Bubble Tea With A Twist: How To Mix Spirits Into Your Favourite Drink

A drink with origins in Taiwan that has garnered widespread popularity across the world, boba tea or bubble tea is a flavourful chilled concoction prepared using freshly brewed tea, some milk, creamer and a generous dollop of tapioca pearls.

The pearls add a bit of a fun element into the refreshing drink and all its myriad colours make boba tea a rather cheerful mix that can be enjoyed on warm summer afternoons. It is the iced tea with a hint of cream that gives this blend its signature taste whereas the tapioca pearls contribute to providing a textural break to the mocktail because of their soft and chewy quality.

Now, mixologists have also begun to incorporate spirits into classic boba tea mixes to induce a boozy kick into the drink. Bubble tea with a twist then makes use of different syrups and fruit mixes coupled with spirits like vodka and gin to become stunning cocktails that can be the highlight of any summer gathering you host.

Mixed well in a cocktail shaker, all the ingredients in a bubble tea cocktail come together uniformly to introduce sweet, tart and bitter notes into a blend that packs quite a buzz.

Read on below to know more about some of the cocktails that can be prepared with boba tea as the base ingredient and the different spirits that go into their making:

Boba Aperol Fizz

Boba tea is traditionally made using black, green or oolong tea which is then mixed with ice, cream and milk to turn it into a chilled drink. Infuse this with aperol to prepare a delicious pre dinner tipple full of the bubbly goodness of the aperitif and the sparkling qualities of prosecco that bring into it just a hint of fizz. You can also add a dash of lime juice to the recipe for a tangy twist but be careful while doing so because lime might curdle the milk tea.

Boba Berry Bash

This cocktail works particularly well at a tiki or island themed party where you want to introduce tangy, sour and citrusy elements into your drinks along with cheerful colour pops. The boba berry bash can be prepared using strawberry and raspberry syrups for their seductively pink hues and some simple syrup to give it a slight sweetness. Make the drink boozy with a splash of white rum or you can also go for berry infused rum or vodka based on your liquor preferences.

Boba And Bourbon Iced Tea

One of the delights in summer weather is sipping on chilled iced tea after a long day at work or a day spent outdoors under the harsh sunlight. You can come home to a tall glass of boba iced tea that is prepared by adding tapioca pearls to freshly brewed black tea. Do away with the milk and cream so you can savour the bitter and intense notes of the tea coupled with the chewiness of the tapioca pearls. Infusing this drink with quality bourbon adds a hint of intensity to the cocktail that introduces a light buzz in it as well as a whole new layer of smoky and oaky notes that give the cocktail an elevated flavour.

Bubble Tea Piña Colada

One of the most cheerful features of boba tea is its vibrant colours that quickly make the drink appear attractive during warm weather. Prepare a bubble tea piña colada but add a splash of blue curaçao to the drink so you can infuse the classic tea mix with an inviting oceanic hue. The bubble tea can be turned into a boozy drink with the addition of a delicious Captain Morgan Dark Rum. A dash of pineapple juice will give the drink a tangy and sweet flavour and some coconut cream will lend it the tropical feels inherent to the classic cocktail.

Irish Coffee With Boba

Give the classic boba tea recipe a twist to mix tapioca pearls with freshly brewed coffee and cream instead of tea to make this Irish blend. You can add a generous portion of Baileys Original Irish Cream to give the drink a very luxurious and silky quality which nicely complements the soft tapioca pearls that are the signature feature of this mix. Bring the drink together with a 30 ml pour of bourbon or Ketel One Premium Distilled Vodka for a boozy kick.