Last month on March 12th, the STEMComm VIP team had the pleasure of hosting the Sober Science Speakeasy, where we had several booths serve delicious mocktails and a jazz band playing some active music during the night, all while the drink makers each had unique demonstrations to show the science behind the drink. We had a variety of drinks from a drink carbonator, butterfly pea flower tea, a mixed density drink, and many more. It was an amazing experience to be a part of, and it was a great event to hold for the Atlanta Science Festival and for Georgia Tech before we had to transition to online classes. Me and my teammate Nadia (who is a very passionate lover of puns and polymers!) helped to make bubble tea, and I’d like to share that recipe for anyone interested in making their own.
Note: This recipe makes about 10-14 servings.
Cinnamon Honey Boba Tea
10-12 bags of Black Tea (Preferably Twinnings)
1-3 tablespoons of cinnamon
⅓ cup of honey (or more depending on your preferred level of sweetness
1 package of black tapioca pearls (Brand we used)
12 cups of water (for tea) & 8 cups of water (for tapioca pearls)
Here’s the Tea:
- Put water over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil.
- Place the tea bags in the pot, and follow the instructions given on the packet (normally about 3-5 minutes)
- When the tea is finished cooking, turn off the heat and mix in the cinnamon and honey
- Set aside to let cool while you cook the tapioca pearls
Putting the Boba in Boba:
- Put the water over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil.
- Pour the tapioca pearls into the pot, lightly stirring until they float to the top.
- Cover the pot and let the pearls cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and scoop the pearls into the bowl of cold water for about 1 minute.
- Drain the water, put the pearls in a container, and pour the cup of water and brown sugar over the tapioca pearls to create a brown sugar syrup.
Bringing it All together:
After finishing making the tea and the boba, it’s time to put as much boba as you like into your cup of tea! How you want it after that is all up to you! You can add your favorite type of milk, colorful jellies, puddings, fresh fruit, and even some red beans (it’s sweet and lovely). It’s a very easy recipe to make that gets even better and better as time goes on, so I highly encourage practicing this recipe over and over again, and who knows? You might be the next Sweet Hut or Kung Fu Tea. Good luck!
To close off for the Spring semester, I’d love to thank everyone involved with the creation of the Sober Science Speakeasy, from our faculty advisors Dr. Leavey, Dr. Evans, Dr. Greco, and Dr. Mendelson, all of our teammates, my boba buddy Nadia, all the clubs, sponsors, and musicians that made this night great! Bye for now, good luck to all the students taking finals, wash your hands, and stay at home!
