The Best Ways To Enjoy Tea + How To Make Tapioca Boba From Scratch

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Interested in enjoying a hot cup of Bigelow Tea this fall season? Hover over the photo above to click through to Walmart.com and shop some of my personal favorite varieties!

This season and I have a strange relationship.

The changing weather, restless leaves, and overcast days always tempt me to call in sick and curl up with a good book and a favorite cup of tea. Then there are the other fall days- busy days peppered with meal planning on a grand size, the juggling of seasonal recitals, and impending housework. It all seems to go by in a blink, making me ever so content to stop and enjoy those special moments highlighted prior. Yes, this is definitely one season where I don't feel any guilt over sipping in the days; and it wouldn't quite be fall without Bigelow.

I am far from perfect.

Okay, ignore the mug, my kind father gave that to me as a gift on my 30th birthday- he thinks much too highly of me. In truth this time of the year brings out the worst in me- I've seriously considered investing in seasonal counseling AND a personal assistant just to survive these 3 months. We all love our family, but do they absolutely have to show up with their foreign exchange student, and 5 suitcases of laundry, with absolutely no notice the night before Thanksgiving? The leaves this time of year are gorgeous, but is it imperative that my neighbor's gardeners pile them up on the boundary line like a giant 'I'm better than you' trophy blowing in my face? And that stunning purple yam vegan cheesecake I saw on Pinterest, is it supposed to sink 2" in the center and blacken?

Deep breaths. Long sips.

That's my secret- a great cup of my favorite Bigelow teas. A stolen moment here and there. Some much needed, and deserved, me time.

I may tea proudly this time of the year, but creating truly glorious tea time moments doesn't have to be a hassle (unlike figuring out which of the 10 holiday storage boxes the glass bulb hangers fell into in January of this year.)  You see, there's a reason I choose Bigelow as my tea brand; several, really. Not only has Bigelow been the tea of choice in my family for generations- right back to the scent of Earl Grey from my grandmother's lap, it's a tea brand built ON generations. Bigelow is a family built brand around for almost as many generations as my own family has been enjoying it.

You'll find Bigelow's over 40 varieties of bagged teas on shelves at your local Walmart, each of them featuring the signature easy tear foil packs, which lock in the freshness of every leaf and flavor. Made in the USA, Bigelow is known for quality ingredients across their traditional varieties, such as Earl Grey, and Green Tea, as well as their seasonal favorites, Toasted Coconut, Pumpkin Spice, and Salted Caramel. My kitchen pantry is never short of at least 5 of our family's favorite varieties.

Part of the fun of planning a Bigelow moment is picking out your flavor- I've even been known to mix and match a few to make my own. (Red Rooibos and Chamomile go amazing together in a sunset like show.) As we transition into the fall season I find myself clinging to the last of Summer's harvest flavors- orchards full of juicy ripe peaches, a flavor reminiscent in Bigelow's Perfect Peach variety. The aroma of this particular brew never ceases to delight me, or the wonderful warm orange hue it slowly brews in my mug of hot water. Perfect Peach moments are all about taking a little vacation in my home, no matter what is going on at that particular time. A fresh plate of fruit, a funny meme feed, and my mug- don't bother me.

A comforting cup of tea is certainly an all day necessity- even when I was a little girl I would look forward to twilight in anticipation of a few sips of Momma's 'nighttime' tea blend. With no caffeine, and all natural, Bigelow's Sweet Dreams blend of chamomile and mint help soothe me to sleep when my mind is otherwise still quite alive and electric from the day's events. Tea time at the end of the day is just as much a ritual as it is during the day, especially during the busy months ahead. I particularly enjoy a piping hot mug, bedside, while writing in my journey and checking off the schedule for the following day.

At it's core a cup of tea is a simple delight, an easy way to indulge without guilt, or hassle- all you need is a cup of water.

