Boba Tea

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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!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Chill2

Total Time2 30

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: boba milk tea, boba tea recipe, bubble tea

Servings: servings

Ingredients

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