SPECIALTY DRINKS
These drinks are remixes or reinventions of things we’ve seen around the world, or are inspired by signature drinks from other cafés we like. (We always like to give credit where it’s due!) We’ve served about half of these drinks in Boba Guys stores. The other half are new drinks we developed specifically for this book and hope to put on our menus soon. Some of these feature slightly more involved techniques and methods, and some have harder-to-find ingredients, but we promise they’re worth it. And there are a number of gorgeous drinks that will look great in your social media feed. So break out those phones and set them to portrait mode.
STRAWBERRY MATCHA LATTE
It was a warm summer day in San Francisco, and we had a bunch of leftover puree from these incredible strawberries that we’d been playing with. We also have a huge sweet tooth, so we usually have a pack of Kit Kats (or Haribo gummy bears) on us. This particular day, the Kit Kats were Japanese and were green-tea-flavored. We took a bite of one right after tasting those strawberries…. You know when Remy in Ratatouille closes his eyes and the flavors explode in his imagination? That.
It took a while for people to understand the combination of strawberries, matcha, and milk, but it soon became one of our top drinks. Now it’s beyond an icon. People have made cartoons out of it. A fan once turned it into a Halloween costume. We were in Japan just last year and saw a shop in Kyoto promoting a Strawberry Matcha Latte boba drink. When we asked the cashier about the origins of the drink, she said it’s popular in America.
The key to the look of this drink is the viscosity levels, so the ratios, process, and sourcing must be followed to a T if you want that tricolored presentation. The strawberry puree shouldn’t be perfectly smooth, but be more like applesauce. You want the matcha to start out super pasty, more like peanut butter than tea, and then get thinned out gradually by the water. Use a thermometer to gauge the temperature.
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: BOBA, GRASS JELLY, SAGO
1½ teaspoons matcha powder
3½ tablespoons filtered water, heated to 170°F
2 to 4 tablespoons toppings of your choice (optional)
3 ounces (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) Strawberry Puree (recipe follows)
8 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
¾ cup whole milk
Place the matcha powder in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the hot water. Whisk vigorously to make a paste. It should have the consistency of peanut butter. Then add the remaining 2½ tablespoons hot water and whisk vigorously until any remaining clumps disappear.
Put the toppings, if using, in a large glass. Pour in the strawberry puree. Add the ice and the milk. Then gently pour the matcha over the ice milk, aiming for the ice cubes to keep the layers cleanly separated.
strawberry puree
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
1½ cups cold filtered water
1 cup raw cane sugar, preferably turbinado
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
Combine the water, sugar, and strawberries in a blender and blend until the mixture is pureed but still slightly chunky.
The puree will keep, refrigerated, for about a week.
Hit the Ice
When you pour the matcha for the top layer, do it carefully, and always “hit the ice,” as we say. Hitting the ice, instead of dropping the shot right in, gives the tea something to deflect against, slowing it down and spreading it in a clean horizontal layer. The good bobaristas always take the time to hit the ice.
CARAMEL MATCHA LATTE
Caramel and matcha? That’s a total mash-up! It’s Meiji-era Japan meets Mars bars. It’s a rural county fair meets antioxidant-food-trend city café. It really shouldn’t be served cold, but for some reason it is, and it’s just better that way.
As you do in many of our drinks, try to “hit the ice” (see this page) with the matcha, pouring it straight onto the cubes. It helps disperse the drink evenly and slowly, and makes for a prettier presentation.
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: BOBA, MANGO PUDDING, EGG PUDDING
1½ teaspoons matcha powder
3½ tablespoons filtered water, heated to 170°F
¼ cup Pandan Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
2 to 4 tablespoons toppings of your choice (optional)
8 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
¾ cup whole milk
Place the matcha powder in a bowl and add 2 teaspoons of the hot water. Whisk vigorously to make a paste. It should have the consistency of smooth peanut butter. Add the remaining hot water and whisk vigorously until any remaining clumps disappear.