But, now and then, I like to truly treat myself with and equally simple ritual and tea addition that was once thought to be a luxury. As it turns out, jut about anyone can make delicious tapioca boba pearls in about 15 minutes with only 4 ingredients. To follow along with this fun, almost zen-like, task of homemade tapioca pearls you'll need to gather:

Boiling Hot Water

Tapioca Flour (I usually buy in bulk)

Bigelow Tea Of Choice (I use Earl Grey)

Brown Sugar/Honey

Optional Food Color

I must've read a gazillion how-to's and Instructables on this process with poor grainy photos and contradicting information. Calling these 'Boba' is technically incorrect- and 'black' or 'sweet' Boba isn't a real thing, unless you're in a homeland cafe where the pearls are soaked in a genuine sticky syrup, and essentially aged.

Once you've accepted this, and the fact that your water (I use tea as a water base, for flavor) must in fact be boiling hot in order for the 'dough' to take shape, you'll be good to go.

I could give you measurements, and make things exact but I've found that this really is more of a fun art, than a science. The general rule of thumb is to add 1:3 ratio, water to tapioca flour. In general I put about 2 C of tapioca flour in a stainless steel mixing bowl and make a well in the center of the mound. I then pour about 4 TBS of boiling hot tea water in the enter and stir with a spoon. I'll continue to mix until the dry ingredients are wet and sticky, adding TBS by TBS of tea at a time until this is accomplished. Next I'll put on some gloves and sprinkle more tapioca flour atop my sticky ball and begin kneading until I have an easily malleable ball of dough.

The outside of your dough will want to crack and dry quite rapidly, so you should work fast on the next steps, but you can easily add a little moisture to the larger dough mass to 'bring it back to life' if needed. A general good practice is to lightly drape a damp towel over the main dough mass, while working to shape your smaller pearl balls, to help prevent it from drying out.

Next, break off portions of your main dough and roll them into an even snake, about 1/2" thick.

Lay out your 'snake' segments and cut them into equally long (1/2") segments.

Take each segment and roll it into a tiny ball, and set aside on a wax paper surface.

While you are going through the somewhat zen, but time consuming process of rolling all these balls put a pot of 3-4 cups water on the stove and bring it to a boil.

Note: These homemade tapioca pearls should be 'cooked' an should not be stores in this dry dough state, as they WILL dry out and not cook right. Use them immediately after you are done rolling all of your smaller balls.

Once you have all of your tapioca pearls rolled add 1.5 C brown sugar to the water and stir rapidly until dissolved.

Reserve 1 C of this brown sugar water in a heat safe container. This will serve as your suspension for your cooked tapioca balls, upon removal.

Add any desired flavoring or food colors to your remaining boiling brown sugar water at this time.

Carefully lower your rolled tapioca balls into the boiling mixture, and allow to simmer until they rise to the surface (about 7-10 minutes).

Remove from the water, carefully, with a slotted spoon, and place cooked tapioca balls in reserved sugar mixture from earlier. Store in the fridge until cool and serve in your favorite glass of Bigelow tea. Cooked tapioca pearls will store in syrup mixture for 3-4 days in the fridge, though they never last that long in our home!

Enjoying a cup of my favorite Bigelow Tea, Constant Comment, with some homemade tapioca pearls and a ribbon of condensed milk is one of my favorite ways to treat myself at home. That's the true beauty of a great tea, really, it doesn't have to be dressed up to make for a special moment- but it also helps one feel truly pampered when they choose to. If you've never tried Constant Comment, it's not only my favorite sipping tea, but my favorite brining/cooking tea thanks to it's slightly spicy black tea blend that you'll only find with the Bigelow brand name.

Of course my final favorite way to enjoy a cup of tea is with friends or family, in every day moments that are sometimes otherwise overlooked. With all the hustle and bustle of the season we so often occupying the same space, with absolutely no concern for how valuable the mere presence of one another truly is.

Naturally, we all enjoy our own favorite sips- while mine tend to change with the weather and my mood, Jeremy loves all of Bigelow's many varieties of flavored Green Tea options. Quality green tea blends with natural flavoring, such as the mug of Green Tea with Mint he is sipping on here. Of course Gidget isn't too keen on being put down for even a moment, so he often gets suckered into juggling a miniature dog while sipping and unwinding in the afternoon. To be fair, she does put on quite the pitiful display.

