Boba Teashake

DESIGNING THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BUBBLE TEA.
SHAKE UP THE STATUS QUO.

It's Bubble Tea Reimagined.

The Collaboration

QUESTION EVERYTHING. WE DID EXACTLY THAT. BUT, IN BUBBLE TEA.

Boba's Origins

Bubble tea (also known as “boba”, “PMT”, and “BBT”) is a common beverage of Taiwanese origin that first appeared in the 1980s, of which chewy tapioca pearls are poured into a glass of iced, sweetened tea.

Today, the drink has gained popularity around the world. However, many of the ingredients used to make it are questionable—from low quality tea using dust and fannings instead of whole tea leaves, non-dairy creamers, and corn syrup to artificial flavors—and has tarnished this beverage’s reputation.

The Birth of a New World-Class Beverage: The Boba Teashake

How do you make the ordinary, extraordinary? The art of culinary meets the art of tea in this exciting project by TEALEAVES x The St. Regis San Francisco that challenges design, technique, sourcing, and craftsmanship in the world of bubble tea.

Called the “Boba Teashake”, the World's Most Expensive Bubble Tea project is a fun, five-star twist to a popular beverage, using the highest quality ingredients possible to create something unforgettably delicious. It's a game of balance and blending—from color + aroma + taste + texture—to let the quality of each ingredient shine where the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

It's Bubble Tea, Reimagined.

LYCHEE PASSIONFRUIT BUBBLE TEA
DISCOVER

The Criteria

DEVELOP A DISCERNING PALATE LIKE A TRUE TEA CONNOISSEUR.
LEARN HOW OUR MASTER BLENDERS GRADE AND EVALUATE BUBBLE TEA WITH THIS GUIDE.

The Recipe Card

THE BOBA TEASHAKE — WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BUBBLE TEA
BY EXECUTIVE CHEF FRANCK DESPLECHIN

Mountain Berry Tapioca Pearl

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
  1. Bring the hot water to a boil at 212°F, and then infuse TEALEAVES Mountain Berry on a coffee filter for 10 minutes. Press the coffee filter to extract the maximum liquid from the tea and discard the tea.
  2. Bring TEALEAVES Mountain Berry tea to a boil and incorporate the Tapioca pearl and bring down to simmer. Cook the Tapioca for about 1h15 until Tapioca pearls are cooked and transparent. Make sure you are stirring the pot often.
  3. Strain it, then cool down under cold water to eliminate the excessive starch. Reserve in the refrigerator.

Lychee Passionfruit Tea Base

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
  1. Prepare 1 TEALEAVES x Royal Crown Derby Basic White T-Pot with the water and then infuse TEALEAVES Lychee Passionfruit Bubble Tea Black on a coffee filter for 3 minutes.
  2. Press the coffee filter to extract the maximum liquid from the tea and discard the tea.
  3. Add 1 oz of the honey and cool down on ice.

Salted Caramel Foam

INGREDIENTS
  • 10 oz
    Sugar
  • 7 oz
    Heavy Cream
  • 7 oz
    Whole Milk
  • 2 oz
    Salted Butter
  • ¼ tsp
    Fleur de Sel
DIRECTIONS
  1. Cook caramel to light brown, gradually add butter with fleur de sel, temper with warm milk, cream. Reduce to desired consistency.
  2. Cool down and reserve in the refrigerator.

Passionfruit Coulis

INGREDIENTS
  • 17 oz
    Passionfruit Purée (Boiron)
  • 17 oz
    Sugar
  • 1 tsp
    Cornstarch
DIRECTIONS
  1. Mix all ingredients together and pour in a cream whipper canister (syphon) with one CO2 cartridge. Reserve in the refrigerator.

To Serve

INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
  1. Store the «Riedel» glass in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  2. When glass is chilled, place the tapioca pearls at the bottom of the «Riedel» glass.
  3. Add the passion fruit coulis to the bottom of the glass.
  4. With a cocktail shaker filled up with ice cubes, shake the TEALEAVES Lychee Passionfruit Bubble Tea Black for a few seconds to chill it.
  5. Pour TEALEAVES Lychee Passionfruit Bubble Tea Black into the glass, leaving the ice cubes behind.
  6. Fill the glass to the top with the caramel foam.
  7. Top the foam with a little bit of fleur de sel and then place the pipette for decoration.
  8. Serve chilled with a wide straw.

The "Why"

EXPLORE THE STORY BEHIND THE BOBA TEASHAKE'S DESIGN —
IT'S WHAT WE DID, AND WHY WE DID IT.

Bespoke Blending

TEA BLENDED SPECIFICALLY FOR BOBA

First, TEALEAVES’ blending approach for an iced tea is completely different than that for a hot tea. As a beverage cools, its aroma has less impact on the overall intensity of the palate. The color and taste are amplified in order to provide the best experience for the senses. Indian, Chinese and Ceylon black tea are blended with the natural oils of lychee and passionfruit, for a delicate aroma, even over ice.

To prevent unsightly clouding, our iced teas are blended carefully in small batches by hand while examining the tea’s acidity so that it can withstand cold temperatures when “shocked” with ice after being infused with hot water. The overarching goal is a color of golden scotch.

SHOP TEALEAVES PASSIONFRUIT LYCHEE BUBBLE TEA

The Shake-It-Up Signature

TEA CHILLED WITHOUT DILUTION

Shake up a Boba Teashake using a cocktail shaker to rapidly cool the drink without the addition of ice, which melts and dilutes the tea, radically changing the composition.

Precise Infusion

TEA PREPARED WITH PROPER STEEPING TIME + TEMPERATURE

Bubble tea (also known as “boba”, “PMT”, and “BBT”) is a common beverage of Taiwanese origin that first appeared in the 1980s, of which chewy tapioca pearls are poured into a glass of iced, sweetened tea.

Today, the drink has gained popularity around the world. However, many of the ingredients used to make it are questionable—from low quality tea using dust and fannings instead of whole tea leaves, non-dairy creamers, and corn syrup to artificial flavors—and has tarnished this beverage’s reputation.

Tart Tapioca

TEA-INFUSED PEARLS

Tapioca pearls are infused with TEALEAVES Mountain Berry herbal to add a tart twist to a beloved ingredient that’s typically over-sweetened with brown sugar. White tapioca pearls are used to complement the aesthetic of sea salt caramel foam.

SHOP TEALEAVES MOUNTAIN BERRY

Sweet + Salty Froth

SEA SALT CARAMEL FOAM

The bubbles in bubble tea originally come from shaking the tea in the martini shaker. A second layer of bubbles is created in the Boba Teashake with the sea salt caramel foam. Caramel, sea salt, and cream are frothed to create a culinary foam, and finished with a flourish of delicate fleur de sel.

Drizzling Décor

PASSIONFRUIT COULIS PIPETTE

Inject the Boba Teashake with a tart coulis, or drizzle it on top of the sea salt caramel foam for a fun, engaging element. Immersing the coulis directly into the tea gives a more fragrant and intense flavor to amplify the passionfruit oils from the black tea blend.

Plating + Presentation

GLASS + LAYERS

"Riedel, known for crystal that highlights the complex aromas in fine wine, sojourns to the world of tea. The Riedel glass is chilled and paired with a straw to keep your Boba Teashake cool.

Layers of tapioca pearls, tea, foam, fleur de sel and coulis create a complex and varied drink—the epitome of blending."