Peppermint boba pearls are boba pearls that have peppermint in them. Peppermint is consumed by many for fresh breath and for its wonderful taste. Peppermint is also one of the best herbs for providing great health benefits. It is one of the most widely used out of the herbs and spices. This article will cover how to make these healthy boba pearls.
The health benefits of peppermint oil is said to not only improve the freshness of breath, but also to help prevent cancer, and improve the digestive system. It is commonly taken to relieve irritable bowel syndrome. Peppermint is good for being an anti-inflammation supplement, and help flush out the body from harmful toxins by acting as an antioxidant.
Peppermint can also provide a slight energy increase, which can further help add to the already high carbs in tapioca pearls. Tapioca pearls are known to provide a lot of carbs for boosting energy. Peppermint is also used by teachers to help their students focus in class when taking tests. It is said to improve concentration and help indviduals to think more clearly.
It can help with common colds too, as it is commonly taken for colds. These are a lot of the benefits that the peppermint boba pearls will provide, as they will contain the peppermint oil in them.
The peppermint boba pearls also do not need to be soaked in sugars after they are cooked, since they’re flavor comes naturally from the peppermint. Thsi means that they are an all around healthier choice than the regular black tapioca pearls.
How To Make Peppermint Boba Pearls
Now we will go over how these peppermint boba pearls are made. They are made out of cassava flour or tapioca starch, just like traditional tapioca black pearls. This will go over the equipment needed to do it, and the exact ingredients for making a small batch for a regular bubble tea.
Equipment needed for making peppermint tapioca pearls:
- A non-stick pan.
- A heat resistant spatula.
- A measuring spoon.
Ingredients for making peppermint tapioca pearls:
- 1.5 ounces of water.
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract.
- I used 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract for this and it gave a subtle but noticeable flavor of peppermint without it being too strong when I repeatedly ate the boba. The flavor will build up in the mouth, as more are eaten one after the other. Use more peppermint extract if you want a stronger flavor of peppermint.
- Make sure it is peppermint extract, not peppermint oil. Peppermint oil four times stronger.
- Tapioca starch or cassava flour.
- Use tapioca starch, but you can use cassava flour if you don’t have access to tapioca starch for some reason.
- A pinch of xanthan gum.
- Do not use too much xanthan gum, it will ruin the tapioca pearls. Only use a dash of it (1/16 of a teaspoon or less).
- 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
- The sugar isn’t required, but you can use it to sweeten the boba up. I used powdered white sugar because I didn’t want to change the color of the tapioca pearls. You are welcomed to use brown sugar instead, for darker tapioca pearls.
We are making peppermint tapioca pearls from scratch, so if you are used to this, then it will be really easy. Kneading the dough isn’t hard, but for some it can be a challenge. If for some reason you experience any problems with making the dough, refer to this guide to troubleshoot fixing the tapioca dough.
1. Put 1.5 ounces of water into the pan.
The amount of water is enough for making the dough size for the tapioca pearls. More water is needed for making bigger dough when making more tapioca pearls for example. Also, the other ingredients will have to be increased to the proportion of water you are using. If you don’t want to do that yet, then stick with the 1.5 ounces of water.
2. Heat the pan on medium-low heat on the stove.
Heat up the non-stick pan on the stove at a temperature between low and medium. The temperature can’t be too high, else the mixture and dough will cook too fast.
3. Add in a pinch of xanthum gum.
A little more than a pinch is ok, but more than a dash is too much. It will turn the water into jelly if too much is used, and make it hard to cook the dough. It is best to start over and try again if this is done.
4. Put 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar into the pan, and mix everything together.
Put in the sugar and thoroughly mix everything together. The xanthan gum needs to be completely dissolved into the water.
5. Put 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract into the pan and mix it into the mixture.
Be aware that the peppermint extract will be strong, so don’t have your face too close to the pan, or you might get a little surprise. Mix it thoroughly into everything else in the pan. The strength of the peppermint extract will die down after the flour/starch is added.
6. Pour half of the portion of tapioca starch/cassava flour in the pan to the portion of the water in the pan.
The proportion of cassava flour/tapioca starch (whichever you are using) needs to be no more than half of the mixture of water, sugar, peppermint extract, and xanthan gum mixture in the pan. If it is less than half, then it is fine. If more than half is added, then a little more water needs to be added to fix the mixture.
7. Thoroughly mix everything in the pan together, and continously stir on medium-low heat.
The mixture should still be mostly liquid if everything is done correctly in the right proportions. Continously stir the mixture on the heated stove until everything thickens into a sticky blob paste. Be patient and keep mixing and stirring.
8. Add in more tapioca starch or cassava flour (if you are using that instead) to the pan equal to the size of the dough.
Pour the tapioca starch/cassava flour on the side of the sticky dough, then place the dough on top of the flour.
9. Knead the tapioca starch/cassava flour, using the spatula, into the sticky dough until it can’t hold anymore starch or flour.
Keep folding the dough and flattening the dough until it is mixed with the starch/flour. When it is no longer sticking to the spatula or the pan, then it is finished.
10. Place the dough on a flat surface and thoroughly knead in more tapioca starch/cassava flour as needed.
Place it on a flat surface with some of the tapioca starch/cassava flour spread out on the surface, to keep the dough from sticking to the surface. Begin kneading more starch/flour thoroughly into the dough until it can hold no more, and it is 100% not sticky. After this, the dough is ready for forming peppermint tapioca pearls.
It is very important that the dough is done this way, else the tapioca pearls will not form properly when they are cooking. They will easily stick and be fragile, losing form.
11. Form the tapioca balls from the tapioca dough.
Take pieces of the dough off with your fingers and place the piece in the palm of your hand. Roll the dough until it forms a sphere. Make sure that the pearls are big enough, but small enough to fit in a boba straw. Afterwards, gently roll the pearls in light cassava flour/tapioca starch to make sure they don’t stick to each other.
The peppermint tapioca pearls are now ready for cooking. They will be cooked at the same times that traditional tapioca pearls are cooked (30 minutes boiling, 30 minutes simmering). The peppermint boba doesn’t need to be soaked in sugars after they are cooked, as they will already have their natural flavor from the peppermint oil.
