Chafei - Tea & Coffee Reviews & Buying Guides

This article describes how to make bubble tea(boba tea) from scratch, including homemade tapioca pearls and milk tea. If you prefer a simpler process, you can purchase pre-made tapioca pearls and skip steps 1 and 2 of the tapioca pearl preparation:

Ingredients Needed:

• Water (approximately 100ML + 200ML)
• Potato starch
• Flour (a small amount, to prevent sticking)
• Brown sugar
• Black tea bag (1 bag)
• Milk (1 carton)

Instructions:

1. Making Tapioca Pearls Prepare the materials. Add 100ML of water and a block of brown sugar into a pot. Heat until the brown sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is boiling. Immediately pour the boiling brown sugar water into the potato starch, stirring quickly to form a dough. Remove the dough and knead it on a clean surface until smooth. Roll the dough into small balls, making them moderately sized since they will expand when cooked. Sprinkle some flour on the pearls to prevent sticking. Any extra pearls can be frozen for future use; simply cook them directly from the freezer when needed.

As we are currently in the critical period of spring tea production, the Crop Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has organized the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, the National Tea Industry Technology System, and the Tea Expert Guidance Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to research and propose technical guidelines for spring tea garden management.

Responding to Spring Cold Spells

Frost Prevention

Keep an eye on local weather information. When the temperature drops to around 0°C, cover the canopy of mature tea trees with non-woven fabric, woven bags, multiple layers of plastic film, or multiple layers of shade nets, with a height of 20-50 cm above the canopy. Shelters that are elevated above the canopy are more effective. In tea gardens with irrigation systems, turn on the irrigation system before the frost melts to spray water on the tea trees, which can effectively prevent frost damage by washing away the frost on the leaves. Large-scale tea gardens are advised to install anti-frost machines. When frost occurs, turn on the machine to blow air, disturbing the near-ground air to raise the surface temperature of the trees and avoid or reduce frost damage.

With the wave of technological advancements, many tea-related institutions, research organizations, and companies have actively embraced change. They leverage technology to empower the entire tea industry’s value chain, continuously exploring innovations that infuse sustainable development into the tea industry. In a series of articles, we document the intelligentization explorations at various stages of tea cultivation in China.

The emergence of smart tea gardens has enabled precision and automation in tea garden management. By comprehensively sensing, managing, analyzing, and sharing data, these systems allow for the monitoring and management of tea plants throughout their entire growth cycle.

The Rise of a Visual Beverage Icon
Tiger Sugar (老虎堂), a Taiwanese beverage phenomenon, revolutionized the global drink scene in 2017 by introducing the world’s first “edible art” – the iconic black sugar tiger-striped cup. As the originator of this viral aesthetic, the brand quickly captivated Gen Z and young professionals with its Instagram-worthy drinks, positioning itself as a leader in the premium milk tea category.

Product Innovation: Beyond the Hype
Unlike generic bubble tea chains, Tiger Sugar leans into its Taiwanese roots with a “black-centric” menu divided into four distinct categories:

Spanning a 1.5 kilometer waterfront and encompassing 17,000 square meters of riverside space, the 2024 Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival has kicked off with vigor as part of the “Double Five Shopping Festival” in the airy Xuhui riverside area. This year’s event, themed “Taste the World in Shanghai,” focuses on “internationalization” and “boosting consumption,” further polishing Shanghai’s new calling card of “coffee culture.”

Building on the success of the previous three editions, this year’s “Coffee Culture Week” has been elevated to a “Coffee Culture Festival,” becoming a highly influential urban festival IP. How does a simple cup of coffee meet the developmental stride of Shanghai city? Shanghai answers: Coffee is not just a drink; it is a medium that continuously enriches the coffee culture, innovates coffee consumption scenarios, and blends international perspectives with local innovations. Traditional culture and contemporary trends merge with commercial forms and cultural sentiment, making the aromatic fragrance of coffee a vibrant footnote to the city’s “open, innovative, and inclusive” character, adding a lively touch to the city’s soft power.