Coat the inside of a glass with the caramel sauce (see this page). Add the toppings, if using, the ice, and the milk. Then gently pour the matcha over the milk, aiming for the ice cubes to keep the layers cleanly separated.
pandan caramel sauce
Who doesn’t love caramel sauce? This is a great one, with the addition of pandan.
This recipe makes a bunch. We figured you’ll use this in some drinks in this book, and you’ll want some left over because you seem like the kind of person who knows what to do with caramel sauce. Oh, wait, you don’t? OK, let’s see…Enjoy this on your ice cream sundaes, try some caramel-dipped green apples, or make caramel candies. That’s just a few ideas to get the chips rolling. Feel free to get creative with it. Caramel-dipped bacon, anyone?
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS
½ cup filtered water
2 cups white sugar
1½ teaspoons sea salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon pandan extract (fresh leaves are hard to find, and frozen are inconsistent)
In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for about 12 minutes, until a golden to golden-brown color begins to show in the bubbles.
Slowly add the cream, being careful to avoid any spattering or the steam that will come up. Add the butter and the vanilla and pandan extracts. The sugar may seize (harden); if it does, turn the heat down to medium and stir the mixture continuously until it’s all smooth again. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the sauce to cool.
Store the caramel sauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When using it, bring the sauce up to room temperature or warm it in the microwave or over gentle heat on the stovetop.
How to ’Gram Your Drink
We couldn’t write a book without acknowledging one of our trade secrets. Boba Guys grew up in front of the public, on Instagram. We designed our first store around Instagram culture, so hm…this might be pandering, but we know y’all want this! Here are some basic tips to get a great shot.
Find a soft, indirect source of natural light.
Light from a window on a sunny day is good, but a cloudy day is often better! What you often want is light to be diffused—meaning you don’t want the sun shining straight onto your drink, which makes for a sharp glare. You can draw blinds or curtains to help soften the light and create a buffer between the sun and your drink.
Try to make sure there’s 3 to 5 feet of space between the drink and the wall behind it.
This will help create some separation between the drink and your backdrop, which always looks nice.
Try to find complementary or contrasting colors in your compositions.
For a green drink like our Matcha Mule, a shot of red or a deep orange might work nicely—for example, if you have a painting or poster in the background with those colors. Don’t be shy about color-scheming your set a little, even if it’s just your studio apartment.
Allow a cold drink to sit long enough that a little condensation starts to form on the glass.
It just looks cool.
Dress the set with a few things.
Have some leftover ingredients? Carefully set them around the drink to present them casually and aesthetically. Like if you’re shooting the Strawberry Matcha Latte, some berries, some tea, and a small steel container of milk could fill out the frame nicely.
Shoot a ton.
Different angles, close-ups, wides, portrait mode, landscape mode.…It’s digital. Go crazy.
Filter tastefully.
#nofilter is for showoffs. Boosting the brightness and saturation usually helps.
JAPANESE COFFEE COLA
This recipe is based on one of our favorite drinks in Japan, the espresso coke from Coffee Elementary School in Tokyo introduced to us by one of our dear friends—and culture king—Eugene Hu. The combination of coffee and cola has been around for a while in Japan (coffee is an actual flavor of Coca-Cola there, like how we have Cherry Coke in the U.S.). It’s acidic and sweet and effervescent, but has that coffee flavor complexity and extra kick. And then you get that smooth mouthfeel from the buttercream topping, which is our twist. It’s like an American Coke Float. かんぱい Kanpai!
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: NONE
5 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
¼ cup Cold Brew Coffee (this page)
1 cup cola, preferably one made with cane sugar
½ cup Salted Buttercream Topping (recipe follows)
Fill a glass with the ice and add the cold brew. Slowly pour the cola over the ice. Top with the buttercream topping. Mix before drinking.
salted buttercream topping
Brick toast, sweetened with condensed milk and served warm with a pat of butter, is a staple food you’ll see in breakfast cafés everywhere in Hong Kong. We adapted its flavor for a perfect sweet-savory whipped topping for our drinks. We love that hit of salt with all the sweetness and creaminess, and it adds a bit of heft and body to the drink. It makes it more of a complete beverage—both filling and fun.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the heavy cream and attach the whisk attachment. Start the mixer on medium-low speed.
