Drink

Boba Tea

By Amy Flanigan

Published Jun 11, 2025

Read 3 Reviews

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 20 minutes mins

Servings 4 servings

By Amy Flanigan

Published Jun 11, 2025

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Made with black tea, tapioca pearls, brown sugar, and sweetened condensed milk, this Boba Tea is sweet, creamy, and just perfect on hot summer days. No need to hunt down an expensive bubble tea shop – if you can boil water, you can make your boba milk tea at home!

I love sipping on bubble tea on hot summer days – it’s a thirst-quencher and caffeine boost in one! While there are many fancy varieties and flavors of boba tea these days, the recipe I’m sharing today is closer to the original boba milk tea. Strong black tea with just the right amount of rich, sweet cream.

Helpful Tips

• Black Tapioca pearls. The balls in the tea are black tapioca pearls, which are soft and chewy, and made of starch. They are called boba, hence the name of the drink.
• What tea to use. Honestly, you can use any tea you like. The most traditional ones are black tea and jasmine tea, which both have a robust flavor. My recipe calls for 4 black tea bags, but you can also use loose-leaf tea. If you decide to use loose-leaf tea, you’ll need 1/4 cup.
• Start with a strong tea. When choosing the tea to use, don’t be afraid to choose a strong one. It does get toned down with ice and milk, so starting with one a bit stronger than you’d normally drink should be no problem.
• Do not let the brown sugar boil over. It boils quickly so be ready to take it off the heat if it starts to rapidly boil, to prevent it from boiling over.
• Do not refrigerate the tapioca. While the tea can be refrigerated, the tapioca cannot, so allow plenty of time for it to come to room temperature on the counter.

5 from 3

Boba Tea

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Chill: 2 hours hrs

Total: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

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This Boba Tea recipe is sweet, creamy, and just perfect on hot summer days. No need to hunt down an expensive bubble tea shop – you can easily make it at home!

Ingredients 

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For the Tea

• ▢ 4 cups water
• ▢ 4 black tea bags

For the Tapioca

• ▢ 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup water
• ▢ 1 cup black tapioca pearls, (instant/quick-cooking)

For serving

• ▢ ice
• ▢ 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, , divided, for serving

Instructions 

• In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the tea bags; stir once or twice to make sure the tea leaves are saturated with water. Take off the heat and let the tea sit in the hot water until it cools to room temperature. Discard the tea bags, then place the bowl of tea in the fridge to chill completely.
  
• Place the brown sugar and water into a medium-sized sauce-pot over medium heat; stir together then bring it to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes (don’t let it reach a rapid boil.) The syrup should be slightly thickened. Remove from the heat to cool.
  
• Cook the tapioca pearls per the directions on the packaging. (Test a pearl to see if it’s your desired level of softness – continuing cooking a few more minutes if they’re still stiff.) Remove the tapioca pearls from the heat; drain and rinse pearls under cold water to prevent them from sticking together and transfer to a bowl.
  
• Pour the cooled syrup over the tapioca pearls and gently stir to combine. 
  
• To serve, add the sweetened tapioca pearls along with a bit of the syrup to the bottom of four tall glasses. Top with ice. Add 1 cup of the tea to each glass. Add 1-2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk to each glass. Gently stir to combine.
  
• Enjoy with a big bubble tea/smoothie straw.
  

Video

Notes

Swap out the sweetened condensed milk. I like to use sweetened condensed milk to give the drink more sweetness along with the milkiness you are looking for in a boba milk tea. But you can use half and half, milk, or heavy cream, if preferred.

Make it sweeter. This boba tea is not overly sweet even though the pearls sit in brown sugar syrup. If you like it sweeter, add more of the brown sugar syrup to the glass. You can also add simple syrup to your taste.

Can I use light brown sugar? I use dark brown sugar to get an extra depth of flavor, but you can use light brown sugar in its place, which is still delicious.

Can this be dairy free? Yes, for dairy free boba tea, just swap the half and half for almond milk or another non-dairy milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 183mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 102IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

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Serving Suggestions

Bubble tea is typically served over ice, with some of the brown sugar syrup added in with the tapioca. If you want it sweeter, add a bit more of the brown sugar syrup to the glass. You can also add simple syrup to your taste, for a sweeter drink.

Can I Make This In Advance?

I do not recommend assembling the drink in advance, as the tapioca doesn’t do well after it sits for long periods. However, the tea can be made a day or two in advance and refrigerated. Wait until an hour or so before you want to enjoy your drink to make the tapioca as it can get hard.

More Drink Recipes:

• Southern Style Sweet Tea
• Mexican Horchata
• Irish Coffee
• Coffee Banana Smoothie
• Shirley Temple Drink
• Strawberry Lemonade

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!