teaspoons at the table: milk oolong, honey & rose water tapioca

Suddenly hazy sun tea and garden infusions are fading as fast as green leaves. The warm flames of the stove are calling me close and I'm craving tea-infused treats made just for crisp and cozy weekends. While searching for a few sweet treats easily transformed with a steep, I came across Turntable Kitchen's Honey & Rose Water Tapioca recipe (adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day).

I must admit that honey and rose water bring me delicious joy and are perfect teacup companions. Giving this homemade tapioca recipe a tea twist, I quickly knew that the velvety, sweet, buttery notes of a milk oolong tea would add a subtly decadent taste. Easily infused in the main ingredient, milk, the dainty yet rich nuances of the slightly floral Chinese oolong turned this treat into my go-to fall indulgence.

I reduced the original amount of lemon zest so that it didn't overpower the creamy bursts of tea-infused milk. And with just a bit more rose water than originally called for, my senses were sent to spring for a moment. Add that to the comforting tea-infused milk, sweetness of local wildflower honey, playfully chewy tapioca, and salty crunch of pistachios and you have my perfect spoonful.

Keep reading for the milk oolong-infused tapioca recipe...

milk oolong, honey & rose water tapioca

(adapted from Turntable Kitchen)

serves 4

3 cups of whole milk
5 teaspoons milk oolong tea
1/3 cup of small pearl tapioca
2 egg yolks (beaten with fork)
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup of honey (any local honey will add rich burst of sweetness. Lavender honey would intensify the floral taste)
lemon zest from 1/2 small lemon
1.5 teaspoons of rose water
handful of toasted pistachios

1. Add 5 teaspoons of Milk Oolong tea to paper filter (I recommend Finum's large filters). Add 3 cups of milk to medium pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 minutes. Add tea and infuse for 5 minutes. Remove tea and let milk cool to room temperature

2. Add one cup of tea-infused milk to a medium pot and stir in the tapioca. Let the tapioca soak in the tea-infused milk for 30 minutes.
3. Lightly beat the egg yolks and whisk them into the milk and tapioca. Add honey, salt and remainder of tea-infused milk (2cups) and gently whisk to combine.
3. Heat the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil (about 10 minutes). Lower the heat to a light simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Stir often to ensure that the tapioca does not clump together.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and add the lemon zest and rose water. Let cool.

5. When you’re ready to serve, top the tea-infused tapioca with pistachios. For a quick snack, spoon the tapioca into glass jars, top it off with pistachios, twist on the jar lid and pop them in the fridge for an instant snack.