While the cream is whipping, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave; it shouldn’t take more than 20 or 30 seconds, maybe less. Once the butter is melted, thoroughly combine it with the condensed milk.
Continue whipping the cream, gradually increasing the speed to medium-high. Whip until the cream thickens and ripples start forming. Turn the mixer speed back down to medium-low and slowly add the condensed milk mixture. Continue mixing until the condensed milk is no longer visible, and stop the mixer when soft peaks form. In other words, it will look like whipped cream, but it will be soft, not stiff and fluffy. (Be sure to not overwhip it.)
Store the topping in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
MARMALADE DRINKS
Even though it’s not common to use marmalades (of all kinds, not just orange) in drinks, there are reasons to do so. They’re delicious. They’re fully portable. We have a jar of Korean honey citron marmalade on hand at all times—great for hot teas and when you need to shut down a cough. They can sit on a shelf.
And we love marmalade drinks because they provide a platform—you can expand on them by adding fresh fruit, you can tweak the flavor base with other juices, and you can bring the acidity or sweetness up or down by combining it with other ingredients or adjusting the amount you use. It’s the perfect drink to remix, as much a part of tradition as it is something completely new.
PEACHES AND CREAM
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: TAPIOCA CHIA SEED PUDDING, MATCHA PUDDING, COCONUT ALMOND JELLY
2 to 4 tablespoons toppings of your choice (optional)
¼ cup Roasted Peach Marmalade (recipe follows)
5 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
¾ cup filtered water
¼ cup Salted Buttercream Topping (this page)
Put the toppings, if using, in a glass. Add the peach marmalade and the ice. Pour the water gently over the ice. Spoon the buttercream topping over the ice. Gently give your drink a stir to mix everything together before drinking.
roasted peach marmalade
MAKES 4 CUPS
1 pound frozen or fresh yellow peaches, sliced (use fresh if you can)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup filtered water
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons dry pectin
½ tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
If you’re using fresh peaches, bring a pot of water to a boil, drop the peaches in, and blanch for 10 seconds. Then transfer the peaches to a bowl of ice water. When they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. Pit the peaches and cut them into ½-inch cubes. If you’re using frozen peaches, just thaw them.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the peaches out evenly on the parchment. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until soft. Transfer the peaches to a medium-size pot. Add the lemon juice and water. Set the pot over medium-high heat and stir the peaches to prevent them from burning. Once the water begins to boil, add the brown sugar, white sugar, pectin, and lemon zest. Bring the mixture back up to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute. Then take the pot off the heat, allow to cool until warm, and for best results, use a regular blender or a stick blender to blend the contents together until smooth. Let the marmalade cool to room temperature, and store it in the fridge overnight to let it set up before using.
You can store the marmalade in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
KIWI GUAVA MARMALADE TEA
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: FRESCA KONJAC JELLY
2 to 4 tablespoons toppings of your choice (optional)
¼ cup Kiwi Guava Marmalade (recipe follows)
5 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
6 ounces filtered water
Put the toppings, if using, in a glass. Add the kiwi guava marmalade and the ice. Pour the water gently over the ice. Give your drink a gentle stir to mix everything together before drinking.
kiwi guava marmalade
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
5 kiwis
½ medium-size guava
½ cup store-bought lime juice or the fresh-squeezed juice of 3 to 4 limes
1 cup filtered water
2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons dry pectin
Remove the skin of the kiwis and the guava, and cut the fruit into quarters. In a small saucepan, combine the kiwis, guava, and lime juice with the water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the sugar and pectin. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the fruit starts to break down, about 10 minutes. Then bring the mixture back up to a boil over high heat and let it boil for 1 minute. Take the pot off the heat, allow to cool until warm, and for the best results, use a standard blender or a stick blender to mix the contents together until smooth. Let the marmalade cool to room temperature, and chill it in the fridge overnight before serving.