So there you have it, my favorite ways to enjoy a glass of piping hot Bigelow tea this season- and why this simple ritual helps keep me sane through the months ahead. If you Tea Proudly, or still need a little inspiration to find your tea moment at home, wander on over to the Tea Proudly hub for some more amazing inspiration and ideas. You'll also find plenty of uplifting tea time moments on Bigelow's social channels, which you can find here on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you try our homemade tapioca pearls tutorial, leave me a note and let me know how they turn out, or if you have any questions! Now, tell me, what's your favorite flavor of tea to Tea Proudly with?

P.S. Did you see all the cool things in this post? Don't forget to 'shop' with the interactive image at the beginning of this post, and PIN the Homemade Tapioca Pearl Tutorial PIN Strip, below!

International Recipes w/ Bigelow, #AmericasTea + Life of Pi

Momma Told Me: The best tea needs no sugar.

If I could relate a single item to my childhood, and Momma, it would, without hesitation, be 'tea.' No matter her stage in life, Momma has never given it up, despite caffeine wars and grumbles from pop over the pitchers in the fridge, tea is her favorite beverage. When I was younger I'd often look forward to flu season, not only would Momma baby me with all the candy and ice cream I craved, but she'd toss open those kitchen cabinet doors and allow me the full selection of her extensive tea collection. It wasn't a literal collection, of course, but there were enough varieties of flavorful little bags to have me contemplating my next attack for hours. Would I mix Perfect Peach loved pondering as I hunted for the hidden cup full of honey sticks in the back. Whether iced, or steaming hot, Bigelow tea was as much a part of my childhood memories as Spongebob Squarepants, and I'm sure to pass down those memories, and that affection, to my family today.

While Bigelow is a household name in our home, there is little I knew about the company itself. As it had been around for my childhood, I knew the brand was well established, but that it's roots went 60 years back, I did not. In fact, one of my favorite blends of theirs is actually how the company got started. Founded by women, and run through familial generations, Bigelow began when Ruth Bigelow arrived at the conclusion that the American tea market was lacking zest and pizzaz. She introduced her own, sharper, more flavorful, blend of everyday tea, which quickly gained compliments leading to it's name, and 'Constant Comment' tea was born. Today this lively blend of orange and spices continues to garner compliments worldwide and remains a top seller among equally delicious blends such as Vanilla Chai and White Tea Raspberry.

Bigelow remains my choice for tea due to it's simple range of classical flavors, and festive range of holiday variants, like the yummy Egg Nog blend! I love that this family run brand is driven to excellence in one category, tea, and devotes entire teams to the crafting and research of the most powerful blends, rich with natural flavors. No gimmicks, just real, good, tea.

Tea is much more than a beverage to Momma, and learning to cook with tea has opened a world of flavors to my table at home. The carefully crafted blends of  Bigelow tea help me add flavor without extra calories and sugars. While many might be intimidated at the thought of substituting water for tea, the truth is it can be done in nearly any recipe; the trick is pairing the right blend for your recipe. Recently we headed to our local WalMart to stock up on our favorite Bigelow favorites and pick up the Oscar Award Winning film Life of Pi on DVD. With international 'Pi Day' just around the corner (3/14), I was easily inspired that we would turn the film's viewing into an experience with exotic foods made with my favorite Bigelow blends. I planned a simple, yet flavorful, menu of Constant Comment Tea Braised Chicken atop Green Tea Rice with Vegan Earl Grey Poppyseed Cookies. Not to spoil the film or story in any way, but it seemed appropriate I tackle a Vegan recipe, as the majority of Pi's family is Vegetarian.

While it seems natural to me to pair my favorite tea with this film (okay, I'd drink Bigelow without an excuse too), you may need a little extra inspiration to create a tea moment of your own. Bigelow and Life of Pi is teaming up so you can create your very own Relaxing Moments movie night, like us, with their Relaxing Moments Sweepstakes! Now through March 29, 2013, 'Like' Bigwlow on Facebook and fill out the simple entry form for your chance at one of over 175 amazing prizes, including 25 first place winners of a Panasonic Blu-Ray Player and Bigelow Chest of Teas!

