Boba Tea
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!
Servings: 4 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 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 and enjoy with a big bubble tea/smoothie straw.
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