Store the marmalade in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
YUZU PEAR MARMALADE TEA
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: FRESCA KONJAC JELLY, GRASS JELLY
2 to 4 tablespoons toppings of your choice (optional)
¼ cup Yuzu Pear Marmalade (recipe follows)
5 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
6 ounces filtered water
Put the toppings, if using, in a glass. Add the marmalade and the ice. Pour the water gently over the ice. Gently give your drink a stir to mix everything together before drinking.
yuzu pear marmalade
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
1¼ pounds Korean yellow pears (Korean pears can be huge, so if you can, weigh them out as you shop.)
3 cups filtered water
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) yuzu juice (available at Asian markets or online)
½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1½ cups white sugar
1½ tablespoons pectin
Peel the pears, core them, and cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes. In a small saucepan, combine the pear cubes, water, and yuzu juice. Bring the contents to a rolling boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pears have softened and two-thirds of the water has cooked away, about 12 minutes.
Add the ginger, lemon zest, sugar, and pectin to the pears. Bring the mixture back up to a boil over high heat and let it boil for 1 minute. Take the pot off the heat, let it cool until warm, and for best results, use a standard blender or a stick blender to blend it until smooth. Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain out the pear granules. Let the marmalade cool to room temperature. Store it in the fridge overnight before serving.
You can store the marmalade in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
SPARKLING ROSE MATCHA
We’ve always experimented with SodaStreams and effervescence, and we love the idea of sparkling teas. They’re healthful, too.…They’ve got antioxidants!
This floral, vegetal, bubbly pick-me-up is perfect for a hot afternoon. The matcha is pretty subtle in this one, so you don’t get much of its bitterness and you can drink this all day long. You can find dried edible rose petals at specialty herb shops or online.
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: NONE
5 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
2 tablespoons Rose Syrup (recipe follows)
8 ounces sparkling water
3 tablespoons Matcha Cold Brew (recipe follows)
Add the ice, and then the rose syrup, to a glass. Slowly pour in the sparkling water. Gently pour the cold-brew matcha over the ice, aiming for the ice to help with the layering effect.
rose syrup
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
½ cup dried edible rose petals
1 cup filtered water, heated to 200°F
1 cup white sugar
Steep the dried rose petals in the hot water for 12 minutes.
Pour the sugar into a storage container. Strain the rose-infused water into the container. Mix thoroughly until the sugar has fully dissolved, and allow to cool.
Store the syrup in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
matcha cold brew
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
1½ teaspoons matcha powder
7 ounces (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) cold filtered water
Place the matcha powder in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the cold water. Whisk vigorously to make a thin paste. Then slowly add the remaining ¾ cup cold water and whisk vigorously until any clumps disappear.
MATCHA PALMER
The classic Arnold Palmer is lemonade and iced tea—standard iced tea, which usually means black tea. But Arnold Palmer played on the green, after all, so we think he’d appreciate a grassy matcha with his lemonade. We love to make our lemonade with Meyer lemons, which are a variety that is a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges; they have a less tart, slightly sweeter juice. If you just have regular lemons, it’ll still be great (though you may want to add a little more sugar to balance the sourness). Or try the variation below using yuzu, the super-floral Japanese citrus.
You have to be super careful when layering this drink—make sure to “hit the ice” because there isn’t a whole lot of density difference to keep the liquids separate.
MAKES 1 GLASS
RECOMMENDED TOPPINGS: TAPIOCA CHIA SEED PUDDING, FRESCA KONJAC JELLY
2 to 4 tablespoons toppings of your choice (optional)
5 ounces (by weight) ice cubes
4 ounces Lemonade (recipe follows)
7 ounces Matcha Cold Brew (this page)
Put the toppings, if using, in a glass, and add the ice and the lemonade. Gently pour in the matcha cold brew, aiming for the ice cubes to create the layering effect.
lemonade
MAKES 2 CUPS
⅔ cup filtered water, cold or room temperature
⅔ cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (from 4 to 5 medium-size lemons)
⅔ cup white sugar
In a small pitcher, stir together the water, lemon juice, and sugar. Make sure the sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside or store in the fridge for up to a week.
Variation:
To make a yuzu lemonade, replace half the lemon juice with yuzu juice.