I’m a huge fan of of Taiwanese tea-based boba (bubble) milk tea and have been missing it desperately as our local bubble tea cafes are closed right now. It’s the perfect afternoon pick me up on a warm day. A homemade boba milk tea chilled with those chewy, sweet tapioca balls is SO YUM! It’s addicting.
Homemade Boba Tea
Luckily, it’s so easy to boba (bubble, pearl milk tea) at home with the right ingredients that you can order online, or you can find them at your local Asian market if you can. Always better to buy local and from small businesses when possible!
You may also be able to buy ingredients directly from bubble tea cafes if you can.
WHAT IT BOBA OR BUBBLE TEA?
Boba or bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based iced drink made with chewy tapioca or boba balls, tea, milk and sugar syrup. There are so many varieties! I’m always a bit overwhelmed at a bubble tea cafe with the options to choose from.
The soft, sweet tapioca balls are what make it just over-the-top addictive. I’ve been obsessing over how to create it at home the last few weeks, and have finally come up with a great recipe that tastes JUST like the kind I would buy for $5 or more at a boba tea cafe.
What do you drink for an afternoon pick me up?
We also love fresh ginger carrot smoothies for an immune boost, golden milk for it’s amazing nutritional benefits, and a perfect green smoothie.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Tea. Usually some kind of black tea. My favorite is mango black tea. Trader Joes sells a good one too. Also, make sure you use REAL tea, not powder!
- Tapioca balls. THESE ones on Amazon are legit. I’m not sure if you can find then anywhere else unless you live close to an Asian market. They taste exactly like the kind I would get at my favorite boba tea cafes. This is obviously the most important part! They’re hard and covered with a thin white powder when you buy them dried. But don’t worry, they’ll be ready to go quick!
- Thick boba straws like these. We also call these smoothie straws and already had a handful in our utensil drawer.
- Milk (you could also try almond, condensed milk or coconut milk)
- Sugar
WHAT KIND OF TEA TO USE?
Most bubble or boba tea is made with black tea, but I’ve also seen:
- Green Tea
- Iced Coffee
- Jasmine tea
- Taro Milk tea
- Thai tea
- Oolong tea
- Ichiban tea
- Chai tea
- Fruit juices
I would just use whatever kind of tea you like to drink chilled with a splash of milk. I personally love it with an iced coffee too in the afternoon sunshine.
THE GENERAL PROCESS OF MAKING HOMEMADE BOBA MILK TEA :
*Keep note you have to let lots of things COOL so you can’t make it in the moment you have that boba craving! BUT you can prep the tea and syrup easily ahead of time. Here’s generally what you’ll need to do:
- Make your tea and let it cool
- Make a simple brown sugar syrup and let cool
- Boil your tapioca balls and let them cool briefly
- Mix the tapioca balls with the syrup
- Add all together with ice, tea, and milk
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Tapioca Pearl Balls (black)- these ones I ordered online are SO GOOD, but maybe your local boba tea cafe will sell you some too!
- Brown sugar (or regular sugar too works)
- Water
- Tea
- Milk
- Ice
- Thick smoothie straws, or boba tea straws
A COUPLE TIPS
- You must make the tapioca boba balls FRESH. I’ve tried to make a bigger batch and store them in the fridge in some simple syrup, but alas was disappointed to find out they get hard on the inside and mushy on the outside within just 24 hours.
- The good thing though it they only take 3 minutes to boil and 3 minutes to cool.
- Make the brown sugar syrup and your iced tea FIRST so they can cool down in time to mix it with the tapioca balls.
- You can make both the tea and syrup ahead of time and leave them in the fridge for when you’re ready for your iced boba tea. They will keep just fine for a few days, but those tapioca balls must be made day of!
HOW TO MAKE THE BOBA TEA:
STEP 1: Brew your tea and let cool in the fridge.
STEP 2: Mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of water and let boil until sugar is dissolved. Then cool to room temperature.
STEP 3: Add 2 cups of water to a pot and 1/4 cup of tapioca pearl balls. At first they will fall to the bottom, but don’t worry- in about 3 minutes they’ll start popping up.
After 3 minutes, turn off the heat and let them sit for another 3 minutes on the stove. They’ll start to drop again to the bottom.
STEP 4: Drain the tapioca balls and mix with about 1/4 cup of the cooled brown sugar syrup.
*NOTE: Following your tapioca ball packages instructions, but this is a general method above.
STEP 6: Let the tapioca balls cool for about 5 minutes.
STEP 7: When everything is ready, add your tapioca balls with the syrup into a cup you’ll be drinking from.
STEP 8: Next, add a few ice cubes…
STEP 9: Then add your iced tea or iced coffee…
STEP 10: Then a splash of milk! You can add more sweetener at this point if you’d like but I find the tapioca balls mixed with the syrup is good enough for a moderately sweet boba milk tea.
All ready to drink with your thick straw! The combination of the tea, milk, and the delicious, chewy tapioca balls is SO GOOD and you’ll be so happy to have made your own at home.
It’s the perfect refreshing afternoon drink!
Find the full recipe below to print out:
Yield: 2 servings
Homemade Boba Milk Tea Recipe
A chilled boba tea with those tapioca balls. YUM! It’s so addicting, and you can make it at home!
Prep Time
10 minutes
10 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
5 minutes
Total Time
15 minutes
15 minutes
Ingredients
- Tapioca Pearl Balls (black)- these ones I ordered online are SO GOOD, but maybe your local boba tea cafe will sell you some too!
- Brown sugar (or regular sugar too works)
- Water
- Tea
- Milk
- Ice
- Thick smoothie straws, or boba tea straws
Instructions
STEP 1: Brew your tea and let cool in the fridge.
STEP 2: Mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 1/2 cup of water and let boil until sugar is dissolved. Then cool to room temperature.
STEP 3: Add 2 cups of water to a pot and 1/4 cup of tapioca pearl balls. At first they will fall to the bottom, but don’t worry- in about 3 minutes they’ll start popping up.
After 3 minutes, turn off the heat and let them sit for another 3 minutes on the stove. They’ll start to drop again to the bottom.
STEP 4: Drain the tapioca balls and mix with about 1/4 cup of the cooled brown sugar syrup.
STEP 6: Let the tapioca balls cool for about 5 minutes.
STEP 7: When everything is ready, add your tapioca balls with the syrup into a cup.
STEP 8: Next, add a few ice cubes…
STEP 9: Then your tea or iced coffee…
Notes
- You must make the tapioca, boba balls FRESH. I’ve tried to make a bigger batch and store them in the fridge in some simple syrup, but alas was disappointed to find out they get hard on the inside and mushy on the outside within just 24 hours.
- The good thing though it they only take 5 minutes to boil! And then just let them cool.
- Make the brown sugar syrup and your iced tea FIRST so they can cool down in time to mix it with the tapioca balls.
- You can make both the tea and syrup ahead of time and leave them in the fridge for when you’re ready for your iced boba tea. They will keep just fine for a few days, but those tapioca balls must be made day of!
Tea is my love. I love to have tea in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and in the night, I mean in every moment. Here you can make your coffee with aeropress personal coffee maker and try a diffrent taste. I will try this recipe for tea at home. This can make tea more mesmerizing.
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