Transport yourself to the tropics with a sweet, refreshing mango pineapple smoothie served over chewy boba pearls.

Bubble tea originated in Taiwan, a concoction of tea with chewy tapioca balls i.e. Boba. Over the last couple of years, we have seen a rise in Boba cafes offering boba tea and boba smoothies. My kids LOVE it and a smoothie with tapioca balls is just the thing that has them smiling from ear to ear. Anyone else find that food is usually the one thing that can put a grumpy teen into a good mood??

And here’s an idea: we did a Boba-themed birthday party and it was a hit with the tween/teen crowd….see pic below. You can make other smoothies and drop in the boba.

A lot of grocery stores now carry tapioca balls and of the ones I’ve tried, the one I like the most is WuFuYuan -tapioca pearls. (It is usually cheaper in an Asian store than Amazon). The pearls from this brand consistently turn out like the cafe-bought boba and the kids like the flavor.

Servings: 4 Total time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup boba (see note below in cooking boba)
• 2 cups unsweetened mango pulp (usually available in the Indian grocery store much cheaper!)
• 2 cups of pineapple chunks
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 10 ice cubes

Method

• Cooking Boba
  • Follow the instructions that come with the dry tapioca pearls (the ones I buy require me to cook the pearls in boiling water for 3 minutes, switch off flame, cover and leave for 3 minutes, then drain water and soak the cooked boba in cold water till ready to use. If your boba comes unflavored, after cooking soak it in a combination of honey and water to sweeten it)
• Making the smoothie
  • Combine mango pulp, pineapple chunks, coconut milk and ice cubes in a blender and blend until smooth
• To serve, drop in 3 spoons of boba (drain off the water) into the bottom of a glass and then pour the smoothie over it. Use a wide straw to slurp up the boba along with the smoothie
• Enjoy!!