee beans are Arabica. Although less popular, Robusta is slightly more bitter and has twice as much caffeine.
There have been five attempts to ban coffee throughout history. Coffee was first banned in Mecca in 1511 because leaders believed it stimulated radical thinking.
Coffee stays warmer when you add cream. Coffee with added cream cools about 20% slower than plain black coffee. But when you add milk, it weakens the effects of caffeine.
Dark roast coffees have less caffeine than lighter roasts. Even though the flavor is often stronger, roasting actually burns off some of the caffeine.
Coffee has been found to reverse liver damage caused by alcohol.

Mojitos

10 fresh mint leaves from the garden
1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste
1 cup ice cubes
1 1/2 fluid ounces white rum
1/2 cup club soda

Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into a sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with carbonated water. Stir, taste, and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge.

Pumpkinnog

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon 

2C. whole milk
1 C. heavy cream

1/4 C. pumpkin puree
1/3 C. bourbon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla

4 egg whites

With your stand mixer, beat egg yolks with 1/3 C. sugar until sunny yellow and sugar is dissolved.  In a two quart sauce pan, heat milk, cream, pumpkin puree, and pie spice until warm, but not boiling. Remove from heat.  Mixing quickly (speed 4) and pouring slowly, temper eggs by adding warm liquid to mixing bowl with eggs.  After combining, pour mixture back into sauce pan, and heat to 165*.  Remove from heat, add vanilla, and bourbon.  Refrigerate mixture for several hours.  When you are ready to assemble drink, whip egg whites with 1 Tbs. sugar until still peaks form.  Fold egg whites into your custard base. Garnish drinks with nutmeg.

Peach Tea

Eggnog

Food Network Eggnog Recipe

Bubble Tea 泡沫紅茶

Ingredients:
tea milk
large tapioca pearls
sweetener

Directions
Brew tea. Let cool. Boil tapioca pearls until they are chewy and puffy. (Follow package directions) Drain most of the water from the tapioca, then add sweetener. This will prevent your tapioca from sticking together. Add pearls to bottom of a glass. In a separate glass add equal parts milk and tea, and ice. Shake together until beverage is cold. Add milk tea to tapioca glass, sweeten to your liking. In this picture, I used raspberry tea, and honey.