Earl Grey Poppyseed Cookies (Vegan)

Ingredients:

* 2 C Unbleached Flour

* 1/2 C Granulated Sugar

* 1/2 C Powdered Sugar

* 1/4 TSP Salt

* 2 TBS Earl Grey Tea (4-5 Bags)

* 6oz Non Dairy Margarine

* 2 TSP Vanilla Extract

* 1 TBS (Optional) Poppyseeds

* 1 TBS Vanilla Soy, or Dairy Milk Alternative

Directions:

1.) In a food processor, combine the sugars, salt, and tea. Pulse until tea is well combined and ingredients are equal size/consistency. Add flour and pulse to combine.

2.) Add margarine/butter substitute, vanilla, and soy milk. Pulse until dough begins to take shape. Remove from processor and place into large bowl. Kneed until loose bits of flour are combined and texture is even.

3.) Cut dough in half and roll into a log. Wrap the dough logs and refrigerate them for a minimum of 30 mins. Preheat the oven to 350F.

4.) Remove the dough from the fridge and cut slices that are about 1/3" thick. Place them on a greased/lined cookie sheet and bake about 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway.

Constant Comment Braised Chicken

Ingredients:

* 3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Sliced to 1/2" Strips

* 1 C Strong Brewed Constant Comment (3-4 Bags Steeped)

* 3/4 C Diced Green Onions

* 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

* 1/2 C Honey

*1/4 C Soy Sauce

* 1TBS Chinese 5 Spice Powder

* 1 TBS Toasted Sesame Oil

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350F

1.) Place the chicken in a large Saute Pan or Casserole Dish. Pour the tea over the chicken and sprinkle the garlic/onions around the meat.

2.) In a small bowl whisk honey, 5 Spice, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Pour the mixture over the chicken.

3.) Place the lid on the pan, or loosely wrap foil atop the casserole dish. Braise 2 hours.

4.) Remove from oven and serve atop noodles or Jasmin Rice.

Green Tea Rice:

Ingredients:

* 2 TBS Loose Bigelow Green Tea (2-3 Bags)

* 1/2 C White or Jasmine Rice

* 1 C Water

* 1 TBS Sugar

* 1 TBS Rice Vinegar

1/4 TSP Kosher Salt

Directions:

1.) Boil tea, rice, and water in small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, or until all moisture has been dissolved.

2.) While waiting, in a separate saucepan, over low heat, stir sugar, vinegar, and salt until dissolved. Fold into cooked rice, and serve.

After our delicious tea infused dinner we all snuggled up on the couch to watch the newly released Life of Pi film, munch on Zebra cakes and Earl Grey Cookies, and Sip my special blend of Bigelow Red Raspberry and Lemon Lift iced tea! Sabrina kept remarking "Is this really tea???" as she couldn't believe how flavorful it was without a drop of added sugar. When I was a child I used to cuddle on the couch with Momma and sip our favorite Bigelow blends. We'd rent all of the Oscar nominated films appropriate for my eyes and make an entire lazy afternoon out of playing critic. I'm glad tot see that Bigelow continues to inspire family traditions, and memories, still today. Life of Pi proved to be the perfect pairing for my tea infused menu, and even made Sabrina tear up towards the end, as the film's poignant tale of survival and faith hit home.

I wish we'd had a chance to experience Life of Pi on the real 'big screen,' but the story still seemed quite fantastic and magical even at home.  The cinematography was breathtaking, even when one considered the majority is painstakingly computer rendered, and the plot is much more than a boy and a tiger on a boat. Thematically, there are some intense moments, and a broader agenda to the plot, than merely telling an extraordinary tale. The film sparked questions about religion in general, Hinduism, and faith. I was happy to differ most of the questions to the real curiosity, for Sabrina, vegetarians, and explain Pi's struggle with survival versus his need to destroy. In the end, our Earl Grey Vegan cookies saved the day, as talk turned to how 'flavorful' vegan food can be! Bigelow, #AmericasTea, creates memories yet again! Check out an exclusive behind the scenes peek at our movie night planning and Google + album.

What Daughter Says: I was raised to recognize good flavor. I was raised with Bigelow.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Bigelow Tea #CBias #SocialFabric #AmericasTea