Wild Blueberry Bubble Tea Smoothie Recipe -- Chewy tapioca pearls make this healthy breakfast just like my favorite boba tea!
By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.
Happy leap day!
I think we should make all Mondays fall on a leap day. That way I only have to handle one every four years...
This post has been a long time coming, and finally..FINALLY it has come to fruition. Wild blueberry fruition! ( see what I did there...)
It actually came to me not long after I made the Wild Blueberry Lemon Basil Smoothie but tracking down both tapioca pearls and daylight hours has proven to be twenty shades of difficult.
Thanks to the Asian market literally twenty steps outside of my apartment, the tapioca tapped its way into my blueberry bursting heart, in which I poured into this tall frosty glass for your enjoyment.
If you've never experienced bubble tea before, it is usually made with black tapioca pearls, which have the same texture as a gummy bear, and served with a XXL straw in a cup of creamy tea of your choosing. I almost always go for the Thai iced tea.
But since the black (boba) pearls would have probably required shucking a bushel and a peck of oysters to harvest (aka they're hard to find), I settled for regular tapioca pearls. Because THOSE were a breeze to find.
And just like that secret garden where all the tapioca pearls live happily ever after, wild blueberries come from a pretty special place as well.
They're called “Wild" because, well... they are. They're out of control!
Wild Blueberries are not planted and actually occur naturally in barrens and fields in Maine and Eastern Canada for 10,000 years. AKA the blueberry before time. Can you spot them in my front yard?
Yeah me neither.
This smoothie does pack a Mr. Boombastic punch of antioxidants though, thanks to the extra strong green tea base, and a serving of wild blueberries which have twice as many antioxidants in them than regular cultivated blueberries. I'd like to think they're the reason my plague streak is finally over.
I will admit, this smoothie does take some time to make, simply because the bubbles of the bubble tea take some time to prepare. I turned to the Kitchn for some bubble tea expertise, and as always didn't let me down. There's also instructions on how to make and store the boba pearls for later, that way you could make them a day ahead, and whip up this smoothie while your eyelids are still glued shut in the morning.
Wild Blueberry Bubble Tea Smoothie
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 1 smoothie 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup dried tapioca pearls
- 1 cup strong green tea, cooled
- ½ cup frozen wild blueberries
- ½ banana, peeled and frozen
- ½ cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 5-6 ice cubes
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil over high heat.
- Add tapioca pearls, and boil until they begin to float.
- Turn heat to medium, and cook an additional 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for another 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make 1 cup of strong green tea (2 tea bags per 1 cup). Let cool.
- In blender, combine cooled green tea, frozen blueberries, banana, almond milk, and ice cubes.
- Blend until smooth.
- Drain tapioca pearls, and add to a large glass.
- Pour prepared smoothie over tapioca pearls.
- Best enjoyed with spoon or extra-wide straw.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Category: Smoothies, Drinks, Beverages
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The icy coldness of this wild smoothie makes the boba extra chewy, which works for the girl who considers chewing a necessity in order to qualify as a meal. You could always add in some vanilla protein powder, or serve this alongside some eggs to make this into a well-rounded meal. Extra chewing may be required.
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Make it a great day!
Have you ever had bubble tea before?
Tell me something you did this weekend!
glenneth
that looks delicious and oh so colorful. i have never tried tapioca pearls.
Annmarie
So I tried bubble tea about 7 years ago for the first time and LOVED it but haven't had it since. Never thought of making it at home and since blueberries are my fav, I am definitely giving this a try! Pinned for later 🙂
Farrah
I love bubble tea! I was living in the middle of nowhere for a while, so tapioca pearls were pretty much unheard of. Super glad to be back in the bay--yay for food diversity! 😛 This recipe looks awesome! It's almost like a snow bubble tea!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I've always wanted to try a bubble tea!! It's so fun!
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health
what a fun spin to regular smoothie!!
jill conyers
I've never even heard of bubble tea. Very cool and the recipe sounds delicious.
Chrissy @ Snacking in Sneakers
I've never had bubble tea before! It was a big hit at college because there was a place on campus that sold it, but I never got around to try it. I'll have to give it a whirl at some point soon.