We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted vanilla.
Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted pearls or
jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered that. But what is the
jelly?

Daughter liked it at first because she said it was warm at the bottom where
you hold it. She liked the flavor of it until she sucked up a pearl through
the straw. She didn't like those at all.

Julie wrote:

> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted
> vanilla. Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted
> pearls or jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered that. But what
> is the jelly?

The pearls are made from tapioca or some other starch. The jellies are made
from fairly-hard gels: a bit softer than gummi bears, but along those same
lines. In terms of taste, the jellies are much more amenable to being
infused with flavors than the pearls a In fact, the pearls rarely have
any flavor added to them, while the jellies almost always do.

The gelling agents could be common (such as agar-agar, pectin or gelatin) or
more industrial (such as carrageenan or locust bean gum); they're mainly
there to provide body and texture and have little or no taste of their own
(which is why they need to have flavor added). The "boba" jellies are also
not necessarily spherical; they're commonly sold as cubes, but can also be
found as stars or strips.

I'm familiar with a chain of bubble-tea shops called Lollicup. There used to
be a Lollicup outlet in my vicinity, and I went there every now and then.
The store has since closed, but I'm still on their e-mail list, and they do
a thriving mail-order business. (That's where I bought my bottle of Monin
pistachio syrup.)

I should note that in addition to the tapioca pearls and the jellies, many
bubble-tea vendors will offer flavored mini mochi (glutinous rice cakes) or
sweetened beans in syrup as additives to your cup of tea.

Bob

On Sat, 4 Jun 2011 00:24:47 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted vanilla.
> Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted pearls or
> jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered that. But what is the
> jelly?

No idea. Bubble tea isn't as popular as it used to be here.
>
> Daughter liked it at first because she said it was warm at the bottom where
> you hold it.

Weird.

> She liked the flavor of it until she sucked up a pearl through
> the straw. She didn't like those at all.
>
<shrug> They're just tapioca - so now you know she doesn't like
tapioca in big chunks. I didn't like tapioca "pearls" either (long
before bubble tea) until I discovered the tiniest ones. It's the
texture. I can't stand anything slimy. Undercooked egg whites are a
perfect example.


--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

sf wrote:

> I didn't like tapioca "pearls" either (long before bubble tea) until I
> discovered the tiniest ones. It's the texture.

Like something which came out of your nose, you mean? A slightly-hard chunk
covered with sticky goo?

Bob

In article >, says...
>
> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted vanilla.
> Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted pearls or
> jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered that. But what is the
> jelly?
>
> Daughter liked it at first because she said it was warm at the bottom where
> you hold it. She liked the flavor of it until she sucked up a pearl through
> the straw. She didn't like those at all.

That's the thing that got me the first time I tried it too. Now I like
them, like chewy little gummies.

On Sat, 4 Jun 2011 03:29:18 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

> sf wrote:
>
> > I didn't like tapioca "pearls" either (long before bubble tea) until I
> > discovered the tiniest ones. It's the texture.
>
> Like something which came out of your nose, you mean? A slightly-hard chunk
> covered with sticky goo?
>
I hope you enjoyed that.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

Julie Bove wrote:
> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted
> vanilla. Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she
> wanted pearls or jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered
> that. But what is the jelly?
>
> Daughter liked it at first because she said it was warm at the bottom
> where you hold it. She liked the flavor of it until she sucked up a
> pearl through the straw. She didn't like those at all.

I've never cared for milk-based bubble teas. Sweet tea with milk is
already a complicated enough beverage, IMHO, and doesn't need tapioca or
jelly - might as well have an actual milkshake.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea

.... most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit
syrup) and/or milk. Ice blended versions of the drink are also
available, usually in fruit flavors.

One of famous categories of bubble teas is "pearl milk tea" (also known
as "boba milk tea" and "tapioca (ball) milk tea") contains small chewy
balls made of starch like tapioca (cassava), potato or sweet potato
called "pearls", "fenyuan" or "boba". Pearls made of jelly are also
available in many places.

-S-

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
eb.com...
> Julie wrote:
>
>> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted
>> vanilla. Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted
>> pearls or jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered that. But
>> what
>> is the jelly?
>
> The pearls are made from tapioca or some other starch. The jellies are
> made
> from fairly-hard gels: a bit softer than gummi bears, but along those same
> lines. In terms of taste, the jellies are much more amenable to being
> infused with flavors than the pearls a In fact, the pearls rarely have
> any flavor added to them, while the jellies almost always do.
>
> The gelling agents could be common (such as agar-agar, pectin or gelatin)
> or
> more industrial (such as carrageenan or locust bean gum); they're mainly
> there to provide body and texture and have little or no taste of their own
> (which is why they need to have flavor added). The "boba" jellies are also
> not necessarily spherical; they're commonly sold as cubes, but can also be
> found as stars or strips.
>
> I'm familiar with a chain of bubble-tea shops called Lollicup. There used
> to
> be a Lollicup outlet in my vicinity, and I went there every now and then.
> The store has since closed, but I'm still on their e-mail list, and they
> do
> a thriving mail-order business. (That's where I bought my bottle of Monin
> pistachio syrup.)
>
> I should note that in addition to the tapioca pearls and the jellies, many
> bubble-tea vendors will offer flavored mini mochi (glutinous rice cakes)
> or
> sweetened beans in syrup as additives to your cup of tea.

Thanks!

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 4 Jun 2011 00:24:47 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted
>> vanilla.
>> Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she wanted pearls or
>> jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered that. But what is the
>> jelly?
>
> No idea. Bubble tea isn't as popular as it used to be here.
>>
>> Daughter liked it at first because she said it was warm at the bottom
>> where
>> you hold it.
>
> Weird.
>
>> She liked the flavor of it until she sucked up a pearl through
>> the straw. She didn't like those at all.
>>
> <shrug> They're just tapioca - so now you know she doesn't like
> tapioca in big chunks. I didn't like tapioca "pearls" either (long
> before bubble tea) until I discovered the tiniest ones. It's the
> texture. I can't stand anything slimy. Undercooked egg whites are a
> perfect example.

She doesn't like tapioca at all, but she also doesn't like jelly things.

"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
> Julie Bove wrote:
>> We saw a sign for these and daughter wanted to try one. She wanted
>> vanilla. Fine. But then the lady behind the counter asked if she
>> wanted pearls or jelly? I knew what the pearls were so I ordered
>> that. But what is the jelly?
>>
>> Daughter liked it at first because she said it was warm at the bottom
>> where you hold it. She liked the flavor of it until she sucked up a
>> pearl through the straw. She didn't like those at all.
>
> I've never cared for milk-based bubble teas. Sweet tea with milk is
> already a complicated enough beverage, IMHO, and doesn't need tapioca or
> jelly - might as well have an actual milkshake.
>
> From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea
>
> ... most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit syrup)
> and/or milk. Ice blended versions of the drink are also available, usually
> in fruit flavors.
>
> One of famous categories of bubble teas is "pearl milk tea" (also known as
> "boba milk tea" and "tapioca (ball) milk tea") contains small chewy balls
> made of starch like tapioca (cassava), potato or sweet potato called
> "pearls", "fenyuan" or "boba". Pearls made of jelly are also available in
> many places.

This was an actual vanilla milkshake. Didn't appear to have any tea in it
at all.