Wendy Leung - The Boba Cookbook: Delicious, Easy Recipes for Amazing Bubble Tea

HELLO, BOBA FRIENDS! Thank you for sticking with us on our crazy adventure. Every person who has walked through the doors of my boba shop, Hello Always Tea, in New York City, or who attended a boba class, who came back again and again despite our ridiculous hoursthis book is possible because of you. Your love and support fueled my boba dreams, and I am forever grateful. To this day, I still get nervous whenever I meet someone who tries our bubble tea for the first time.

Its scary not knowing what their immediate reaction will be, but theres no greater joy than to find someone who loves my recipes as much as I do. This is the reason why I started my bubble tea shop in the first placesharing what I love most, my imperfectly perfect version of bubble tea. As you embark on your own boba journey, remember that no two palates are the same. Use this book as a foundation for making your own, and tweak the recipes to accommodate your own tastes as you go. Channel your inner bobarista: the fun begins at the end of your comfort zone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Cheers,

It all started the moment when my husband (then boyfriend) Ray and I courageously quit our jobs. We had been living in San Francisco for three years, but we had been thinking about moving back home to the East Coast. We were both making six figures and I finally felt like my life was going in the right direction. I didnt grow up with money, so I felt incredibly lucky to be where I was. I was actually in the process of interviewing for a new job, which helped give us the push we needed to leave. Accepting a new job would mean staying for another year, and our hearts were no longer there in San Francisco.

We were both ready for a new adventure and a well-deserved short vacation. Unbeknownst to us, our new endeavor would lead us to the opening of our very own bubble tea shop. Looking back, it seems obvious that we made the right choice, but to be honest, quitting our jobs was one of the hardest decisions we had to make. I went down a rabbit hole of what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. That kind of worrying and rationalizing was a game I was used to playing, and I was extremely good at losing and feeling overwhelmed. So as I debated whether or not to take the plunge, I found myself lost in another battle with myself, questioning my every decision.

Sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together. - MARILYN MONROE The truth is, this wasnt the first time I let my irrational fears get to me. But as irrational as they were, my feelings were also valid. I was scared and anxious. And I couldnt stop myself from feeling this way: emotions just happen, and uncertainty really is scary. Obviously, it was a good idea after allbut at the time I had no idea! What I realize now is that things arent always black and white, good or bad, or all or nothing.

As cheesy as it sounds, change is a journey, and mine luckily has turned out to be a pretty great adventure.

We left San Francisco with a few bags and our white Hyundai Elantra. What followed was a month-long road trip back to New York. We watched sea lions in San Diego, hiked down the Grand Canyon, dug for diamonds in Arkansas, and had plenty of other exciting experiences, but our traveling didnt stop there. One month after reaching Rays childhood home in New Jersey, we flew to Taiwan, the birthplace of bubble tea, for our much-anticipated vacation. At last we were in boba heaven, surrounded by the best bubble tea shops in the world.

So there I was, drinking what might have been my third bubble tea of the day, and a light bulb switched on. I turned to Ray and said, We should open a bubble tea shop. He chuckled and looked at me expectantly. He was waiting for me to laugh back, because suggesting that we should open a shop was a stunt I had pulled beforebut this time I wasnt joking. Our eyes met again, and we both knew that this time I genuinely meant what I was saying.

Believe me, I was just as surprised as he was. Believe me, I was just as surprised as he was.

Opening a bubble tea shop was a daydream Id had one too many times. I spent plenty of time joking with my old colleagues about opening one together, coming up with names for our imaginary shop, and dreaming about being the Starbucks of the bubble tea world. It was always a fun conversation to have, but each time, we eventually abandoned the thought as easily as wed imagined it. You cant connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. - STEVE JOBS

This time, I let my mind wander back to the idea of opening a bubble tea shop and considered it seriously. Id already cycled through names, locations, and at least fifty imaginary setups.

My daydreams tend to escalate quickly, so it wasnt long before Id already built my boba empire.