As you probably know, I am a Bubble Tea addict. If I could, I’d have one every other day. With the world on pause, I found myself ordering delivery, but wanted to try something different.

I’ve written about Paragon Tea Room in the past and how I admire and enjoy their high quality beverages – so when I heard they had Bubble Tea kits available, I had to order one for myself. First of all, let me say that I thought it would take a little bit to get delivered, but they delivered so quickly!

paragon tea room bubble tea kit-134440

To start, I ordered the Hojicha Powder (Bronze – 50g) with the add on kit of 450 g of tapioca pearls and 2x Barista Oat Mylk.

I chose the powder over loose leaf after chatting with owner Michelle via Instagram, she provided such great insight that I want to share with you today:

Powder Versus Leaves

Powder

  • Very potent. You only need a few grams of the powder to experience the flavour. When drinking tea/tea lattes with pure stone-milled tea powder, we are ingesting the ground tea leaves (ie, its not steeped)
  • Powder is faster and easier to deal with at home with the right tools (bamboo whisk, milk frother, etc)
  • Powder has a bit of a gritty, powdery mouth feel and texture
  • Powder tends to be more expensive
  • Not every tea is available in powder form, most tea powder is Japanese tea.

Loose Leaves

  • You would need a lot of grams to make a strong tea base for a tea latte or milk tea
  •  It takes longer to make because you must account for steeping time (at least 10 minutes to create a strong brew)
  • Texture is smoother and consistent
  • Cheaper than powder, but you need more, so it may average to be the same.
  • There is more variety to choose from because all tea is available in loose leaf (except Matcha)

 

Hojicha is a green tea from Japan that is pan-fried with roast and nutty flavours. This particular Hojicha powder is stone-milled using 100% first flush Bancha. The origin of this tea can be found in the Mie Prefecture 300 meters above ground. This tea is great for making lattes and for baking.

To create the Bubble Tea:

Creates 1 16oz Hojicha Oat Bubble Tea

Milk Tea Ingredients:
4.5g tea powder
75ml hot water to whisk/dissolve powder
2-3 tsp white sugar (you can skip if you don’t want it to be sweet)
175ml dairy or oat milk
170g ice

Tapioca Pearls:
100g pearls
1000ml water

Cook in boiling water for 30 minutes
Simmer for 15 mins
Turn off stove and steep for 35 mins
Rinse pearls thoroughly
Soak in brown sugar syrup or honey for 10 minutes (I skipped this step since I didn’t want to add sugar to my bubble tea – however, if you like your bubble tea sweetened, do not skip this step)

Procedure:

  1. Cook the Tapioca Pearls first (as above)
  2. Once cooled, add to bottom of glass.
  3. Add tea mixture and stir well.
  4. Enjoy!

Watch how I made it on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18057939979243261/

You can make your own Bubble Tea at home with Paragon’s set – check it out here, along with all the other items they have available in their shop: https://www.paragontearoom.com/s/order